“Piss off diver.”

Never imaged seeing Nemo about three inches away from my scuba mask. Giving me the stink eye. Poised for attack.

That’s what happened near Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia during a dive in August.

Usually, the Nemos, Marlins and company are hiding in the anemones, weaving and bobbing and refusing to sit still for photos.

Not this guy and his identical twin. They were determined to drive me away by buzzing my mask. Forcing me to back up. Bold thugs protecting their anemone.

Hilarious.

These clownfish weren’t the orange Nemo-type we’re used to seeing. These were Yellowtail Clownfish. According to Google, their temperament is“semi-aggressive”. You can say that again.

I don’t touch marine life, but these brutes were cruisin’ for a bruisin’! Good thing I always carry a pointer, which in this instance, came in very handy. A couple of waves of my ‘sword’ in their direction and off they went to regroup.

Thankfully, for me, I had my camera to record the event. Thankfully, for them, we quickly moved on with our dive.