One of our favorite fish is the spotted drum fish. We are always on the hunt for drums of all ages, from juveniles to adults. We are not disappointed today as we see a juvenile about 2 cm in size, a 10 cm teenager and a 18 cm young adult. The juveniles are very distinctive as they have a long front dorsal fin and tail.
Juvenile Spotted Drum Fish
They are black and white striped when young. As they mature, the dorsal fin and tail shrink, change shape and spots appear on their back.
Young Adult Spotted Drum Fish
They are found under ledges or close to openings of small caves. They are not afraid of divers and continue their circular swim path even when approached.
Mur comes across a Peacock Flounder on our second dive. He is found on the sand bottom. They are hard to see as they can change colour to match the bottom. This one moves as Murray spies him but then stops and blends in with the surroundings.
I have equipment issues for the third day. Today, the BCD I wear keeps self-inflating, probably caused by a leaky valve. I purge the air from the BCD every few minutes. By the time we get to 15 feet, I cannot stay down in the surge and pop up. I just swim to the boat as I have had enough. Of course, a turtle and the flounder are spotted the one time I am on the surface early! AAARRRGGGGG!
We are looking forward to another delicious supper tonight. Susan, partner in business and life of the owner, Steve, and chief cook, is taking outstanding care of the hungry divers. She is accommodating my food issues with humour and great gusto. I had chocolate cake last night and hope to have more today! We have a buffet breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns, pancakes, cereal and fruit. Lunch is hamburgers, tacos, chicken fingers, salad. We choose our supper each day from a list of four entrees. There are a couple of chicken dishes, a fish dish and a beef dish to choose from. The entrees are tasty and we leave the table satiated.
The sun is heading to the horizon now and supper is in an hour. Soon, like us, the spotted drum fish will also be feeding.