Ambon is another Indonesia dive destination with world class muck diving. It wasn't always that way. Ambon Bay used to have beautiful coral reefs but dredging and road building with the coral after World War II destroyed fringing reefs. So now days it's all about hunting for the small stuff on sandy rubble reefs. Although Ambon Bay is over 500 metres deep in it's centre there is plenty to see on the shallow fringing reefs which start just below the surface. Visibility ranges from 5-20 metres.
Local guides around Ambon are excellent at finding all the cool stuff underwater. They have the regular places where they know to find critters but they also know the eating and habitat characteristics of each species so if you have a particular desire to see, for example, a fingered dragonet, there is a good chance that your guide can find it for you.
Some of the more interesting fish life to look for are ringtail cardinalfish and cockatoo waspfish. Frogfish are common but divers need good eyes to spot them as they are excellent camouflage artists, often being overlooked as just another sponge. Clown frogfish are particularly colourful.
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