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Fan Canyon

Fan Canyon

Tioman Island, Malaysia

Depth
Depth Icon

30m

Visibility
Visibility Icon

8m - 23m

Entry
Boat Entry Icon

Boat

Experience Level

Experienced


About Fan Canyon

This dive site stretches out of Genting Bay on the famous Coral Island and slops down to a maximum depth of around 30 meters. The general dive plan asks to swim along the lower reef edge to about 22m where you will find a beautiful some massive granite rock boulders covered so densely in different soft corals that you can't even see the rock anymore. In between some of those rocks lies Fan Canyon, which got its name from the dozens of gorgonian sea fan corals which cover the side of the rocks. We do not allow divers to swim inside the canyon to protect these fragile corals. At the deeper part of the dive site we find on almost every dive large scorpion fish and dozens of nudibranchs. At 16m there is nice (but narrow) tunnel worth swimming trough because of its thousands of tinny anchovies. From here we swim back into the Genting Bay to do our three minute safety stop at 5m over the beautiful hard coral reef. Fan canyon has some of the greatest variety of nudibranches and flat worms among all dive sites and we still find new ones on almost every dive, so keep your eyes open and your macro lens on the camera. The resident marine life you can find here are angel, puffer, bat fishes, emperors, titan trigger, parrots, butterfly, napoleon wrasse, nurse sharks, stingrays, yellow striped snappers, moray eels and zebra lion fish.

Fan Canyon Dive Info

Terrain & Features

Wall, Reef

Entry Type

Boat

Max Depth

30m

Visibility Range

8m 23m

Experience Level

Experienced

Best Gas Mix

21% – 35%

O2

16% at 28m / 36%

O2
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Marine Life

  • Angelfish
  • Bat Fish
  • Coral
  • Fusiliers
  • Glasfish
  • Gorgonia Sea Fans
  • Green Turtle
  • Large Scorpionfish
  • Lion Fish
  • Napoleon Wrasse
  • Nudibranchs
  • Seasnake
  • Snappers
  • Soft Coral
  • Yellowtail Barracuda
Weather Conditions

Water Temperature
Dive Operators near Fan Canyon

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Location

Dive Site Hazards

  • Unstable Visual Ascents — Relying on wall visuals can destabilise ascents.

  • Gradual Depth Creep — Lack of visual bottom reference can cause unnoticed descent.

  • Unsignalled Downcurrents — Downcurrents can form without visible indicators.

  • Hidden Depth Variations — Complex reef topography can conceal depth changes, leading to unintended profile variations.

  • Distraction from Marine Activity — High fish activity can distract divers and delay depth or gas awareness.

  • Rapid Surge Direction Changes — Surge near reef structures can reverse direction quickly, pushing divers sideways into unexpected areas.

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