Manta Sandy

Manta Sandy is a well known cleaning station dive near Arborek Island in Raja Ampat, where manta rays gather over a sandy patch to be cleaned by small wrasses. Divers typically settle behind rocks or coral outcrops at the edge of the sand to watch the mantas circle overhead without approaching them directly. The site sits over a reef bottom to a maximum depth of around 18 metres and is generally rated a beginner dive, though sightings depend on tides and manta behavior and are never guaranteed on any given visit. Wrasses work the cleaning station alongside the mantas, and divers have also reported butterflyfish, sea turtles, and even ocean sunfish passing through. Currents can pick up around the point, so some local operators still treat it with more caution than the beginner rating suggests.

Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.

• Mola mola (ocean sunfish)Mola mola (ocean sunfish)Reported here · unconfirmed
• Oblique-banded SweetlipsPlectorhinchus lineatusReported here · unconfirmed
• Harlequin SweetlipsPlectorhinchus chaetodonoidesReported here · unconfirmed
• Ribbon SweetlipsPlectorhinchus polytaeniaReported here · unconfirmed
• Onespot SnapperLutjanus monostigmaReported here · unconfirmed
• Humpnose Bigeye BreamMonotaxis grandoculisReported here · unconfirmed
• Golden SpadefishPlatax boersiiReported here · unconfirmed
• Redbreast Maori WrasseCheilinus fasciatusReported here · unconfirmed
• Dot-and-dash GoatfishParupeneus barberinusReported here · unconfirmed
• Manta rayManta rayConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
• ButterflyfishButterflyfishReported here · unconfirmed
• Sea turtleSea turtleReported here · unconfirmed
• WrasseWrasseReported here · unconfirmed