NUDIBRANCH at Um El Faroud, Wied iz-Zurrieq
Um El Faroud has been scuttled in 1998 as artificial reef.
Until an explotion on board in 1995, it served as refined fuel transportation vessel. The wreck broke into two parts during a heavy storm in the winter of 2005-2006. The overall length of the ship is about 110m and average depth around 30 m. A very interesting dive in double-tank configuration
Nudibranch pick up smell from their environment with their rhinophores. A lot of sea slugs have sensory organs around their mouths.
We encountered many nudibranches. Most of them were the beautiful pink sea slug – a quite common nudibranch around Malta.
Nudibranches mainly feed on sponges, on hydroids and bryozoans. They can also be cannibalistic, preying on their co-specifics or eating different sea slugs and their eggs.
When nudibranch eat, they absorb and show their prey’s colour! Some nudibranchs also absorb venom from their prey and use it to defend themselves.
Dive-center: Waterworld Malta https://www.waterworldmalta.com/
Location: Um el Faroud
Gear used: Tecline
Nudibranch, their rhinophores and their prey (Hydroid)
