Tim's macro pics & more

[DutchFry]

Hi all!

recently i bought a new lens for my EOS 400D camera, it's a Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 macro USM!

so now i will show you some of my best macro pictures. i'm also on the look out for tips and trics about photography in general and macro photography in particular.

first up is my Panaque sp. L204, i also have some questions about this little bugger.

dental works of the Panaque, i'm wondering, his left barbel (to the right, on the pic) seems to be splitting in 2 or even 3 'sub barbels' ? why is this? do i need to worry about him?



next issue, i noticed some red area's on his belly, next to where the pelvics join the body. again, what is this? do i need to worry? there's lots of wood in the tank and i feed him several veggies, not so much meaty foods, is this a digestion problem? he seems to be pooing very well...



up close



spikey tail showing it's surely a male



pelvic ray



genital area



next is my Chaetostoma milesi. i really love this one, so much character he has! also i like the golden sheen running along his flanks to the tail.



he loves his veggies but comes out for bloodworms now and then.



I'm the proud owner of three L010a Rineloricaria sp, one male







and two females





I'm trying to breed these, but it isn't going so well. any hints and trics on this matter will be greatly appreciated.

Anentome helena close up



can you see it's eyes?



that's all for now. i will revisit this topic when i have new pics to show you all.

oh and this, winter is almost over, spring is coming!!

[Haavard Stoere]

I really enjoyed your pictures. Thanks

One week ago I stole a trio of L10a from a friend of mine (yes! sometimes I steal fish, but only from close friends). I really like them and hope to breed them some day. Let us know if you manage to breed them.

[DutchFry]

Thanks Haavard, i'm glad you like them!

if i manage to breed the L010a i will surely tell you all. a friend of mine did breed these, and she didn't do anything special for it. she had 5 of which 2 were male in a juwel rio240 with no heater at all, so the temperature varied between 19 and 25 degrees Celsius. they spawned many times and i believe she has about 60 youngsters!

is there anyone who could answer my questions about my L204? thanks in advance!

Tim

[Haavard Stoere]

When you study fish in such detail you often find small abnormalities like that. Most are insignificant and some are real deformities. I would call the split barbel insignificant and harmless.

[DutchFry]

that's true!

well that's one worry less! thanks again Haavard!

now for the reddish belly, could that be a digestion problem, or is this too insignificant and harmless?

i'm trying to get some macro pics of my Akysis pulvinatus but they are so fast and never lay still for a second! also i'm trying to make some pics of my Hara jerdoni but they almost never show them selves!

but i'm sure, with patience and timing, those pics will emerge in this topic sooner or later

[Haavard Stoere]

I will have a look at my own L204s to compare the redness.

[andywoolloo]

really well taken pictures, thanks for sharing. The one with the hairy tail is really cool!

[Richard B]

Nice lens!
Very good pics - i look forward to seeing the Akysis

[bslindgren]

Looks to me like you could give advice on photography! Very nice!

[DutchFry]

andywoolloo, Richard B and bslindgren, thanks a lot!

today i had my chance photographing the Akysis in my aquarium. i have this chance every day during feeding time, when they race about and act all catfishy the rest of the day they lay under rocks, waiting for food to come by.

i had my chance, and i failed miserably again! but on the bright side, i did manage to take a nice shot of Hara jerdoni, you can just see a bloodworm disappearing in it's mouth!



i'm not giving up that easily. i will try to take some macro shots of the Akysis every day during feeding time. until then, here are some pics which i made with the standard kit lens of my EOS 400D camera:







action picture!



and again one bonus picture! a friend of mine loves Lego and Star Wars, he collects everything about it! it's the Emperor together with his partner in crime Darth Vader, who's about to say "I find your lack of faith disturbing"

[Haavard Stoere]

I tried to compare the belly of your fish with mine. My fish did not have the same redness. I have no idea what it is or if it is harmfull.

[DutchFry]

thanks for comparing, Haavard!

i think i know why his belly is somewhat red. he digs a lot, seems to be really enjoying himself with that! and he digs so agressively that the sand is flying everywhere!

i noticed the belly getting more red after he dug a hole under a piece of wood. so i think the sand i have in my tank is not smooth enough! i use the kind of sand that construction workers use to make cement. don't no the english word for that, masonry sand perhaps?

does this sounds plausible?

[Richard B]

It might be called "sharp sand" as this is used in building work. Clearly the name suggests it's unsuitability for aquaria.

[andywoolloo]

lol I love your extra pics!

[glenny]

hello Tim!

I know the pics, but they're much better on this site!!

greetings!

Glenn

[MatsP]

It might be called "sharp sand" as this is used in building work. Clearly the name suggests it's unsuitability for aquaria.

UK sharp sand, as the name suggests, is not suitable for aquarium use. However, it is also not the type of sand used for mortar. In mortar, you should use "soft sand" or "building sand", which is different from "sharp sand". I woudln't personally use either - both are far from guaranteed to be free of calciferous material which affects hardness (although of course, they are not stated to contain it either - it entirely depends on the source of the sand - in countries were the ground is not high in chalk [such as in Sweden], it may be fine to use sand sold for building purposes).

Silver sand is a material available in the building trade, which is a siliica-sand, which IS suitable for aquarium use. This is a very light variant of the same basic type of sand sold as "play-sand" - the lightness/darkness/colour is based on "contaminants", and as long as the contaminants aren't soluble in water [usually they aren't if the sand is from a natural source rather than ground down larger chunks of stone - these are also unsuitable as they generally are "sharp"]. Silica sand is chemically Silicon oxide, SiO2, and one of the most prevalent compounds on the surface of this planet.

--
Mats

[DutchFry]

Still no Akysis pics....

But i have a nice photo of Otocinclus vitattus to show you!



oh and by the way, i think the sand i'm using is just fine, as you can probably see in this picture. it's very fine, not sharp and isn't raising the hardness of the water as my parameters are nice and soft. it's just that the L204 digs harder than he should, i guess...

[DutchFry]

About three years ago i bought 7 Hara jerdoni. last year five of them suddenly died, and now i have two left. one of the two is my favourite. his pectoral fin is broken, and because Hara jerdoni fly along the glass at night, i called him Broken Wing.

i don't get to see much of them, but last night there he was, the little bugger.

look at the cute face of my precious Broken Wing



El Monstro loves his shrimp!



and after he ate he always sits on the glass to 'digest'



and i wanted to share with you, my lovely princess Apistogramma borellii



and of course, such a beautiful princess must have a stud prince!



isn't he a beauty?

thanks for watching

[DutchFry]

finally! Akysis pulvinatus pics!

sadly, the Akysis pictured below was resting in a corner of the tank, between some Saggitaria subulata, where my tripod didn't fit... so these are made without tripod.... enjoy!



a bit closer



different angle



incredibly nice catfish imo!!

also i have a nice shot of L010a female, covered with sand



and my Panaque is lovin' the wood!



thanks for watching again!

[Richard B]

Finally Akysis! really great shots

[DutchFry]

many thanks, Richard!

[DutchFry]

last week i had the privilege to watch a Corydoras adolfoi hatch from its tiny egg!

i made a somewhat poor shot of this event!

[andywoolloo]

whoa amazing! ((clapping))

[Jools]

whoa amazing! ((clapping))

At the risk of sounding trivial, whoa amazing x 2. That's a great shot and should be in the catelog...

Cheers,

Jools

[racoll]

The redness on the L204 looks internal, and pretty normal to me. If the fish is behaving normally, I wouldn't worry.

I like the pics too by the way.

[vince0]

Your pictures are amazing! I love the level of detail in everything, good job!!

[DutchFry]

wow, thanks for the positive feedback!!

and Jools, i will send in the pic. actually, i will send in some extra pics i already selected, one of which is Ancistrus sp. L111, there are currently no photo's in the catelog of L111!

racoll thanks for those words! I'm happy to say the L204 is acting perfectly normal. especially since i moved my giant Pterygoplichthys pardalis to a big tank which measures 300cm x 100cm x 100cm the L204 is really happy now, moving through the whole tank and eating like never before. he used to be bullied by the big common, but fortunately, those days are over

[glenny]

Hello Tim! That's a beautiful hatch to see! great picture!

[DutchFry]

It's been a while since I posted some pics in this topic, so here we go!

I've bought a new lens, the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM. this is a nice lens with image stabilisation! this is a sweet feature, helps a lot, you can shoot without tripod on 300 mm and still get sharp images.









































thanks for watching

[andywoolloo]

great pictures! what is the buffalo kinda creature with long hair in his eyes and horns and what is the bird with the green fur and black beak and red head?