Cuttlefish, Okinawa Japan

When I was in diving in Okinawa, Flamboyant Cuttlefish were not that common to see but certain times of the year, they would come out.  I believe in the later fall going into winter, the Flamboyant Cuttlefish would come out in numbers where you could see four or five in one dive.  This was only exclusive to certain spots of Okinawa, of course.   I primarily dove on the west coast of Okinawa.  This area had easier access points to water for divers and the current was more predictable.  Flamboyant Cuttlefish were primarily nocturnal here. When I went out on night dives, I would wait to get into the water about an hour after dark. I wanted to wait for them to start hunting and moving around before I started to get into the water.  Getting to the dive spots with my dive partner when the sun was just setting gave us just the right amount of time to get our gear on and start our entry.  I would notice flamboyant cuttlefish near rock formations and very rarely out in the open ocean and just walking on the sand.  When I would spot one, I would quickly move to red light.  This helped me get closer to them without scaring them away.  They could still feel your presence with the red light because they would start changing colors.  They were warning you to stay away.  This is when you wanted to take the shot.  Just when you were inches away, they displayed all kinds of bright colors.  This one looked like an orchid or bright flower.  You could stay with flamboyant cuttlefish for several minutes if you kept your red light on.