Bali Muck Diving June 2022

Bali muck diving lets you encounter a wealth of weird and wonderful sea critters. The black sands of Tulamben are teeming with amazing macro life – if you know where to look.

Pom Pom Crab, Tulamben, Bali © chris@divehappy.com

The world-famous USAT Liberty shipwreck is not the only attraction for divers in Tulamben. Muck diving on Tulamben’s black sand slopes in search of small, rare marine critters is the other big draw to this area of north east Bali. Compared to the beauty of the Liberty shipwreck with its bright corals and fish life, muck diving involves passing over mainly featureless black sand slopes in search of the good stuff.

Donut nudibranch, Tulamben, Bali © chris@divehappy.com

Unsurprisingly, you need an excellent spotter as your dive guide, someone who knows all the tell tale signs of what to look for to find critters usually hiding in plain sight because they’re so well camouflaged – or just so small.

Sidem beach, Bali © chris@divehappy.com

Thanks to our awesome guide Ketut from Oceanus Tulamben Dive, we saw a huge variety of amazing macro critters over several days diving at Tulamben macro dive sites like Sidem, Melasti and Seraya Secrets. Ketut was particularly keen to show us the donut nudibranch – Latin name: Doto greenamyeri – and pom pom crab which were both around when we visited in June 2022.

Harlequin Shrimp , Tulamben, Bali © chris@divehappy.com

Harlequin shrimp are always a pleasure to see, looking like they just beamed in from a science fiction movie. They’re often found in pairs, usually attacking a starfish for food.

Red frogfish with lure, Tulamben, Bali © chris@divehappy.com

This small red frogfish was patiently waiting with his lure out for breakfast to come by.

Nudibranch, Tulamben, Bali © chris@divehappy.com

There’s unsurprisingly a huge amount of different species of nudibranchs around in Bali on the slopes.

Goby, Tulamben, Bali © chris@divehappy.com

There are some occasional coral outcrops around on the black sand, and there’s usually life in it too, like this tiny goby on a soft coral.

Mantis shrimp, Tulamben, Bali © chris@divehappy.com

Some mantis shrimp emerge fully from their burrows to fearlessly ward off any intruders to their path. Others prefer to stay in safety and keep an eye on whatever’s passing by.

Pom pom crab with eggs , Tulamben, Bali © chris@divehappy.com

It’s fantastic to get to see a pom pom crab. It’s super fantastic to get to see a pom pom crab with eggs, carefully protecting them close to her belly

Donut nudibranch , Tulamben, Bali © chris@divehappy.com

One of Tulamben’s signature muck diving finds, the donut nudi – Latin name: Doto greenamyeri – is super small and usually hidden away.

Nudibranch, Tulamben, Bali © chris@divehappy.com

Another nudibranch with a resplendent white dot livery.

Hermit crab, Tulamben, Bali © chris@divehappy.com

A common sight on any reef in Indonesia, hermit crabs are always photogenic value for money.

To close with our favourite critter of the week – could not get enough of these guys.

Your Own Private Dive Guide

As described on the USAT Liberty shipwreck page, we hired Ketut to provide his complete dive service for us – pickup from our villa, tanks and weights, assembly of our gear and assistance into the water (the rocky beaches of Tulamben are treacherous, especially if you’ve got camera gear!), the all-important critter spotting and then drop off back to the villa. He was fantastic throughout the week and a real pleasure to dive with. Contact Made Pesak at Oceanus Tulamben Dive direct if you’re interested in getting a similar service.