Matt's Blog

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Hump Day's contributions...

One of my favorite fish of all time. Peaceful,delicately attractive and busy. They are always sifting the sand in their tank for whatever tid bits of nutrient might be hidden beneath the surface.

Male Tropheus moorii

He is in full breeding color. Pure anger,lust, and determination..with fins.

Distichodus lusosso

I have owned this guy for a couple years. He appears very similar in shape and color to my D. sexfasciatus. He has,however, a longer snout and more subdued coloration. Much like his cousin, he has a terrible temper.

And

Once again...Mr. Photogenic

Yes it is a clumsy process..

I have always had an interest in photography, I'm not sure why. To capture something interesting or beautiful on film has always been one of my interests. I ,as you well may know, have little if any technical abilities. Technical data, millimeter this..ram that...this kinda stuff confuses me ..and clogs my brain.

One of the happenstance meetings I have been lucky enough to encounter is with Matt Wittenrich. He is a PHD student in Marine Bio at FIT, a world renowned pioneer in the breeding of saltwater tropical fish, a professional photographer and an avid fishermen. He uses my bosses fish to take photos of, and creates works of art in the finished application.Here is Witt's website .

I pick his brain about fish photography every chance I get. I could never hope to copy his impressive and artistic work, but I do listen intently when he talks over my head with free advice .

Here is an example of what I have learned...

Photo #1

photo #2:

One of the lessons learned?

Photoshop makes things happen.

And I cannot figure out layers,,,,I just cannot.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Took out my frustrations on a Poor fish....sigh

Do not ever, I repeat, do not ever respond "yes" to this question, "would you like to be moderator on our reef club forum?"

The proper response to such a query ? No thank you, I'm not stupid.

On with the fish torture..

this is the setup...

This is the happy subject

and thus, the struggle continues....

Experimenting with Picture Formats this evening

Ended up with this guy in the Pic's

I know he is a common subject..but he has a certain

Panache

Friday, June 25, 2010

"Giant Tangs" and "Troph's"

What to do on Friday night? Hang out with Giant Tangs !

They are not much on conversation, but they are still entertaining .

The Tropheus are inclined to fight the whole evening, leaving me awkwardly silent.

Monday, June 21, 2010

I'm not sure where this coral starts or where it ends..

This is an SPS coral that a fellow reef club member gave to me after I hosted a meeting a few years ago. It was originally just a chip that I glued to my live rock. Today it is a robust four inches long and as healthy as can be.

Pavona (Cactus Coral)

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Pickerel Rush

I was surprised this morning that my Pickerel rush plant that resides in my pond had flowered. The record cold temperatures Central Florida experienced this winter took a toll on my terrestrial landscaping , as well as my water dwelling pond plants . I was not sure if the damage done was permanent. . Thankfully, a strong return from both domains is occurring.

So I took a couple pictures,,,

click on them to enlarge...

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Saturdays contribution..

This fish is unique because I have not seen another six barred disitchodus of similar size.

I think part of the success I have had with this fish is that the tank is large and the inhabitants are hardy fish with quick maneuverability. They get out of the way every time this temperamental guy gets moody. Scales get lost and the glass tops keep jumpers constrained , but , no serious damage to fins or bodies occur.

The distichodus is the boss, and everyone knows it.

(edit:july 6) I was digging around in my old picture folders and found this pic...

After being mauled a few times by larger fish, this guy carried on to become the beast he is today. He had "ever so humble" roots.

FISE BASE INFO

Friday, May 28, 2010

Labidochromis caeruleus Fry

Here is a another shaky out of focus video......

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Two Minutes of Boulengerochromis microlepis

I have posted pictures of these guys as 2" fry, and as cramped 4" juveniles. They are now 8" juveniles in a new home. More information can be found on them here by clicking Fish Base.

I'm not sure as to what my plan is for the future housing of these fish. They get large, very large. I knew this and forged ahead anyway. Another big tank may be in my, and their, future.

I captured a brief video of them enjoying a snack.

The "scratchy" sound is me digging out more money from my empty wallet to feed them.