These fish have sharp spines with a poison gland on their backs. They serve as a means of defense. If the fish feels threatened, they straighten the spines. In addition, these fish are dangerous because they are hard to distinguish at first glance from the surrounding reef, where they lurk unnoticed for their prey - small crustaceans and fish. A stonefish is often indistinguishable from a stone. That's why you have to be careful not to accidentally step on such a fish and better not touch the reef at all when diving. An interesting species of scorpionfish is called Red Sea Walkman - Inimikus filamentosus. It walks along the sandy bottom using three rays of front fins that look like claws. As a warning, it spreads the colorful pectoral and tail fins, resembling butterfly wings. By the way, this fish is also very poisonous.

As first aid in case of injury, it is recommended to immerse the affected area for several hours in hot water (60°-70°), which denatures the protein component of the poison. And give painkillers, this is a very painful injury. Fatal cases are also known! An inadequate response to pain underwater can be a problem for divers.

Moray eels can inspire respect in us due to their serpentine body shape, their skin is bare without scales and covered with a layer of mucus. Morays do not have pectoral fins, the dorsal and anal fins are connected and form a border along the length of the entire body. The giant moray, which is abundant in the Red Sea, grows up to 3 meters in length. Moray eels do not attack humans per se, nor do they have poisonous teeth or spines. However, if you irritate the moray eel, a painful bite with sharp backward curved teeth may occur. Moray eels live by hunting smaller fish, they go hunting mainly at night, during the day it is possible to see them especially sitting in the holes of the reef.

Like stingrays, we classify sharks as fish. Sharks can be seen most often around reefs in the open sea, where divers can reach on safari boats. It is usually possible to see whitetip oceanic shark, tiger stark and hammerhead shark. Some species hunt turtles and sick dolphins at the surface, these can be considered potentially dangerous. Smaller sharks like whitetip reef shark are usually shy. Shark attacks are not very common in Egyptian part of the Red Sea. We have not received any information about a scuba diver being attacked by a shark around Hurghada. But we do not advise snorkeling with sharks.

There is a risk of injury from a sea urchin, especially when entering the water. Sea urchins live among stones, and the most common injury is the pricking of a black sea urchin's spines into a bare foot. This is a very painful injury, the spines of the sea urchin are very fragile, so it is almost impossible to pull them out of the wound with your own strength. It will take about 3 days for the pain to go away and for the body to absorb the remaining parts of the spines. Immersion in hot water is recommended as first aid. Next, carefully remove the visible spines with tweezers, but be careful, they are fragile and usually part of them remains in the wound. Apply antiseptic solutions or over-the-counter antibiotic ointments. There is a risk of subsequent infection, we recommend that you see a doctor.

Corals themselves pose another danger, which can cause very painful burns that take many days to heal. Also, please do not break corals as souvenirs and do not snorkel over too shallow coral reefs in Egypt. As a first aid, we recommend treating with a weak acid (e.g. vinegar, lemon), scrubbing for a long time. It is necessary to keep the wound clean and dry, and if necessary, give painkillers.