Komodo National Park is located in Eastern Indonesia and is home to over 1,000 different types of fish species and roughly 260 types of corals! This is why Komodo is known to be one of the top dive sites in the world to explore.
If you’re a big fan of beautiful colourful reefs and swimming through huge shoals of fish, Komodo is a place that you should put on your bucket list.
Have we convinced you to visit Komodo National Park, or do you need a little more convincing? Well here is a guide that we have put together for you about some amazing sea creatures that you will find here in Komodo.
Manta Rays
If you’re a big fan of manta rays, you’re in luck! You can spot mantas at many dive sites across Komodo National Park but are most famously spotted at Manta Point.
The mantas that you will find here are reef mantas. These guys can reach up to 3 meters in length and are found in a black and white colour or all black (we call them ninjas).
Manta season in Komodo is from September to November but can be found here all year round.
Other Rays
It’s not just mantas that you will find in Komodo. Other rays that you may find here are sting rays, marble rays, blue spotted stingrays and eagle rays.
Most rays are found at Manta Point but they are spotted all across the park. The most common ray that you will find is the blue spotted stingray which are found at most of our dive sites.
Reef Sharks
Sharks are a very common find in Komodo National Park and are found at every dive site across the park. There are 4 main sharks that you can find in Komodo which are the white tip reef shark, black tip reef shark, grey reef shark and the bamboo shark. If you’re lucky, you might even get a whale shark passing through, they have been spotted around the park!
If you would like more information on the types of sharks that you will find in Komodo and how to dive with them, visit our blog about sharks on our website.
Turtles
It’s like turtle city here in Komodo National Park! You will find both green turtles and hawksbill turtles all across the park. The most famous dive site for green turtles is Siaba Besar (which we like to call ‘turtle city’). Here you are able to find many turtles swimming and resting in the corals. We guarantee that you wouldn’t leave this dive site saying, ‘where were all the turtles today’?
Octopus
The reef octopus is the most common find here in Komodo National Park. You will find these guys either squished between some rocks poking it’s little eyes out. Or they can be found venturing out, which is always pretty cool to watch.
It’s not just the reef octopus you can find here though. Other octopus that you may come across are the wunderpus, mimic octopus and the blue-ringed octopus! All these types of octopus are pretty rare so if you want the chance to come see one, it’s definitely worth a visit to Komodo.
Cuttlefish
There are two main types of cuttlefish that you will find in the waters of Komodo. The most common cuttlefish that are found are the board club cuttlefish. These guys are the second-largest cuttlefish as they can reach up to a weight of 10kg!
Another cuttlefish you could spot here is the flamboyant cuttlefish. These guys are pretty cool as they are the only cuttlefish that walk along the ocean floor!
Sweetlips
There are many different types of sweetlips that you are able to find across the Komodo National Park. The most common are the oriental sweetlips but you can find a lot of giant sweetlips here too!
Giant Trevally
Giant trevally is spotted in the north of Komodo. These fish have very powerful swimming abilities that allow them to power hunt and usually devour prey in just one bite.
Giant trevally are quite large fish as they can grow to 5 feet in length and weigh up to 80kg! These guys can be found in either a silvery-white or an almost jet-black.
Barracuda
The barracuda is another great sea creature that you can spot here in Komodo National Park. These guys are mostly found in the north of the park and can be spotted in large shoals. Barracuda can range in length from 50cm to 2 meters in length. We have a resident barracuda in Batu Bolong which is roughly 1.5 meters in length!
Clownfish
Oh yes, you can find a lot of Nemos in the waters of Komodo. Clownfish (also known as anemonefish) are one of the most common species that you find in Komodo National Park.
You will usually find the clownfish in and around their anemone. You will never find them swimming too far away from their home even when searching for food. So every time you see an anemone, you know that a clownfish will be home!
Triggerfish
We have many different species of triggerfish roaming about the park. The most common triggerfish that you will find are the titan triggerfish.
Triggerfish are bottom dwellers, you will usually find them rummaging and chucking bits of corals on the ocean floor. They can be quite aggressive, especially when protecting their nest, so it’s always best to observe them from a distance.
Other Fish You May Encounter
On your dives, you might also encounter angelfish, batfish, boxfish, crocodile fish, damselfish, dolphins, dugongs, flounders, frogfish, fusiliers, garden eel, jackfish, lionfish, lobster, mandarin fish, moray eel, napoleon wrasse, needlefish, nudibranchs (many types), parrotfish, peacock mantis shrimp, pufferfish, scorpionfish, sea cucumber, sea snake, seahorse, snake eel, stonefish, surgeonfish, trumpetfish, tuna and unicornfish.
Final Thoughts
There are still many more fish that you will spot throughout the park because like we said, Komodo is home to over 1,000 different fish species!
Have we convinced you enough to visit Komodo? If so, here at Flores Diving Centre we offer daily trips so you can explore all these beautiful sea creatures in the best dive sites the park has to offer. You can find more information on our day trips and the sites we visit on our website.
See you here soon!
