Tuas - Sponges, soft coral and zoanthids.

Tuas is covered with sponges, soft coral and zoanthids. It is almost impossible to move around without stepping on at least one of the three.


Meilin spotted this strange thing which looked very much like a buried sea cucumber from afar. Marcus bravely went to poke it and concluded it wasn't a sea cucumber. I realised it was a sea pen after processing the photo and noticing porcelain crab claws in it.


A weird worm which was rotating like a radar.


I find these white fan worms (family Sabellidae) the most beautiful. Nasty water surface tho.


A couple of Phymanthus were found.


Stichodactyla haddoni.


Sponges growing among zoanthids.


Soft coral.


Sakura blossoms of the seaHydroids?


Stinging hydroids.


Kok Sheng found this porcelain crab with a racing stripe.


Meilin found this hairless hairy crab.


A slightly more hairy hairy crab.


Holothuria leucospilota.


Purple sea cucumber (Family Cucumariidae).


Holothuria scabra.


Laganum sand dollars with a cake sand dollar for comparison.


Synaptid sea cucumber. Quite a few of them around.


Spider conch, my first time seeing one.


An Ovum cowrie hiding under a shell.


Meilin spotted this nudibranch (Actinocyclus sp?) that looked very much like a sea hare when out of the water.


Tiny fish hiding above a leaf from predators in the water.

Read more about Tuas at Ria's blogpost A sliver of living shore at Tuas including lots of info about the coral there.