housands of individuals moving as one, turning, twisting and changing direction in perfect synchronisation. It almost feels like watching a single living organism dance through the ocean. 🤿

But have you ever wondered why fish swim in schools?

🐟 Safety in numbers: Staying together makes it harder for predators to target an individual fish.

🧭 Better decision-making: Fish can use information from their neighbours to find food and respond to danger.

⚡ Energy efficiency: Some fish can reduce the energy needed to swim by taking advantage of the water movement created by nearby fish.

👀 The power of synchronisation: Fish react to the movements of their neighbours in fractions of a second, allowing an entire school to change direction almost instantly.

🌊 A greater chance of survival: Grouping together can improve feeding opportunities and help fish navigate their environment.

As a scuba diver, moments like these remind me how incredible the underwater world really is. You can spend hours exploring the ocean, but sometimes the simplest encounters leave the biggest impression.

No noise, no rush, just you, the blue, and thousands of fish moving as one. 💙

More than 120 fish species have already passed from the Red Sea into the Mediterranean.

The route opened with the Suez Canal more than 150 years ago. Since then, tropical fish have steadily entered a sea that once blocked their northward movement.

The next arrivals may no longer be complete surprises.

A model developed by Tel Aviv University researchers ranks Red Sea fish by their chances of invading the Mediterranean. Three species stand out: the stellate pufferfish, cinnabar goatfish, and yellowspotted trevally.

Their scientific names are Arothron stellatus, Parupeneus heptacantha, and Turrum fulvoguttatum.

@mermaid.kayleigh

I love this bit where they are meeting each other

Teahupo'o in Tahiti is by far the wave with teeth but mavericks in Half Moon Bay, California is quite possibly the second....

Looks about 150 and still young

Video credited to @hubermanlab on IG. Source.

This is Tripedalia cystophora, a tiny box jellyfish with 24 eyes but no centralized brain.

In a 2023 study, scientists found that these jellyfish can learn to avoid obstacles by associating visual cues with collisions.

What's fascinating is that this learning happens without a brain like ours.

Here's a breakdown of the study and what the researchers actually found:

https://www.anmlzone.com/can-jellyfish-learn-without-a-brain/

How much of what we call intelligence actually requires a brain?

Two views of the False Bay coast, shared by Garth on 24 October 2026. These are real, unmodified photographs, posted from our Simon's Town guesthouse account with permission.

Made this wacky video a few weeks back. It’s all about the wild world of shrimp. If ya’ll would like to learn something and have a good laugh give it a watch!