This little story happened in the Maldives. I had a prize trip and I rested with my wife not on a dive safari and hotel. It was on the southern Ari atoll. In the same area I dived.
Coral reefs in the area were from the bottom and slightly inaccessible atolls. They are called "tilla". Dives look approximately the same - descent to the base, in the area of 30-40 meters and the subsequent smooth ascent.
Large animals are usually found at depth. And closer to the surface you can see schooling fish, turtles and many coral formations. At that time, everyone was just about the same. We descended about 30 meters between two large coral bumps. And already were going to swim further, when the bottom section next to me moved.
It turned out to be a large stingray. It was about a meter and a half in diameter. When he lies on the bottom among the stones, it is not easy to notice the slope. Even such a large
But when someone swims, the ramp begins to show signs of anxiety. Raises and prepares to swim away quickly. But this time everything turned out differently.
I will say that this is the first time I've encountered such a phenomenon. At first I thought that he was going to leave me as usual. He began to swell and rise above the bottom. Although the edges of the mantle did not come off him. Then he started to lift the turbidity, and it looked like a ready to start!
But then ... then he did it - it was most like a brainwave))
Of the gills that are very good in the skates associated with the ears flew a jet of water with sand! Such a white cloud is like steam! Type well, you got me photographers))
But in fact it was just cleaning the gills. So that's it ...))
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My equipment: Canon 5Dmk2 + Canon 15mm fish eye + Nexus underwater housing+ 2 Inon 240strobes.
More details about my underwater setup: https://steemit.com/@narchuk/me-and-my-equipment
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[//]:# (!steemitworldmap -0.647866 lat 73.196813 long Brainwashing history d3scr)