Kathy,
 
I started typing a long response to your Fiji e-mail, but after
two power failures and a computer lock-up, I decided to forget
about it.  Most of what I was going to say has already been
said anyway.  I'll summarize the "dangerous cones" section
for you, though:  Conus geographus is the only truly aggressive
cone, and will sting you in self defense, or just for sport.  Treat
these like they're rattlesnakes, and if you capture one, pin him
down on the reef by the dorsum (wearing good gloves, of course)
and keep his business end pointed away from your body or
your other hand.  Unlike rattlesnakes, they can't really whip
around on you, so you can capture them safely if you are very
careful.  Of the other dangerous ones you've been warned about,
striatus is the other one to really watch out for.  (You WILL find
some of these in Fiji if you look for them, out crawling on the
sand at night, or under coral slabs and blocks on sand flats in
the day time, buried under 1-8 inches of sand.)  They will recoil
into their shells easily if scuffed in the sand a little, but will be
out climbing the sides of the container (or bag) that you put
them in within five minutes.  They will climb to the top, and try
to force their way out of a capture bag.  Though not as aggres-
sive as geographus, they are active enough to make me nervous,
and I have discovered more than once that one has harpooned
another mollusc in my collecting bag.  I'm not sure if this was
an attempt at gathering a meal or simply self defense, but the
only thing I have ever found them eating is small fish...I now
carry a small plastic pitcher with a snap-on lid for these guys.
 
On the light subject, the small headlamps work great, but I'm
yet to find one that will last more than an hour, and changing
batteries in the water is not very practical.  I was given a dive
light last year, and it as good as anything I could ask for.  At
the risk of mentioning brand names, it is the UK400 from
Underwater Kinetics, and is the clear water version with a
slightly wider beam.  It is extremely bright, almost neutrally
buoyant (actually, just barely positively buoyant), very tough,
and works for 7 to 8 hours on four alkaline D-cells!  The only
disadvantage is that it is a bit heavy for use if you're out of
the water just beach walking.  It's a lot smaller than many of
the dive lights, though, so it's fairly convenient to pack.  Every
person who ever used mine went and bought one.
 
You will definitely want to get out at night.  It seems a little
eerie at first, but if you have a good light and stay in shallow
water, you will have a blast.  Deep water snorkelling at night
is mostly a waste of time anyway, unless you're one of those
people who can dive down and swim around for a couple of
minutes.  Eight feet or less seems to be the most productive
area for me anyway, here in Samoa.
 
Have fun, and if you need any other info, please just drop me
an e-mail privately.
 
 
 
 
Don