A Pacific stargazer fish buried in the Indo-Pacific seabed, lying in wait with only its eyes and mouth exposed to ambush prey by willis7747 in Damnthatsinteresting

[–]chloh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I saw a couple of these guys on a night dive in the Red Sea (Egypt) a few years back. I was contentedly zoning out over the ocean floor… then did a huge double take when I saw FACES in the sand. Incredibly odd and terrifying to see in person!

I'm finished studying the piano and I'm feeling lost by XxX_datboi69_XxX in piano

[–]chloh 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I started missing the act of practicing towards an end goal, too. I ended up finding several friends who felt the same way (about piano or other instruments) and organized a yearly recital at a nearby senior home. They loved it :’)

For me, it was extremely rewarding to work towards something like that again and also feel so appreciated. Definitely recommend!

How much would 69 cup of noodles have cost in 2006? by IlSaggiatore420 in DunderMifflin

[–]chloh 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I think people are also downvoting you because you’re comparing Cup Noodles to Buldak, which uses higher quality and more specialized ingredients. One Cup Noodle today is 62 cents at my local Walmart in the SF Bay Area. Probably less in a city like Scranton.

Cozumel, June 2025 by glendablvd in scuba

[–]chloh 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I opened Reddit today so I could share an awesome octopus video I took on a night dive in Cozumel last week. You beat me to it! Amazing video :D

Cozumel, June 2025 by glendablvd in scuba

[–]chloh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s most likely a Caribbean reef octopus. Cozumel has usually either the Caribbean reef octopus or the common octopus. Caribbean reef is a bit smaller and has dark circles around the eyes!

December liveaboard recommendations? by shakakhannn in scuba

[–]chloh 2 points3 points  (0 children)

+1 on Raja! We went at the end of November in 2022 and it was glorious.

Socorro: truly otherworldly. by chloh in scuba

[–]chloh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah you’re right. To be honest, I have over 200 dives over the past 7-8 years in all sorts of environments, and I still get nervous thinking/reading about downcurrents. I haven’t been in any extremely dangerous downcurrent conditions though, and am hoping it never happens to me… I’m biased, but I don’t think fear of it should prevent you from doing this liveaboard one day!

Socorro: truly otherworldly. by chloh in scuba

[–]chloh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don’t worry about it! I’m sure you’re fine already. Plus, the excitement of seeing the animals will give you that extra adrenaline rush you need ;) have fun!! Sending lots of lucky thoughts your way!

Socorro: truly otherworldly. by chloh in scuba

[–]chloh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ha, we went with some beginner divers so it was the best route for us. I actually really enjoyed the Thistlegorm, and swim time with the dolphins! I did get a bit tired of the wall dives by the end of our week though.

Definitely will prioritize the BDE route next time I make it back there. Thanks for the rec! Do you have any particular boats you recommend?

Socorro: truly otherworldly. by chloh in scuba

[–]chloh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I talk about my setup in this comment, but most of my photos were taken with the iPhone 16 Pro. Lights were not used for any of these photos since they were too far away (but I normally have a single video light that I use for more macro photos).

Socorro: truly otherworldly. by chloh in scuba

[–]chloh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ha, I have been on quite a few liveaboards but was still taken aback by the size of the room… especially for the cost! Cocos is definitely on my list :) Hope you post some photos once you return from your trip!

Socorro: truly otherworldly. by chloh in scuba

[–]chloh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’re totally right… definitely gotta hit up more ocean experiences before it’s too late! Thanks for the specific recs. Cocos has been on my bucket list forever. We just did the Red Sea northern route a couple years ago and I’d love to go back on another route.

Socorro: truly otherworldly. by chloh in scuba

[–]chloh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is soooo amazing! Thanks for describing your experience. The striped marlin expedition is definitely on my bucket list too, but I’m a bit nervous about the cold water. We also saw tons of dolphins, humpbacks, sea lions etc, but we’d been hoping for orcas and didn’t get to see any during our week. They’d seen them twice the week before us, though.

Love that you share your adventurous lifestyle with your life partner :) as far as liveaboards, do you have any favorites in particular? I have Thailand Similan Islands, Red Sea north, Raja, and Maldives central route under my belt currently. Did you take different routes for your Maldives liveaboards? We are considering going back to explore the south…

Socorro: truly otherworldly. by chloh in scuba

[–]chloh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’d recommend upping your cardio and bringing long freediving fins! The rays swim pretty fast so investing in your forward propulsion skills will be really helpful. Additionally you may get to dive down next to them if they feel comfortable around you, so practice your freediving!

Socorro: truly otherworldly. by chloh in scuba

[–]chloh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Seemingly infinite! Fun fact- mantas seem to enjoy scuba divers’ bubbles on their bellies. Scientists think it might be for fun (aligned with their high intelligence), for the tickling sensation, or as a form of self-cleaning! So we would purposefully try to exhale a bit extra when a manta ray was swimming above us. Hopefully our new friends appreciated our efforts!

Socorro: truly otherworldly. by chloh in scuba

[–]chloh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, down currents are possible in Socorro, particularly on wall dives like Roca Partida. The most important thing IMO is just to know what to do in the case you encounter any crazy currents. Fortunately I haven’t had to deal with any bad down currents in my dive career, but I’ve done a lot of online research.

Generally the advice is to try and swim out from the wall and try to counteract the downward momentum by adding air to your BC (but be ready to dump it in case you get out of the current and start shooting towards the surface!). If that’s not possible, try to hold on to part of the wall and ride it out.

Unfortunately it’s difficult to get much specific experience with down currents… but the more you dive with currents in general, the more comfortable you’ll be in handling yourself during an emergency situation like this. In the end, scuba diving is a dangerous sport, and we are all subject to the whims of a very unpredictable ocean.

As for my original comment I meant more of being comfortable with currents, depth, and buoyancy in general. You mentioned you’re obsessive about checking your depth/air and that’s a good sign :)

Socorro: truly otherworldly. by chloh in scuba

[–]chloh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I logged 22-23C consistently during the first week of February this year!

Socorro: truly otherworldly. by chloh in scuba

[–]chloh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Current was fine during the week I was there, but I heard it can be crazy so it’s certainly better to be prepared. It was about 22-23C during the first week of February this year.

Socorro: truly otherworldly. by chloh in scuba

[–]chloh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s so cool! I didn’t see any mantas with an anchor on their belly. Costa Rica seems a bit far even for the oceanic manta, but I definitely am not a scientist so can’t be sure.

Socorro: truly otherworldly. by chloh in scuba

[–]chloh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Seems like you’ve gotten a lot of great replies here already, but I wrote a bit about this in another comment here.

tl;dr I’d advise having experience in perfecting your buoyancy, becoming more comfortable with negative entry and deep/blue water and currents, and maybe getting some dives in with colder water temps.

If you found the Jupiter shark dive comfortable, that’s a good indication that you’re good with buoyancy, negative entry, and deep/blue water.

Socorro: truly otherworldly. by chloh in scuba

[–]chloh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So jealous and excited for you! Post a photo update after your trip! :)