Unique creatures at the bottom of Van Phong Bay

At the bottom of Van Phong Bay there are thousands of creatures, many of which have strange shapes and eye-catching colors.

For many years, Mr. Mai Hoang Kien Kha, a scuba diving instructor with more than 20 years of experience in Nha Trang City, has been exploring bays in Khanh Hoa with his students and colleagues. On one occasion while exploring Van Phong Bay, he was surprised to see that the creatures in the bay were extremely rich. "The bay has many strange creatures, surrounded by a kilometer-long coral reef, mostly mollusks, looking wild and very beautiful," said Mr. Kha, adding that the creatures here are diverse, but there are many plankton, the bottom is muddy so the water is not as clear as Nha Trang Bay.

Clownfish live symbiotically in a sea anemone's "nest" in waters more than 15 meters deep. They often use some of the nutrients from the anemone's tentacles and share the food source, while the anemone uses its paralyzing tentacles as a "weapon" against enemies.

The clownfish eggs hatched into hundreds of extremely small and rare fish. Mr. Kha said he was "very lucky" to have caught this special moment.

A type of sea anemone with spreading branches , forming a sphere at the bottom of Nha Trang Bay.

The devil scorpion fish, scientifically known as Scorpaenopsis diabolus, is a carnivorous, venomous fish. They often camouflage themselves on the seabed to catch prey. "They have spines on their backs, which can cause pain if divers are not careful ," said Kha.

A species of sea crab with the scientific name Lissocarcinus orbicularis . They often burrow into sea anemones to hide from predators.

Goby fish belong to the family of white gobies, scientific name is Gobiidae . They mainly live attached to rocks on the seabed and mostly in tropical regions, laying eggs submerged at the bottom and in caves. This is a species of fish that can withstand many changes in salt concentration in water, has the ability to change color to match the surrounding environment, specializes in catching bottom-dwelling animal larvae for food.

Red soft coral branch . Above is a line of white gobies foraging. The total area of ​​coral reefs distributed in Van Phong Bay is about 1,618 hectares, the largest in Khanh Hoa. In which, the areas with large areas include Vung Ke (113 hectares), Hon Bip (107 hectares) and Xuan Tu (240 hectares).

The mint shrimp, scientifically known as Lysmata wurdemanni , are found near coral reefs because they are good foraging grounds and hiding spots. They often feed on detritus, dead fish tissue, and decaying organic matter.

Cuttlefish - an order of molluscs in the class Cephalopoda . Cuttlefish have a large lateral shell, a W-shaped pupil, eight stingers, and two tentacles with serrated suckers to hold onto their prey. Cuttlefish range in size from 15 cm to 25 cm, with the largest species, Sepia apama, reaching a mantle length of 50 cm and weighing over 10.5 kg.

A species of Spotfin Sculpin fish , measuring about 12-15 cm. According to documents, in the coral reefs of Van Phong Bay, there are 998 species belonging to 648 genera and 175 families of 6 main groups of reef organisms (reef-building hard corals, reef fish, mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms and polychaetes).

A type of sea slug, scientifically known as Nudibranch , is an invertebrate that comes in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors. It is a hermaphrodite, with a lifespan ranging from a few weeks to a year. It is omnivorous and its favorite food is algae, sponges, sea anemones, corals, ciliates, and some other sea slugs.

Van Phong Bay belongs to Van Ninh district and Ninh Hoa town, has favorable natural conditions, including coral reefs, mangrove forests, seagrass beds, seafood species and is considered one of the areas with high biodiversity potential.