Marine Life when diving in Koh Tao: the perfect partnership

Diving on Koh Tao and Samui Islands presents a lot of symbiotic relations of aquatic life of the Gulf of Thailand.

Everyone knows about symbiotic relations between anemones and clownfish (good example you could see on the dive sites Twins and White rock around Koh Tao), but there is some more interesting partnership between different species under the sea. If you look a little further down on the sandy bottom during your dive at Twins, close to Koh Nang Yuan, you can easily find just perfect partners both of which benefit from their relationship. We are talking about Pistol (snapping) shrimp and Prawn Goby.

The shrimp who builds a burrow in the sand surrounded by shells has very poor eyesight so cannot see any potential danger coming to destroy its well-built home or take a quick bite. The goby uses the shrimp’s burrow for protection from predators and also acts as «eyes» for the gravel-blind pistol shrimp. During the day, the goby hovers above the burrow, feeding and interacting with other gobies. Meanwhile, the shrimp uses its antennae to stay in constant contact with the goby’s tail while searching for food (tiny crustaceans and worms) and maintaining the burrow entrance. If a predatory fish approaches, the goby flicks its tail several times, alerting the shrimp to retreat into the burrow. If the predator comes within striking distance, the goby will dart headfirst into the burrow. During the night dive in Koh Tao, you can see how these two simply rest together in the burrow.
PADI Underwater Naturalist is a brilliant diving course for learning new staff about Koh Tao inhabitants.