General Aquaria Discussion • Some Pics

[Eric_S]

Phenomenal pics! Curious how that new flash makes such a difference in clarity and detail. Can you provide a little detail to what the benefit is and how you are using it? Are those last pics using the same lens as the prior pics? Thanks!

[GTZ]

Thanks everyone. I'm going to take more shots tomorrow, I've been out of commission last night and today since coming down with a nasty cold.
Camera set up is the same using the same lens. I usually shoot f13 or higher for deeper depth of field. For the shots in the latest post I just put the flash on top of the glass tops aimed downwards and adjusted the output until it meshed with what I had for ISO, aperture and exposure. I haven't touched the zoom feature yet and don't know if it will make any difference. Those shots were mostly 1/160, ƒ/20,ISO 400 and the lens is a 90mm Tamron macro f/2.8. I'm blown away by how much sharper and in focus the images are. Until now, I've never really been happy with the D3100 and have been shopping for a D7100. A new camera has now been put on hold.

[gazguildford]

Great pictures!

[Eric_S]

Thank you very much for the info GTZ. Nice work.

[GTZ]

Glad I could help, Eric, thanks.

[scully]

Do you keep your white tops hara in a species only tank? I just bough an group 3" males and 2 1/2" females, 2M and 4F, and have then with two other species in a 55 gallon and they show no signs of breeding. Curious if they are timid fish and don't breed well with other fish around? I have them with 5 Hongi SRT 1M 4F and Elongatus Boadzulu 1M 4F. Any advice is appreciated.

[GTZ]

I have them with Metriaclima sp. 'elongatus chewere' and Labidochromis caeruleus. If I remember correctly, they were in the tank for about 2 months before the first spawn. Ratios aren't ideal at 3m:3f, however.
I find them to be fairly boisterous fish. I tried them species only but with those ratios, there was far too much male on female aggression, so I added 2 adult chewere along with another 4 or 5, 2" juvies, then added 5 adult labs. The male lab and hara duked it out for a day or so with the dominant hara triumphing as tank boss.
The hara keep to themselves for the most part but I feel that the other fish add a needed distraction for the males.
Holding females are aggressive defenders of their territory against other fish (apart from the dominant male hara).
Hope this helps!

[shelbynjakesdad]

My male Hara is the undisputed boss of my tank as well. I keep them with Metriaclima sp "Msobo" and Iodotropheus sprengerae. The male Hara is the most aggressive fish in my tank, the females are very mild. It took them a long time to start spawning in my tank, something like 6+ months... but I bought them quite small.

[Iggy Newcastle]

Insane detail on those shots. Awesome!

3:3 is better than the 5:1 you originally thought, right?

[GTZ]

Thanks, Iggy. Yes, I had it confirmed eventually through holding at 4:2, then bit the bullet, pulled them all into a bucket and started venting.
3:3 as far as I can tell but the 3rd female has yet to spawn, so now I'm doubting my venting ability. It doesn't help that I can't find one of the vent pics.
I'm amazed at how male females can look at times. Sub dominant males are dead ringers for females also.

[TheJ0kerrr]

F,M,F?,M?,F

Just testing my venting skills here...what did you come up with?

[GTZ]

That's what I concluded as well.

[GTZ]

More pics...

Hara in Spaaaaaace!




Heavy background edit here


Dropped the water level for an interesting effect

[GTZ]

It's been a while. Stupid job.

[Iggy Newcastle]

It has been awhile, slacker...

Awesome photos. So crisp