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Anemone Reef

📍 Phuket, Thailand

White-eyed Moray (Gymnothorax thyrsoideus) — recorded at Anemone Reef

Anemone Reef is a dive site in Phuket, Thailand. The sea floor at the site position lies at about 54 meters. Currents typically run at 1 km/h and reach 2.1 km/h on the strongest days. Water temperatures range from 29°C in January to 31°C in May. The typical daily tidal range is about 1.6 m. Species recorded in the area include Moorish Idol, White-eyed Moray, Indian Redfin Butterflyfish, False Cleanerfish and Greencheek Parrotfish.

Dive Conditions

⬇️
Seabed Depth
54m
💨
Current
1.0 km/h (2.1)
🌡️
Water Temp
29–31 °C

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Typical Current 1.0 km/h (up to 2.1)
Seabed Depth 54 m
Water Temperature 29–31 °C
Tidal Range 1.6 m (typical daily)
GPS 7.6742°, 98.3050°

Data sources: currents and water temperature from Open-Meteo Marine (CC BY 4.0), hourly model values 2024; seabed depth from the GEBCO 2020 Grid, sampled at the site coordinates (grid resolution about 450 m). Tidal range is the median daily range of modelled sea level from Open-Meteo Marine, hourly values 2024. Species observations from iNaturalist, checked against the World Register of Marine Species.

Conditions at Anemone Reef through the year

Sea surface temperature at the site coordinates, averaged per month from hourly model values for 2024. The water is warmest in May at about 31 °C and coolest in January at about 29 °C, a spread of 2.5 degrees across the year.

Monthly sea surface temperature at Anemone Reef (°C)
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
28.8 29.2 29.7 30.6 31.3 30.5 30.0 30.0 29.3 29.7 29.9 29.2

Ocean current at the site runs at a typical 1.0 km/h. In the strongest tenth of the hours modelled for 2024 it reaches 2.1 km/h, which is when entries are normally timed to slack water at the turn of the tide.

The tide moves the water level by a median 1.6 m over a day, and by up to 2.2 m on the largest days of the month. That range drives how much water is exchanged over the reef and when the current turns.

In the open sea off Anemone Reef, the highest wave of the day exceeded 1.5 m on 5.9 % of days between 2015 and 2024. The roughest month was August (19 % of days), the calmest March (0 %).

Share of days with waves above 1.5 m, open sea near Anemone Reef (%, 2015–2024)
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
100046171914800

The seabed directly under the site coordinates sits at about 54 m. This is a bathymetry grid value with a cell size of roughly 450 m, so it describes the depth of the area rather than the deepest point a dive can reach.

How Anemone Reef compares

These comparisons use only the measured values above, set against the 376 dive sites published on findadive.com. A percentage shows the share of other sites with a lower (or higher) value, so it reads the same way wherever the site is.

Anemone Reef compared with all listed sites and with Phuket
MeasureThis siteCompared with all sitesMedian in Phuket
Mean water temperature29.8 °Cwarmer than 81 % of the other 375 sites29.8 °C (27 sites)
Water temperature in the coolest month28.8 °Cwarmer than 80 % of the other 375 sites28.8 °C (27 sites)
Typical current1.0 km/hweaker than 52 % of the other 375 sites0.9 km/h (27 sites)
Current in the strongest 10 % of hours2.1 km/hweaker than 56 % of the other 375 sites2.0 km/h (27 sites)
Median daily tidal range1.6 mlarger than 72 % of the other 375 sites1.7 m (27 sites)

Water temperature, current and tide from Open-Meteo Marine (CC BY 4.0), hourly model values for 2024 at 7.6742°, 98.3050°. Seabed depth from the GEBCO 2020 Grid. Wave statistics from ERA5-Ocean via Open-Meteo Marine (contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2015–2024), daily maximum wave height on a 0.5° grid; land shelter tested against Natural Earth coastlines.

Marine life recorded at this site

Research-grade observations from iNaturalist within about 12 km of these coordinates.

Moorish Idol (Zanclus cornutus)
Moorish Idol Zanclus cornutus A strikingly patterned reef fish with a deep, laterally compressed body, a long white dorsal filament, and bold black, white and yellow bands.to 23 cm · 3-180 m · by daycoral reefs and rocky areasOften seen in pairs or small groups swimming in the water column above the reef, browsing on sponges and tunicates. (c) Carlos Otávio Gussoni, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
White-eyed Moray (Gymnothorax thyrsoideus)
White-eyed Moray Gymnothorax thyrsoideus A slender, pale grey to brown moray eel with small white spots and distinctive white irises. It often holds its head out of a crevice.to 65 cm · 1-40 m · at nightcoral and rocky crevices, often in turbid lagoonsLook for its head protruding from holes; its white eyes are visible in a torch beam at night. (c) Carlos Otávio Gussoni, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Indian Redfin Butterflyfish (Chaetodon trifasciatus)
Indian Redfin Butterflyfish Chaetodon trifasciatus A butterflyfish with a bright yellow body crossed by thin black vertical lines, a black mask over the eyes, and reddish-orange fins.to15 cm · 1-30 m · by daycoral-rich areas of lagoons and outer reefsOften seen in pairs, moving steadily along the reef face while picking at coral polyps. (c) Carlos Otávio Gussoni, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
False Cleanerfish (Aspidontus taeniatus)
False Cleanerfish Aspidontus taeniatus A slender, elongated fish that mimics the appearance and behaviour of the bluestreak cleaner wrasse, with a dark lateral stripe and a pale body.to 11 cm · 1-25 m · by daycoral-rich areas of reef slopes and lagoonsWatch for its distinctive darting swimming motion, unlike the cleaner wrasse's more deliberate, hovering movement. (c) Alicia Christman, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Greencheek Parrotfish (Scarus prasiognathos)
Greencheek Parrotfish Scarus prasiognathos A large parrotfish with a green cheek patch and a blue-green body, often seen grazing on algae-covered reef surfaces.to 70 cm · 3-30 m · by dayouter reef slopes and channelsLook for the distinctive green cheek on terminal-phase males; initial-phase fish are duller and harder to identify. (c) Carlos Otávio Gussoni, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Banded Sergeant (Abudefduf septemfasciatus)
Banded Sergeant Abudefduf septemfasciatus A pale damselfish with seven distinct dark vertical bands on its body, often seen in large, active schools above the reef.to 23 cm · 1-12 m · by dayshallow coral and rocky reefs, especially near surge zonesLook for large, swirling schools in the water column above the reef crest, particularly in areas with wave action. (c) Carlos Otávio Gussoni, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation