Phuket Dives: Anemone Reef

As the name suggests, Anemone Reef (or Hin Jom as it is known in Thai), is literally covered in magnificent anemones which play host to a variety of anemonefish and clownfish, but a dive at Anemone Reef is more than just pretty anemones.

This submerged rock is located less than a mile north of Shark Point. The top of the pinnacle is around 3m, and slopes down to around 25m where there is a sandy bottom.

You can often see leopard sharks resting down here, also look out for Kuhl's stingrays, bent-stick pipefish and peacock mantis shrimp. On the pinnacle are some huge gorgonian seafans, lots of whip coral, and the soft corals are beautiful! Have a look inside the barrel sponges - you can sometimes see big bearded scorpionfish chilling out in there. There are plenty of macro things to look for here too - cleaner shrimp, coral banded shrimp, durban dancing shrimp, different kinds of nudibranc's and flatworms, tigertail seahorses, and ornate ghost pipefish.

This site is covered in moray eels too, have a look for honeycomb, zebra, fimbriated, giant, white-eyed and snowflake morays.

There are big schools of fish that like to hang out - lots of snapper, grouper and fusiliers, also look out from the pinnacle you can often see schools of big fin reef squid. Soldierfish gather together in crevices or under overhangs, and there are plenty of common and spotfin lionfish. Also keep an eye out for the hawksbill turtles which are often seen here.

This is a pretty small site so take your time as much as possible. If there is current present, you may stick to one side of the pinnacle to shelter and then zig-zag your way to the top which is a perfect depth for your safety stop at the end of your dive :)