Sipadan · Malaysia · Wall · Muck & macro
Lobster Lair
Lobsters, frogfish and pipefish on a deep macro wall
Area photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE · CC BY-SA 2.0
Lobster Lair is a Sipadan wall classified as a deep site and dived between 25 and 40 m. The name comes from the lobsters packed into the small cracks in the face, and the same wall holds seahorses, leaf fish, frogfish and pipefish. Current is light to none and visibility runs past 30 m.
Also known as Lobster Lairs.
Where it is and how deep
4.1056° N, 118.6286° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The wall is the site and it is dived deep, between 25 and 40 m, with light to none current. That combination is what makes it work: nothing pushes you past the face, so you can hold in one place and look into it, which is the only way this dive pays. It also means the bottom time is entirely yours to manage, and at 40 m there is not much of it.
The face carries hard and soft coral and is broken by small cracks, and those cracks are the reason for the name — lobsters live in numbers in them. Working slowly along the wall turns up seahorses, leaf fish, frogfish and pipefish, with octopus, triggerfish and pufferfish over the same ground. It is macro diving done at depth, so a torch and settled buoyancy matter more here than they would on a shallow critter site.
Reef sharks are seen out in the blue off the wall and manta rays pass the site, which gives the dive its other half: the cracks in close and open water a metre behind you. Visibility past 30 m makes that easy to watch without leaving the face. Shallow up along the wall as gas allows and hold the safety stop on the upper part of it, where the light current keeps things simple.
Marine life and season
- Macro critters
- Frogfish
- Reef sharks
- Manta rays
- Sea turtles
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Sipadan: Diveable year-round; a slight dip in visibility can occur during the November–February monsoon.
Know before you go
- Macro subjects at 25 to 40 m pull attention away from the gauges — agree a turn pressure and a maximum depth before dropping in and stick to it.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Lobster Lair?+
It is classified as a deep site, dived between 25 and 40 m along the wall, and it is listed for advanced divers despite the light current.
What can you see at Lobster Lair?+
Lobsters fill the small cracks in the wall, alongside seahorses, leaf fish, frogfish and pipefish. Reef sharks are seen in the blue off the face and manta rays pass the site.
Sources
- Lobster Lairs Dive Site — Divezone
- Sipadan Dive Sites — Scuba Junkie
More dive sites in Sipadan
Thousands of barracuda wheeling into a tornado that darkens the sun
Soft coral in pastel lemon and antique rose, and turtles by the dozen
The deep corner, where rare hammerheads pass at 40 m and beyond
Wall
A cracked deep wall under a shallow coral garden
Wall
Barracuda massing on a wall with no bottom in sight
Reef
Large table corals with turtles and whitetips over them
A limestone labyrinth holding the bones of turtles that never found the exit
Wall
Black coral on the wall, resident groupers and turtles
Similar dives elsewhere
Shallow muck over a coral wall that falls to 60 m
Overhangs and ledges worked at macro range
Coral outcrops one side of the village, a wall past 40 m on the other.
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Sea fans and frogfish on a wall, a 150-year-old wreck below