Koh Tachai – Day trip from Khao Lak

Koh Tachai – Day trip from Khao Lak.
www.go2similan.com

2 ways to get to my favorite dive site in Thailand – today it’s a daytrip to Koh Tachai from Khao Lak - and the other way is liveaboard safari starting from Khao Lak as well. Koh Tachai is not one of the 9 Similan Islands but the most northern Island still within Similan National Marine Park.

My favorite dive site due to the diversity of marine life found here. It’s extraordinary even for The Similans with the amount of fish you see here. All the corals are in pristine condition and great in numbers and diversity like the fish. I could dive here 4 times a day when on liveaboard and still love every dive.

First dive we go north of the main Pinnacle where not too many guides go. Away from the crowd to see if we can find a something big in the deep sandy patches. We are lucky to find the biggest Jenkin’s Whip Ray I have ever seen. 

Must have been almost 2m between the wingtips and she didn’t mind us at all so we got VERY close and left her sitting there after spending a few min taking in the beauty of one of the world’s biggest bottom dwelling rays.

Crystal clear waters as always at The Similan with huger Marble Groupers swimming between the rocks and lots of colorful reef fish all around us. Back to Koh Tachai main Pinnacle to do our safety stop looking down on all the action awaiting us on the second dive.

Second dive we stay on the main Pinnacle where we enjoy the swim troughs and look for macro life. I spot Ornate Ghost Pipefish, Cleaner Pipefish and a few colorful Nudibranchs. On our way up we drop by Batfish Rock and we swim close to the Longfin Batfish while Giant- and Bluefin Trevally are hunting around and above us. 

On our safety stop a big shoal of Chevron Barracuda were circling magically around us with the sun right in the middle just like on a National Geographic photo.

At the surface I think about how nice it would have been being on a liveaboard trip and do a sunset dive here on my favorite Similan dive site as well. Going back to Khao Lak for a nice dinner is only next best choice for me. 

Similan National Marine Park has so much to offer and a liveaboard trip is the best way to see more of it in a few days and still have time to see all the other attractions around Khao Lak.

On the way back my divers are already planning their next trip to Thailand and this time back to Khao Lak and do a whole liveaboard safari – they are hooked on The Similans just like me.

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Go2Similan Diving & Snorkeling Center is pleased to announce the release of our new website www.go2similan.com designed with a fresh new look and user-friendly navigation, updated with the latest information about our products and services. 

The updated product pages contain information about existing and new products. You can now find elaborated info about Diving, Snorkeling, PADI Courses, Liveaboard Trips and Equipment such as Dry bags, fins, masks, snorkels, rashguards all from top brands like Aqualung, Tusa, Cressi , Mares and Scubapro, all under the same roof.

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We hope that you will enjoy browsing our new site, finding more options and information each time, and that it will be yet another tool for strengthening our business relations.

Facts: Queen Angelfish

The queen angelfish gets its name from the crown-like ring on its head. Its diet consists mostly of sponges and algae.

Photograph courtesy Chris Huss/NOAA

Queen Angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris)

Queen angelfish get their royal title from the speckled, blue-ringed black spot on their heads that resembles a crown.
Decked out with electric blue bodies, blazing yellow tails, and light purple and orange highlights, Queen angels are among the most strikingly colorful of all reef fishes. Their adornments seem shockingly conspicuous, but they blend well when hiding amid the exotic reef colors.
They are shy fish, found either alone or often in pairs in the warm waters of the Caribbean and western Atlantic. Fairly large for reef-dwellers, they can grow up to 18 inches (45 centimeters) in length. They have rounded heads and small beak-like mouths, and, like other angelfish, their long upper and lower fins stream dramatically behind them.
Their diet consists almost entirely of sponges and algae, but they will also nibble on sea fans, soft corals, and even jellyfish.
Queen angels are close relatives of the equally striking blue angelfish. In fact, these two species are known to mate, forming natural hybrids, a very rare occurrence among angelfish.
They are widely harvested for the aquarium trade, but are common throughout their range and have no special protections or status.

 

Facts: Triggerfish

Triggerfish are infamous for their nasty attitude and this behavior is especially evident around nests, where intruders, from other fish to human divers, are likely to be charged or bitten.

Photograph by Georgie Holland, Photolibrary

Triggerfish (Balistidae)

The 40 species of triggerfish are scattered throughout the world’s seas and are familiar to divers and aquarium aficionados. Largest of all is the stone triggerfish, which reaches up to 3.3 feet (1 meter) long, found in the Eastern Pacific from Mexico to Chile.
These bottom dwellers dig out prey, such as crabs and worms, by flapping away debris with their fins and sandblasting with water squirted from their mouths. They also use very tough teeth and jaws to take on sea urchins, flipping them over to get at their bellies, which are armed with fewer spines. Triggerfish wreak such havoc on less fortunate reef dwellers that smaller fish often follow them to feast on their leftovers.
The Balistidae family takes its common name from a set of spines the fish use to deter predators or to “lock” themselves into holes, crevices, and other hiding spots. The system can be "unlocked" by depressing a smaller, “trigger” spine.
Triggerfish tend to be solitary but meet at traditional mating grounds according to timetables governed by moons and tides. The males of many species appear to establish territories on these spawning grounds and prepare seafloor nests that will house tens of thousands of eggs. Females share care of the eggs until they hatch, blowing water on them to keep them well supplied with oxygen. In some species males are known to maintain a harem of female mates.
Triggerfish are infamous for their nasty attitude and this behavior is especially evident around nests, where intruders, from other fish to human divers, are likely to be charged or bitten.
Triggerfish are attractive animals and some species have become too popular for their own good. They are sought for the aquarium trade, which has prompted fishermen to gather even threatened species from the wild. Researchers are working to raise triggerfish in captivity so that wild populations might more likely be left alone.

 

Facts: Seahorse

 

 Seahorses use their prehensile tails to grab onto sea grasses and corals.

Photograph by George Grall

 

Seahorse (Hippocampus)

Seahorses are truly unique, and not just because of their unusual equine shape. Unlike most other fish, they are monogamous and mate for life. Rarer still, they are among the only animal species on Earth in which the male bears the unborn young.
Found in shallow tropical and temperate waters throughout the world, these upright-swimming relatives of the pipefish can range in size from 0.6 inches (1.5 centimeters) to 14 inches (35 centimeters) long.
Male seahorses are equipped with a brood pouch on their ventral, or front-facing, side. When mating, the female deposits her eggs into his pouch, and the male fertilizes them internally. He carries the eggs in his pouch until they hatch, then releases fully formed, miniature seahorses into the water.
Because of their body shape, seahorses are rather inept swimmers and can easily die of exhaustion when caught in storm-roiled seas. They propel themselves by using a small fin on their back that flutters up to 35 times per second. Even smaller pectoral fins located near the back of the head are used for steering.
They anchor themselves with their prehensile tails to sea grasses and corals, using their elongated snouts to suck in plankton and small crustaceans that drift by. Voracious eaters, they graze continually and can consume 3,000 or more brine shrimp per day.
Population data for most of the world’s 35 seahorse species is sparse. However, worldwide coastal habitat depletion, pollution, and rampant harvesting, mainly for use in Asian traditional medicine, have made several species vulnerable to extinction.

 

Facts: Stingray

 The stingray's tail features a poisonous barb, which is used only in self-defense. Stingrays are generally docile and will swim close to divers and snorkelers without fear.

Photograph by Wolcott Henry

Stingray (Dasyatidae)

Stingrays are commonly found in the shallow coastal waters of temperate seas. They spend the majority of their time inactive, partially buried in sand, often moving only with the sway of the tide. The stingray's coloration commonly reflects the seafloor's shading, camouflaging it from predatory sharks and larger rays. Their flattened bodies are composed of pectoral fins joined to their head and trunk with an infamous tail trailing behind.
While the stingray's eyes peer out from its dorsal side, its mouth, nostrils, and gill slits are situated on its underbelly. Its eyes are therefore not thought by scientists to play a considerable role in hunting. Like its shark relatives, the stingray is outfitted with electrical sensors called ampullae of Lorenzini. Located around the stingray's mouth, these organs sense the natural electrical charges of potential prey. Many rays have jaw teeth to enable them to crush mollusks such as clams, oysters, and mussels.
When they are inclined to move, most stingrays swim by undulating their bodies like a wave; others flap their sides like wings. The tail may also be used to maneuver in the water, but its primary purpose is protection.
The stingray's spine, or barb, can be ominously fashioned with serrated edges and a sharp point. The underside may produce venom, which can be fatal to humans, and which can remain deadly even after the stingray's death. In Greek mythology, Odysseus, the great king of Ithaca, was killed when his son, Telegonus, struck him using a spear tipped with the spine of a stingray.

 

Facts: Flying Fish

 A streamlined torpedo shape helps flying fish generate enough speed to break the water’s surface, and large, wing-like pectoral fins help get them airborne.

Photograph by Peter Parks/Animals Animals-Earth Scenes

Flying Fish Exocoetidae

Flying fish can be seen jumping out of warm ocean waters worldwide. Their streamlined torpedo shape helps them gather enough underwater speed to break the surface, and their large, wing-like pectoral fins get them airborne.
Flying fish are thought to have evolved this remarkable gliding ability to escape predators, of which they have many. Their pursuers include mackerel, tuna, swordfish, marlin, and other larger fish. For their sustenance, flying fish feed on a variety of foods, including plankton.
There are about 40 known species of flying fish. Beyond their useful pectoral fins, all have unevenly forked tails, with the lower lobe longer than the upper lobe. Many species have enlarged pelvic fins as well and are known as four-winged flying fish.
The process of taking flight, or gliding, begins by gaining great velocity underwater, about 37 miles (60 kilometers) per hour. Angling upward, the four-winged flying fish breaks the surface and begins to taxi by rapidly beating its tail while it is still beneath the surface. It then takes to the air, sometimes reaching heights over 4 feet (1.2 meters) and gliding long distances, up to 655 feet (200 meters). Once it nears the surface again, it can flap its tail and taxi without fully returning to the water. Capable of continuing its flight in such a manner, flying fish have been recorded stretching out their flights with consecutive glides spanning distances up to 1,312 feet (400 meters).
Flying fish are attracted to light, like a number of sea creatures, and fishermen take advantage of this with substantial results. Canoes, filled with enough water to sustain fish, but not enough to allow them to propel themselves out, are affixed with a luring light at night to capture flying fish by the dozens. There is currently no protection status on these animals.