It's good to be back in Aquarius. This is my second mission this year and 7th overall. I'm scheduled to do another one in November. Too much fun!

Last night I did an incredible 2 hour night dive. AFTER scrubbing some habitat valves and piping (the bosses read this, too) I went reef roaming. The critters were amazing. I was in at dusk, so I was able to observe the changing of the guard, where the day feeders go into hiding and the night predators come out to feed. I ended up in a swirling mass of jacks. There were a couple of hundred of them - Bar jacks and Horse-eye Jacks. They were swimming in a circle around me. Half going one way and the other half going the other. What a sight!

I watched a Basket Star (one of my favorites) unwrap from his perch on a sea fan. They tighten into a small ball during the day and then spread out to feed at night. Fun to watch.

The visibility was not great which means there's lots of plankton in the water. The payoff is a brilliant display of bioluminescence. As I swam, my fins left a glowing contrail behind me. I laid on my back for a bit and watched my rising bubbles glow in the dark as they disturbed some unknown plankter. The copepods were out in force. They emit a bright neon blue inky swirl. I've been told that different species of Copepods give off a different pattern. Incredible for a creature the size of a pin head.

I saw 3 types of sea cucumber. The unfortunately named (but accurate) Donkey Dung Sea Cucumber, Three-Rowed Sea Cumber and the Tiger Tail Sea Cucumber. The Tiger Tail is interesting because they keep their tail inserted into a coral cave or whole, which they retract into if disturbed. I left him to his detritus dinner and did not disturb him. I can see this guy from our bunkroom viewport at night, so it was nice to meet him in person.

Other highlights included a trio of hovering reef squid and a brilliant Blue Parrotfish hiding in a reef crevice with a spiny lobster. Where's a camera when you need it! As I was swimming back to the habitat with my light off, I disturbed a 4 foot Nurse Shark. Who needs Discovery Channel Shark Week? I was living it!