How to Scuba Dive With the Tropical Fish in the Ocean

One of the major draws of scuba diving travel is going to tropical waters, or the band of warm seas around the world between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, and seeing the colorful fish of the open ocean. A successful dive with the tropical fish means going to the right place and behaving in the right way. This means not only seeing the tropical fish, but diving in a safe fashion that preserves the very tropical marine environment you came to see in the first place.

Instructions

    • 1

      Dive around a solid, prominent underwater feature. Sandy bottoms and stretches of the deep ocean where the sea floor is thousands of feet below are akin to deserts. You may see tropical fish there, but it will be as a random encounter. Rocks, coral reefs, and shipwrecks attract tropical fish, serving as the base for entire marine ecosystems. Coral reefs in particular are magnets for tropical fish.

    • 2

      Swim with your arms tucked in and using your fins to provide all your propulsion, avoiding violent kicking. Smooth, even motion won't disturb and drive off the tropical fish you came to see. Also, avoid kicking up sand from the sea bottom with violent kicking. It lowers visibility and makes the fish harder to see.

    • 3

      Adjust your course as you go and be aware of your surroundings. Avoiding collisions with corals and the metal spars of a shipwreck protects both you and the corals or wreck from harm. Preserving the marine environment guarantees the tropical fish will be there when you return.

    • 4

      Exercise a strict look-but-don't-touch policy. Most tropical fish are harmless, but this can change in a moment if you harass them. Many tropical fish species, such as lionfish, have poisonous spines. Famed "crocodile hunter" Steve Irwin was killed in 2006 off Australia's Great Barrier Reef by the poisonous stinger of a stingray.

    • 5

      Stay out of the triggerfish's territory. These colorful, ovoid fish have a powerful bite and aggressively defend their territory, which is a cone-shaped stretch of water extending into the area above the fish. If a triggerfish attacks you, put your fins between the fish and yourself and swim away horizontally, not up.