Potbelly seahorse among sea tulips, Sydney, Australia
This potbelly seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis) has been photographed in the waters of Kurnell, South of Botany Bay in Sydney (Australia).
In this special dive site, tidal currents foster the growth of lush sponge gardens and diverse marine life.
Sea tulips, a local sponge species, grow in abundance there, and come in various colours, including pink, purple, yellow, orange.
Potbelly seahorses, one of the largest seahorse species in the world are also found in this location, often wrapping their tail around sea tulip stalks for stability: sea tulips are these seahorses' most common environment.
Each time I dive Kurnell, I visit the three potbelly seahorses whose territory I know, and check whether they happened to be positioned near a sea tulip of pleasing colour.
That day I saw this orange seahorse attached inside a "bouquet" of pink sea tulips and knew there was a great photographic potential, with the color of the immediate envrionment nicely complementing that of the seahorse.