Anatomy of an Atoll
persist. Around the edges, you
can fi nd a rich assortment of
fi sh, from anthias to butter-
fl ies and some pretty amazing
tridacnids.
The next category of reef I want
to look at are ‘thilas’. These are
around fi fteen metres or so
deep and are either very small
or part of larger reef structures
that will take multiple dives to
explore.
Being a little deeper and
receiving cooler ocean currents
means that thilas tend to be
richer in life than giris and the
very best example is a wonder-
ful site I visited in the north
east of the Maldives, called
Anemone Thila. I was looking
forward to seeing this site after
being told about it by my guide
and how it was best to visit
when the weather was cloudy.
I wasn’t sure why, but took her
word for it, and on a rainy day
we dropped onto the reef and I
immediately realised what she
meant. In dull light the ‘nems
closed up partially to reveal
the colours on their mantles. I
can honestly say, I have never
seen as many anemones in one
place, they were everywhere.
As you can see the ‘nems come
in a wide range of colours
and as I watched the clowns
swim from hoist to host I had
to wonder what it was that
made this particular spot ideal?
Presumably, it’s a combination
of factors, not least being
current and light, but what
about the relationships
Amphiprion clarkiiNot the best pic, but it shows just how many Heteractis magnifi ca there were.An isolated shallow reef from the air (sorry about the propeller blade).J u n e 2 017 39