For diving, the Gulf of Thailand has some outstanding marine environments, and Pattaya, with its surrounding islands, certainly has its share. We have an abundance of hard and soft corals, countless species of marine life, and some of the only wrecks found in Thai waters.
The Pattaya Bay area is fortunate in that its weather and sea conditions allow year-round diving. Visibility on all types of dives ranges between 6-30 metres depending on time of year, weather, sea conditions and currents (which are usually very mild).
The marine life is extremely varied and quite prolific with clowns, butterflies, tangs, damsels, groupers, snappers, morays and stingrays to name just a few. It is characterized by a noticeable lack of large pelagic. However, these can be found further south along the coastline and often seen on trips to the Ko Chang islands. Whale shark sightings have also been noted on these trips.
Nurse sharks, black tips, blue-spotted rays and turtles are seen on almost every dive. Dive depths vary from 3 metres close to the islands down to 15-18 metres where the coral begins to peter out. Generally, the best and most colourful coral dives take place between 6 - 15 metres. Wreck dive depths are between 18 - 40 metres. (source: dive-sea.com)
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Yellowtail clownfish
Amphiprion clarkii
Tiago Sa Brito (C) All rights reserved
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Clown anemonefish
Amphiprion ocellaris
Levent Konuk (C) All rights reserved
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Pink anemonefish
Amphiprion perideraion
cbpix (C) All rights reserved
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Bluering angelfish
Pomacanthus annularis
Nantawat (C) All rights reserved
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Emperor angelfish (adult)
Pomacanthus imperator
davidpstephens (C) All rights reserved
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Emperor angelfish (juvenile)
Pomacanthus imperator
Nantawat Chotsuwan (C) All rights reserved
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Great barracuda
Sphyraena barracuda
aquapix (C) All rights reserved
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Yellowtail barracuda
Sphyraena flavicauda
Kristina Vackova (C) All rights reserved
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Orbicular batfish (adult)
Platax orbicularis
James A Dawson (C) All rights reserved
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Longfin batfish (adult)
Platax teira
Jung Hsuan (C) All rights reserved
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Moontail bullseye
Priacanthus hamrur
kaschibo (C) All rights reserved
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Fluted giant clam
Tridacna squamosa
aquapix (C) All rights reserved
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Longhorn cowfish (adult)
Lactoria cornuta
Dray van Beeck (C) All rights reserved
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Yellow boxfish (adult)
Ostracion cubicus
stephan kerkhofs (C) All rights reserved
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Yellow boxfish (baby)
Ostracion cubicus
Tiago Sa Brito (C) All rights reserved
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Yellow boxfish (juvenile)
Ostracion cubicus
Stubblefield Photography (C) All rights reserved
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Lined butterflyfish
Chaetodon lineolatus
orlandin (C) All rights reserved
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Raccoon butterflyfish
Chaetodon lunula
Rich Carey (C) All rights reserved
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Copperband butterflyfish
Chelmon rostratus
Ian Scott (C) All rights reserved
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Large toothed cardinalfish
Cheilodipterus macrodon
Levent Konuk (C) All rights reserved
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Tiger cowrie
Cypraea tigris
Vlad61 (C) All rights reserved
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Spectacled box crab
Calappa philargius
orlandin (C) All rights reserved
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Porcelain crab
Neopetrolisthes maculatus
Christophe Rouziou (C) All rights reserved
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Whip coral crab
Xenocarcinus tuberculatus
prilfish (CC: BY)
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Scissortail sergeant
Abudefduf sexfasciatus
orlandin (C) All rights reserved
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Indo-Pacific sergeant
Abudefduf vaigiensis
serg_dibrova (C) All rights reserved
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Blue green damselfish
Chromis viridis
stephan kerkhofs (C) All rights reserved
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Reticulate dascyllus
Dascyllus reticulatus
Jung Hsuan (C) All rights reserved
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Scribbled leatherjacket filefish
Aluterus scriptus
Al@in76 (CC: BY)
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Yellowstripe goatfish
Mulloidichthys flavolineatus
Kristina Vackova (C) All rights reserved
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Freckled goatfish
Upeneus tragula
orlandin (C) All rights reserved
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Peacock hind (stripped appearance)
Cephalopholis argus
stephan kerkhofs (C) All rights reserved
Tags: Marine life, Fish, Coral, Fishcard, Fishslate, Scuba diving, Snorkeling, Underwaterphotography, Uwphotography, Reeflife, MyFishGallery.
Marine life tags: Whale shark, Green Turtle, Hawksbill sea turtle, Titan triggerfish, Clown anemonefish (a.k.a. Clownfish, Nemo), Great barracuda, Yellow boxfish, Bull shark, Ribbontail stingray (a.k.a. Blue spotted stingray), Yellowmargin triggerfish, Orbicular batfish, Malabar grouper, Harlequin sweetlips, Christmas tree worm, Greyface moray, Bearded scorpionfish, Black-blotched porcupinefish (a.k.a. Pufferfish), Nudibranchs.
Locationtags: Pattaya, Gulf of Thailand, Thailand, Diving Pattaya, Diving Gulf of Thailand, Diving Thailand, Marine life Pattaya, Marine life Gulf of Thailand, Snorkeling Pattaya, Snorkeling Gulf of Thailand, Holiday Pattaya.