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Anemone Reef

📍 Phuket, Thailand

Painted Scallop (Gloripallium pallium) — recorded at Anemone Reef

Anemone Reef is a dive site in Phuket, Thailand. The sea floor at the site position lies at about 29 meters. Currents typically run at 0.6 km/h and reach 1.3 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 1.8 m. Species recorded in the area include Painted Scallop, Indo-Pacific Sergeant Major, Almond Ark, Doublebar Rabbitfish and Rainbow Monocle Bream.

Dive Conditions

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Seabed Depth
29m
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Current
0.6 km/h (1.3)
🌡️
Water Temp
29–31 °C

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Typical Current 0.6 km/h (up to 1.3)
Seabed Depth 29 m
Water Temperature 29–31 °C
Tidal Range 1.8 m (typical daily)
GPS 7.8294°, 98.5570°

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 2.6 degrees across the year.

Monthly sea surface temperature at Anemone Reef (°C)
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
28.8 29.1 29.7 30.7 31.4 30.5 30.1 30.1 29.5 29.9 29.9 29.2

Ocean current at the site runs at a typical 0.6 km/h. In the strongest tenth of the hours modelled for 2024 it reaches 1.3 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 1.8 m over a day, and by up to 2.5 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 0.0 % of days between 2015 and 2024. In no month did this happen on more than 1 % of days.

The seabed directly under the site coordinates sits at about 29 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 temperature29.9 °Cwarmer than 88 % 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 current0.6 km/hweaker than 88 % of the other 375 sites0.9 km/h (27 sites)
Current in the strongest 10 % of hours1.3 km/hweaker than 79 % of the other 375 sites2.0 km/h (27 sites)
Median daily tidal range1.8 mlarger than 80 % 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 7.8294°, 98.5570°. 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.

Painted Scallop (Gloripallium pallium)
Painted Scallop Gloripallium pallium A colourful scallop with a fan-shaped shell, often brightly patterned in red, orange, or purple. It lies on the seabed and can swim by clapping its valves.to 9 cm · 5-30 m · day and nightcoral rubble or hard substrateLook for a slight gap in the shell revealing the mantle edge; a gentle touch nearby may cause it to swim away. (c) Иван Ковтун Ivan Kovtun, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Indo-Pacific Sergeant Major (Abudefduf vaigiensis)
Indo-Pacific Sergeant Major Abudefduf vaigiensis A pale-bodied damselfish with five dark vertical bars, often seen in large, active schools above the reef.to 20 cm · 1-12 m · by dayshallow reef flats, slopes, and piersLook for shimmering schools near the surface, especially around structures like buoys or jetty pilings. (c) Trey Philips, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Almond Ark (Barbatia amygdalumtostum)
Almond Ark Barbatia amygdalumtostum A small bivalve with a dark, roughly textured shell, often found in clusters attached to hard surfaces.to 4 cm · 5-25 m · day and nightattached to rocks, coral rubble, or under ledgesLook for dark, fuzzy patches on reef surfaces; these are often dense colonies of this ark shell. (c) Иван Ковтун Ivan Kovtun, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Doublebar Rabbitfish (Siganus virgatus)
Doublebar Rabbitfish Siganus virgatus A pale yellow rabbitfish with two dark brown vertical bars, one through the eye and one behind the pectoral fin, and numerous small blue spots on the head and body.to 30 cm · 1-25 m · by daycoral-rich areas of lagoons and seaward reefsOften seen in pairs grazing on algae; look for them near branching corals and outcrops. (c) Lisa Bennett, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Rainbow Monocle Bream (Scolopsis monogramma)
Rainbow Monocle Bream Scolopsis monogramma A slender, silvery bream with a distinctive black stripe from eye to tail, often seen foraging over sand.to 30 cm · 1-30 m · by daysandy areas near coral or rubbleWatch for it hovering just above the sand, using its pectoral fins to disturb the bottom to find prey. (c) Lisa Bennett, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
White Damsel (Dischistodus perspicillatus)
White Damsel Dischistodus perspicillatus A robust damselfish with a dark body and a distinctive white patch on the forehead and snout. Juveniles are bright yellow with blue spots.to 18 cm · 1-12 m · by daysandy and rubble areas near isolated coral headsOften hovers just above its territory on the sand, darting back to a specific coral head or rock when approached. (c) Lisa Bennett, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation
Copperband Butterflyfish (Chelmon rostratus)
Copperband Butterflyfish Chelmon rostratus A slender butterflyfish with a long snout, yellow and white vertical bands, and a black eye spot on the dorsal fin.to 20 cm · 1-25 m · by daycoral-rich reefs and lagoonsLook for it probing crevices and coral branches with its long snout, often in pairs. (c) Lisa Bennett, some rights reserved (CC BY) · observation