Family name: Antennariidae
Order name: Lophiiformes
Common name: Frogfish or Anglerfish
Scientific name: Antennariidae
Frogfish are very misunderstood and very little is known about this unique underwater lie-in-wait predator. They live generally on the ocean floor around coral or rock reefs throughout tropical and subtropical waters. Most species live in shallow water although some species are deep dwelling. Recreational divers in Asia are most likely to spot certain species including giant, clown and painted frogfish.

Around the Andaman we have seen frogfish in the Similans, Richelieu Rock, Koh Tachai, Koh Doc Mai, Phi Phi, Racha Yai and Noi.

Frogfish, are named because of their squat resemblance to the common amphibians, they range in size from around 5cm to the giant frogfish’s 40cm. The resemblance to frogs is that their fins are more like legs, which they use to walk slowly over the sea bed and on top of sponges and corals to lie in wait for their prey.
Colour is often not much help in identifying different frogfish since they can change this to allow themselves to camouflage and blend in with the environment they are in. Depending on the species, this change might take seconds or weeks. Some frog fish’s skin is also covered by bumps, flaps, hairs and tassles which further allow for mimicking the nearby seabed, corals, sponges or weeds. This also explains how divers can often cruise straight past, not noticing their presence.

There are not many other fish that you could mistake for a frogfish but it can be exceptionally difficult to distinguish between the sexes or species. Unless you get out your scalpel, there is no way to tell male from female. Since colouration is not a method of identification for all but the most rare species, you should be looking out for species-specific features such as what form the lure takes (maybe it is mimicking a worm or fish), the number of eye spots and the number of spines.
Frogfish move very slowly but they have the fastest strike speed of any other animal on earth. They move by gulping water with their massive mouth, then forcing the water through the gills, this allows them to move about the reef or bottom.

As the frogfish is scaleless and unprotected camouflage is an important defense against predators. Some can also inflate themselves, like pufferfish, by sucking in water in a threat display. In aquariums and in nature, frogfish have been know to when moved from their hiding spots and are clearly visible, to be attacked by clownfish, damselfish, and wrasse, and even to be killed.
It is the feeding approach of anglerfish that makes it such interesting creatures. They are perfectly camouflaged and lie in wait for any prey. The lure may be used to attract prey in a variety of different ways, depending on the species.

They can also use a chemical attractant so sometimes they just lie in wait for some unfortunate creature to venture too close. When the prey is within grasp the attack takes place. The frogfish expands its oral cavity engulfing the prey with a reflex that instantly sucks it in by creating suction pressure inside the mouth. Taking no more than around 6 milliseconds.

Frogfish have also been seen stalking their prey by sneaking towards their target along the sea bed.

They eat mostly small fish, shrimps and crabs but their prey sometimes being up to twice their own body size. As they are toothless the frogfish swallows its prey whole, allowing digestive enzymes to do the rest. The prey can often be seen twitching and writhing against the walls of the its stomach until they no longer are alive. Frogfish have also been observed to eat lionfish; the poison appears to have no effect on them.  In addition to expanding their mouths, frogfish can also expand their stomachs to swallow animals up to twice their size.

What eats anglerfish? the main answer is another frogfish, they are known for being cannibalistic. However considering that they are designed more to catch fish swimming in the water column, this is a rather rare phenomenon. Moray eels have also been witnessed eating frogfish, but again, this is an uncommon sight.

Learn more interesting facts about the local marine life to Phuket by joining us on a Naturalist or Fish ID specialty course.

Jurgens Rescue Course………….

After a difficult a flight towards Phuket, I could finally start my Rescue Diver Course.  My first attempt to become a Rescue diver stopped in Indonesia because some family problems. I had to fly back before I finished my last dive. So I decided to retake the course with Scuba Cat Diving.

Having dived with Scuba Cat before, I was introduced to my   Instructor, Francois. I already knew him from last visit, we hoped to see that elusive whale shark together, oh well it wasn’t to be that time. He was happy to see us and give me a handshake and kissed my sister three times. After that, my sister filled in all the paperwork for her Advanced Course and I went upstairs to start my EFR.

We started at 10.00am (nice time!) The day was alot of fun. In the Netherlands the rules are different than here in Asia. So I learned the Asian way also. First 2  rescue breaths and after that 30 chest compressions. This was repeated many times then I  practiced with an AED. Luckily for me, I  practiced on a manikin and not with Francois!

After the session I had to practice finding injuries that Francois was pretending to have. While we were doing this, we had lots of fun and jokes, quite normal for us. After a couple minutes, he role played passing out and I had to put him into the recovery position. While I did this, he found out, that I did it on another way than he was used to do. He thought the way I did it was also correct, because I already checked his pulse and breathing while I did this and after I finished.

After the senario’s, I did my exam. I only got two wrong! Not bad at all.

Then onto the rescue theory. Wow I passed this with 100%! Time for some fun diving before I finished the course.

I went diving with my sister so we could practice a bit and take some pictures.

The next day after the fun dives, I went for the pool session. Kiwi was to be my instructor for the confined sessions and Nim, Divemaster was my “Victim”

"Kiwi"

Nim was a very good Victim, making everything realistic for me so I could master all the skills I thought the skills are easy but spectacular. Everybody in the swimming pool was watching while we did the skills. As I knew. In the swimming pool  everything seemed easy but in the ocean I knew it would be different, a bit difficult because the currents and waves.

One of the skills was bringing a diver towards the surface while he or she is out. I first did it the way I had been taught in the Netherlands. It’s a bit difference than the way wants to do this. In the Netherlands we approach from the front while do this from behind because the risk of panic. No problem, I could do it both ways.

Now the surface skills, exercise number 7,  I had to move the diver through the pool and while I did this, I had to give rescue breaths. Every 5 seconds I gave one and bring her to the side of the pool. In the meanwhile I had to remove her equipment  and mine, then take her on the (boat) poolside. I did this easily…. the problem was, could I do this on the live aboard as well with currents and waves. I Knew Kiwi wouldn’t make it easy for me!!!!

Then it was off to the Liveaboard in the Similans, to finish my Rescue course on the first day and do lots of diving with my sister, whilst she did her advanced course.

We arrived there on New years eve….

Setting up our gear for the sunset dive, Kiwi started screaming for help. I should have guessed it, after all this was all for my Rescue Course!!!  I walked towards the diving platform and saw a rope. I threw it towards Kiwi and he grabbed it. That was the first time! While was setting up the rest of my equipment, Kiwi went out snorkelling. After a minute he was screaming again. I couldn’t find something that floats, so I put on my fins, snorkel and mask. I could save him with my skills from lifeguard. He was in panic so I could swim underneath him and grab him from behind. But he was cheating! While I get down, he followed me with his eyes, very relaxed. I should have known he would make this difficult for me!.  So I had to swim back to the boat!  Kiwi stopped and said: You had to bring something that floats! Damn, he got me!!!

"Jurgen"

After these skills, we went diving. Priscilla took her time and Kiwi entered the water first. I followed him, because he was already going under. I gave him a signal to come back, but he didn’t respond, so I followed him at the surface, while I was waiting for my sister. I asked her to hurry up a bit (well she is my sister!) got our buddy checks done. Then entered the water, at that precise moment , Kiwi came up and simulating panic! So Priscilla and I start swimming towards him. I asked her to wait, while I approached him. I did it from behind and grabbed his tank with my legs and inflated his BCD. I asked if he could swim back to the boat. He didn’t answer, so I had to tow him. After a minute he pretended to pass out and stopped breathing. So I informed the boat and started with rescue breathes and moving him towards the boat.

While I was taking of the equipment he said that I did it very good and we stopped the skill. We went down for fun diving! Just before we went down, Priscilla had cramps. When I looked in her eyes I saw there was nothing wrong, and while I did the skill, I didn’t feel anything of cramp. I thought its going to be a long dive!

When we reached the bottom, Kiwi lost his mask. I grabbed it and put it on his face. Priscilla had the same problem….. At the same moment, Kiwi started to grab rocks, trying to grab fish etc. etc… I had to respond. It was like diving with school kids! Kiwi and Priscilla pretended to fight. While I came between, Priscilla grabbed me! I was right this was not going to be a straight forward dive!!!  Priscilla pretended to pass out. I had to bring her up to the suface, again using the skills I learnt in the pool. On the way up, I saw big waves and there was a strong current, so change of plan and went up towards the boat (not straight ahead).

When we were on the surface, I had to start rescue breathes. First thing I did, I informed the boat. The waves were big, so I had to get between my sister and the waves, to stop the water was going in her mouth. Because the current, I had to swim very hard. And it was not easy to get towards the boat. After 2 minutes I arrived at the dingy. I wanted to go in there to start the CPR, but Kiwi said, I had to go towards the boat. So I started again and tried to get help from the boat. They didn’t help and everybody was filming and laughing.

So I did it on my own and when I was in the boat, Priscilla start breathing again and stopped the skill, because she had a lot of water in her mouth. It was very hard and at a moment she even said: You supposed to save me, not drown me! When we finished the dive, Kiwi said, that I had passed all my rescue practical.  Great now the rest of the Liveaboard to relax and enjoy the beauty of the Similans!

"Jurgen and Priscilla"

During the Rescue course I had to work hard, I learned a lot whilst having loads of fun!

Now for my Master Scuba Diver and then who knows!!!!

2010 – Diving? Me? No way!
2011  –  I can Dive…
2012 – I ♥ diving

I have been scared of the ocean my whole life. Big fish with sharp teeth, dirty water, the idea of not being able to see your feet, etc. etc.  Enough reasons to not go into the ocean with much more than my big toe. If you would have met me a year ago, and said that I would be scuba diving now? I would laugh at you and call you crazy!  How little did I know…

When my family and I were in Phuket in the summer of 2011, my brother was looking for a dive school to go on some daytrips. Walking along the beach we found Scuba Cat. The instructor we were talking to asked whether I was going to dive too and I told him I was definitely not going to, since there was really nothing that attracted me. The idea of breathing through a tube and having a lot of water above me didn’t sound like fun at all.
I don’t really remember what made me change my mind…but I went back to the dive shop to have a dive at the swimming pool, and I liked it.
I felt very comfortable, the instructor was really patient and we talked about the open water course. After thinking it over and over again, I decided to give it a try and see how far I would go. My Instructor Hielke,  was great. From the moment we met I felt comfortable and safe. He was extremely patient (I was a horrible student – and no I’m not exaggerating!) and he has great teaching skills.

After a day in the classroom, we practised the skills in the swimming pool. There were no problems, so why wouldn’t I be able to do the same thing in the ocean? I didn’t like the idea of pulling my mask off (and get seawater in my eyes) though I knew I would be perfectly able to put it back on. And what to think about practising for an Controlled emergency swimming ascent to the surface….looking up, seeing the surface is far, far away, and then take one breath in and ascent to the surface whilst breathing out all the way. But what’s the fun in life if you don’t try new things and cross your own borders?

I went on a complete new adventure, together with my instructor.
The first dive I stayed extremely close to him. No way there would be more than 15 cm between us! I was scared and I didn’t enjoy the dive. It was not horrible, but I didn’t think it was fun either. I didn’t see much of the beautiful marine life, since I was checking air and depth all the time and did my best to keep breathing on a regular base. Repeating to myself  ‘breath in, breath out…’ the dive seemed to last an eternity.

The second dive was much better, I saw a glimpse of the beautiful coral and sea creatures, still staying close to my instructor. I saw my first ‘Nemo’!

The third dive was a complete disaster, what broke down all the confidence I gained in the first two dives. We were sleeping on the boat and I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep…all I did was crying. That night, I decided to never go diving again. I was looking for a way to tell it to my instructor. I actually found it more sad for him then for me if I wouldn’t finish the course, he was working so hard! It was quiet (there was no one on the boat besides us) the fish were swimming in the lights of the boat and the stars were absolutely stunning! ( I can recommend live aboards to everyone, just to watch the stars and experience how quiet the world can be)
Later the instructor woke up and found me awake. We spend a lot of time talking. What were my exact reasons for not wanting to dive again? I don’t know how he did it, but he found a solution for everything (and I can guarantee you: I had 1001 reasons) and promised me that we would go back to the boat whenever I wanted to. I only needed one more dive to complete my open water training, so why not finish it? After finishing the course I could always decide to never go diving again, but at least I would have finished the course (well…I am a perfectionist, so I always finish what I started) He found the magic words and I went in again.

I’m so glad that he found a way to convince me to go back in!

He showed me how much fun diving could be and how beautiful the marine life is. Because all I did was follow where ever he was going and watching everything he showed me (and checking air and depth of course) I enjoyed the dive very much. We saw beautiful corals, many different fish in all the colours of the rainbow.  They say ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ and it was true! When coming up we had spent an hour down below and I thought we were only there for 25 minutes.
After this dive we went in two more times and with every dive I made I gained a lot of confidence.
I enjoyed the dives so much that I was actually sad that we were moving on to national park Kao Sok, away from the ocean.

During our journey home all I could talk about was diving. When diving I felt like Alice in Wonderland and I felt like I need to explore that world more. As soon as we got home, my brother and I booked a flight back to Thailand for December. Within a few weeks I booked our live aboard with a Advanced Open Water course for me and EFR & Rescue course  for my brother.
Before going back to the ocean I went to the swimming pool in the Netherlands to dive there. I wanted to check if I still knew everything, just to make sure. I’m glad I did, because now I had no reason to be nervous at all and I could relax during the flight. That flight was horrible, we had a major delay and missed our connection. We’ve spend Christmas day on the airport instead of under the palm trees. The staff of Scuba Cat was very friendly and helping with putting us on another daytrip and friendly and helpful words on the phone.

My brother and I went on the liveaboard to dive the Similans.

I read a lot about it before we went, but it was even more beautiful then I imagined….

There were some challenging moments (night dive, bad visibility after the rain,etc) but being with an instructor, Kiwi and my brother and a lot of nice people on the boat, I felt comfortable enough to face them. I know that at certain moments I would never have gone in the water if my brother wasn’t there to hold my hand, an instructor to watch over us and many nice people on the boat to share experiences and give some advice now and then. Being on a liveaboard is great. The food is better than in a restaurant, you meet new people and you all have something you share, so you don’t have to worry about awkward silence….I made new friends there and learned a lot.

I was diving more on my own, not so (literally) attached to my instructor or buddy anymore. I swam with big groups of fish, went deeper than ever before, I saw turtles and seahorses and it felt like I was swimming in an enchanted world.
As long as I stay between my own, newly discovered borders, I can explore that world and enjoy it too. The staff of Scuba Cat helped me with that and will help me to learn more things and enjoy diving more and more in the future.
This summer I’m going to Indonesia, but in December I’m returning to Thailand and dive more with Scuba Cat.  I can’t thank my first instructor enough for all his patience, calming words, teaching me how to dive and showing me the magic world of the ocean. Thank you to the other instructors and guides (daytrips and courses) for all your help, advice and guidance. I can’t imagine a life without diving anymore!  A big thank you to all the staff of Scuba Cat to make everything happen, from booking, to food, from diving to have a drink at the bar to celebrate the happy end of our combined story and our future return to you all.  I will highly recommend you all to everyone who wants to dive in Thailand and see you again in December. I’m looking forward to it very much!

Big hugs for everyone.

While scuba diving does require a certain level of health and fitness, your age doesn’t prevent people from becoming Scuba Divers.  YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN TO SCUBA DIVE!

People are no longer sitting home on the sofa during retirement. This generation is not only the largest, in the world’s history but it has also been one the most active. Needless to say they are not going quietly into the good night!

You may have read over the years about Scuba Kittens where Scuba Cat Diving has introduced diving to many of the younger generation through Bubblemaker, Sealteam  and Junior Open Water courses. Recently we went the opposite way.

The oldest newly certified open water diver from Scuba Cat has completed his Open Water Course with Scuba Cat Diving.

Larry Boersma is a repeat customer of Scuba Cat for over 4 years. Originally from Holland he now lives in the US and still works as a professor in one of the universities over there. He enjoys regular holidays in the Far East and has visited Thailand and Indonesia.

He had completed 18 Discover Scuba Diving experiences with us, and more in Bali and Borneo, for a long time he was happy with this and enjoyed taking photographs at the beautiful Racha Islands.

Earlier this year we made a special exception and Larry went with a private instructor the sites of Shark Point, Koh Doc Mai and Anemone reef. Usually these are reserved for divers who can go to 18m or deeper. But with more than 50 dives already we felt Larry could cope with these new sites.

This must have made him want more as when he came back to see us after 3 month he had decided to take the open water course with us and then join our liveaboard MV Scuba Adventure for a 4 day 4 night trip to Similan, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock.

With Kath as the tour leader on the boat and Francois as his private guide Larry enjoyed  every one of the 14 dives on offer during the trip.

We are not sure if at 82 Larry is the oldest newly certified open water diver but everyone at Scuba Cat is very happy to see him finally move on from being a habitual Discover Scuba Diver to a fully certified one.

Congratulations Larry!!

Trying to decide if Scuba Diving is for you?

Listen to your Body. 

You can’t expect your body to be as agile when you were 21. It is normal to tire easily or succumb to illness more often. An illness is simply your body’s way of telling you to slow down a bit. Listen to your body and don’t push it too hard. Do what you feel comfortable with, why not take a leaf out of Larry’s book and start with Discover Scuba Diving?

Don’t overestimate  your health. 

If you are the type of person who runs everyday and goes to the gym regularly then perhaps, you won’t have to worry so much about the encounter of health problems underwater. Nevertheless, be sure to visit your Doctor before you start this challenge. If your doctor gives you a thumbs-up, well then go dive! If not, ask how you could get dive fit.

Know your limits.

If you’ve been physically active for much of your whole life, then nothing should stop you from trying Scuba Diving. Unless your Doctor says otherwise, you could still go diving, but only do what you feel comfortable with, don’t succumb to pressure from the others on the Dive trips, if you don’t want to go deep or dive in strong currents, then don’t!

So you have decided to come out and dive with us, fantastic news, here are a couple of pointers before you take the course

More than likely your Instructor will be younger than you. As a mature student, you will have to deal with this. No matter what your position is in the “real world” in the pool or on the boat, the instructor is the boss. Learn to be flexible.

Learning

Expect a learning curve. At Scuba Cat Diving all our Instructors take diving courses very seriously. People who are settled into careers or retirement often forget just how hard learning new things can be sometimes. So go easy on yourself.

Yourself

Be open-minded. You might think you have “been there” “done that” and “survived near everything”, being underwater, breathing through scuba gear and being dependant on a dive buddy, can take some getting used to. Some more mature students can become resistant to being told what to do and when to do it. It’s understandable. It’s hard giving over control to someone who may be half your age, but our instructor’s want you to experience all the joy of diving while remaining safe.

If you have always wanted to go scuba diving but have never found the time, learn why it is never too late to start scuba diving, no matter what your age!

June 1st is a very special day for us at Scuba Cat Diving

Sarah Kench, Course Director and her team took over ownership of Scuba Cat Diving 5 years ago.

To help you celebrate this very special year with us we invite you to receive 10% discount on any Scuba Cat Courses, Daytrips or Liveaboards made during this month. (excluding Professional Courses and Internships)

Scuba Diving Courses

MV Scuba Fun

• Daytrips to Racha Yai, Racha Noi, King Cruiser, Shark Point, Koh Doc Mai and Anemone Reef

MV Scuba Sport

• Half Day trips available November to April

Snorkelling for the Whole Family

MV Scuba Adventure Liveaboard – starting from 2 days one night

•  Similans,Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, Richelieu Rock
• Hin Dueng, Hin Mueung, Koh Ha, Phi Phi

If you book and pay in full anytime during June 2012 you will receive 10% discount not only for this month but for the rest of the year…… plus you will receive a free Scuba Cat T-Shirt with all Courses during the month.

The future for Scuba Cat:

Vision

Scuba Cat Diving aims towards creating interaction between people and aquatic life which is fun, safe, educational and sustainable.

• Sustainable for customers means someplace they can come back to where there is a wide range of services which satisfies and/or challenges them for years.
• For the environment it means interaction with the environment in such a way that the benefits for the environment/ecology outweigh the drawbacks.

Mission

To be the best Dive Centre in Phuket through good diving practices, great instructing, increasing ecological awareness and responsible interaction with environment.

Values

Everything we do are based on the following set of values. They are not stand-alone values but all apply at the same time one way or the other.

• Good intention – What we do is not as important as why we do it
• Value for money – We have no intention to be the cheapest, only to be the best. Our prices are competitive, and represent great value for money
• Quality – Only the best is good enough
• Safety first – There are always expectations, however, we will only do what we consider to be safe
• Entertainment – We don’t just provide great courses and dive trips – we provide great experiences from the start to the end…….Fun!!!!

Come and see for yourself, we believe we are achieving our goals but dont just take our word for it see what people have said about us on Trip Adviser!