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October 17th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Thanks, just curious. I already have a very full tank. : ) | 
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October 17th, 2008
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| | Fish Lore Newbie
| your plecostomus is beautiful ......WOW | |
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October 17th, 2008
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| | Fish Addict
| GBRs like 80 to as high as ive heard 86
im keeping mine about 82 and they are spawning constantly. | |
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October 18th, 2008
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| | Fish Addict
| Congratulations on your rams! I just love looking at your pictures. They're all so beautiful! | |
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October 19th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| Wow mathas you really got some great shots. Your rams are gorgeous.
Thanks for posting them.  | |
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October 20th, 2008
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| | Fish Addict
| agreed. The Bolivians Rams sure colour up nicely when spawning!! | |
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October 20th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| Your tank looks really nice. I am so envious of your pics. I have so much trouble taking good pics of my tanks. Congrats on your angels and bolivians spawning. That is so exciting | |
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November 4th, 2008
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| | Fish Addict
| Thanks Mathas for sharing all the pictures and details of this truly awesome tank. It is my absolute dream tank. Great photos also. Have you taken any lately? Any eggs hatch? | |
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November 5th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by kacie  Have you taken any lately? Any eggs hatch? | No, I haven't taken any pics lately. Nothing has really changed, and no further spawns (yet!) to capture, so I haven't really bothered.
If any of the eggs hatched, the fry were eaten. I never saw any, but the rams protected their eggs for 3-4 days, then suddenly they were gone. That's kind of what I expect in a community tank, though. | |
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November 5th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| curious whats the approximate size of those two koralia's and what you think of them? i just bought a maxi-jet but am not liking how large it is. very nice aquarium by the way. beautifull photo's.
Last edited by ER9; November 5th, 2008 at 10:10 PM.
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November 6th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by ER9 curious whats the approximate size of those two koralia's and what you think of them? | The smaller one is a Koralia Nano, which is approximately 2" x 3"; the larger is a Koralia 1, which is roughly 2-1/4" x 5". I liked them, but felt the fish were more active without all the extra circulation, so I've removed them from the tank.
They're now waiting for a future saltwater project, if I ever get rich enough to afford a second tank. | |
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November 9th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by mathas The smaller one is a Koralia Nano, which is approximately 2" x 3"; the larger is a Koralia 1, which is roughly 2-1/4" x 5". I liked them, but felt the fish were more active without all the extra circulation, so I've removed them from the tank.
They're now waiting for a future saltwater project, if I ever get rich enough to afford a second tank. | much thanks mathas...i'm definately thinking of getting a nano then. its smaller and more powerfull than mine now. | |
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November 18th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| QUESTION!
Were you using flash 
From the looks of your pictures, I would say no. However, if not, HOW DID YOU GET THEM SO SHARP
My constant issue with photographing fish is that I have to shoot at around 1/10 of a second shutter speed at ISO 1600 so they're ALWAYS blurry. If I shoot at a faster shutter speed, they're grossly underexposed and grainy. My F-stop is usually around 3.2-3.5 .
All the pics are excellent. | |
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November 18th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| I have thoroughly enjoyed this thread. Fantastic planted tank, beautiful angels, love the cories. How inspirational! Kudos to you! | |
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November 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by dancerhas QUESTION!
Were you using flash
From the looks of your pictures, I would say no. However, if not, HOW DID YOU GET THEM SO SHARP | No, I was not using a flash. I eliminate as much non-tank lighting as I can, actually. I wait until the sun goes down, I draw the curtains closed, and make sure all lights in the room and the TV are off.
My shutter speed is normally around 1/20 to 1/30, ISO 80, and aperture settings around F2.7 to F3.5. I think it helps that I have 220W of light over the tank, which combined with the lower aperture setting, is enough light to allow me to use the faster shutter speed and lower ISO setting.
Really, though, it was a matter of playing around with the various settings until I found a combo that worked. If you want to see some truly good pics, look up Slug and Macroman on this forum. Their pictures always make me jealous  | |
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November 23rd, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| would love to see some more pics Mathas and see how your tank is changing. Yours is the best aquarium i have seen. | |
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November 23rd, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| What kind of sand are you using in your tank? It's absolutely beautiful. | |
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November 23rd, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by mathas No, I was not using a flash. I eliminate as much non-tank lighting as I can, actually. I wait until the sun goes down, I draw the curtains closed, and make sure all lights in the room and the TV are off. | Ill have to try that next time. When I take pics of my tank, I always get a big flash or a dark picture
Very was tank BTW | |
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November 23rd, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Mathas,
Your tank is absolutely amazing. 
I am definitely planning my dream tank according to yours!
I plan my dream tank in a 75 gallon tank. What type of sand are you using and do you have to do anything special to keep your live plants healthy in the sand? Right now, I am using Florite, but I plan to get Cories, Loaches, and a Pleco. They won't like the Florite.
I know that Canons are great cameras. I have a friend that uses one and when we compared his pictures to the pictures that the professional photographer took at our friend's wedding, we thought that my friend's pictures were far better than the professional photographer.  Of course, you have to have a good eye as well, to take such beautiful pictures. Very good job!  | |
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November 24th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by SnaKiZe What kind of sand are you using in your tank? | Quote:
Originally Posted by Beeker What type of sand are you using and do you have to do anything special to keep your live plants healthy in the sand? | It's just regular pool filter sand from a local pool supply store. I paid $18+tax for 100lbs of it, and used 80-85lbs worth. As far as "doing anything special", I use Flourish root tabs under the swords and red tiger lotus, and dose Flourish/Flourish Excel/Flourish Iron on a regular basis. I also have a huge colony of malaysian trumpet snails, which help prevent the sand from compacting around any slow-growing roots. Quote:
Originally Posted by jack--sos would love to see some more pics Mathas and see how your tank is changing. | Sure thing! September 4th, 2008  November 24th, 2008 
Lots of aquascaping changes over the past month or so... the jungle val and water wisteria have been removed, several other plants have filled in and/or been relocated.
I also got a good shot of my larger male bristlenose's head a couple of weeks ago, which makes for a good comparison shot on how his bristles have started developing in the three months between the following shots:  
And, of course, I got more pictures of my rams!
Breeding pair approaching an intruding male that encroached on their territory: 
Dominant male(left) challenging the intruder, both are flaring nicely in this shot: 
Last edited by mathas; November 24th, 2008 at 07:04 PM.
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November 29th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Not much new with this update, just more growth on the plecos and another flare-off between two of the male rams.
These first two pictures are of the same pleco, the top picture was taken on November 6th and the bottom picture was taken this evening. Lots of bristle growth for only three weeks! 
The other bristlenose is by far the less-dominant male, I find it interesting that his bristle growth is far less pronounced despite them being added to the tank within a week of one another. Is he less dominant because he grows slower, or does he grow slower because he's less dominant? Or do the two have no relation? 
Dominant male on the left, intruder on the right. One day, I will manage to snap a picture during a lip-lock battle!  | |
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November 29th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Your rams are gorgeous! | |
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November 29th, 2008
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| | Fish Mentor
| Its so pretty.... [drooly smile]
I want it!!! | |
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December 18th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| I noticed there was a lot of aggression from the rams again today, but didn't see any eggs in the normal spot... low and behold, the other female has claimed a territory and laid eggs now! 
I also finally got a picture of a ram spitting sand: 
And finally, here is a malaysian trumpet snail in process of reproduction:  | |
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December 18th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| Great pics! Love the ram spitting sand, that's too cute.
Congrats on the eggs. | |
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December 18th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucy Love the ram spitting sand, that's too cute. | Thanks I've been trying for a shot like that since I got the rams in August, but I never could time it right. | |
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December 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by mathas I think it helps that I have 220W of light over the tank, which combined with the lower aperture setting, is enough light to allow me to use the faster shutter speed and lower ISO setting. |
Whoa, yeah...that's gotta be it, lol. We only have 18-20 watts. | |
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December 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Mathas, beautiful photographs! Your rams are exquisite. Its fun to see your tank evolve. Its true how you have to move plants around. Some are fast growers and in my case some just melt. : ( | |
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December 22nd, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Je55*e | Yes on both counts! | |
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