MoliroMan Posted February 25, 2006 Author Share Posted February 25, 2006 Hi Ben, Great looking ikolas! And fry already. I was talking to Jim and he said something that was very interesting. He said that everyone can keep tropheus but only a few are able to keep a healthy colony of tropheus where there is never a time a female isn't holding. Looks like u have a healthy colony!!! I will need to get some fry from u soon! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrdog Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 Well, I can feel happy that there is very rarely a time when there isn't a female holding in my colony . There's 3 holding right now. Only trouble is that they aren't holding to term at the moment . Jamie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoliroMan Posted February 25, 2006 Author Share Posted February 25, 2006 jamie...i think your MOOPs are very healthy. In time they will learn to hold for longer. Maybe u are not feeding them enough and they are munching on their eggs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 Jamie, How long do they hold for? If it is only a few days then keep the tank well feed and when they do spawn don't feed for a few days and then start to feed little bits here and there till you can't stand it any longer and then strip them. :lol: Are you letting them spit in the tank or are you stripping them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrdog Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 Dave- thanks mate, I think they are healthy too . I was thinking the same thing about the food. I have actually just recently upped their food. I may be imagining it, but I think my colony has had a little growth spurt. My wife also commented that she thinks they look bigger. We'll see if that makes a difference. Ben- I let them spit in the tank. I have 11 juveniles that were spat a few months ago, since then I have only seen two that were swiftly munched. They seem to hold for one to two weeks. There is of course the possibility that they are being spat and munched by the other fish. Thanks for your concern guys, will keep you posted . Jamie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrdog Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 Just an interesting pic I took . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoliroMan Posted March 1, 2006 Author Share Posted March 1, 2006 Great Shot Mate! Very creative indeed. That sunspot looks almost golden. Are they lining up on the rock waiting for a feed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrdog Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 Thanks Dave, they were just chillin' out at the end of the day. Jamie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoliroMan Posted March 9, 2006 Author Share Posted March 9, 2006 Haven't posted any pics here for a while. Here is a pic that i asked Monique Lunn for of her breeding colony of Tropheus Murago. I hope she doesn't mind me posting it. Hopefully, she will send me more pics in the future to post here. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrdog Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Gotta love those dotty faces . Jamie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Apart from the dub's, these guys have the cutest babies Nice fish Monique. Andrea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fman Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 Here are some of Andrea's Tropheus sp. I'm sure Andrea will ID them. Apologies, I'm not 100% sure whether the colours are spot on: Cheers, Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 love that first pic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoliroMan Posted March 13, 2006 Author Share Posted March 13, 2006 Frank...tropheus are one of the hardest fish to photograph since they never stay still long enough!!!! Please share with us the techniques u used to make these pics look so amazing! I heard u use an external flash. Do u place it above the tank? What ISO, f-stop, shutter speed did u use and was it tripod mounted? I must say they are the best looking Tropheus Iotas i have ever seen! I luv the purple tinge seen on the base of the fins. Keep them coming! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fman Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 It enjoyed taking the shots. It was pretty much trial and error (lots of error!), but I did manage to walk away with a few keepers. Most of the shots were taken at f10 to f14. I used aperture priority, which gave me a shutter speed of around 1/60 to 1/100 second (a little too slow I think). I used ISO 200 sensitivity. My lighting was via on-board camera flash with Kleenex diffuser. Secondary flash was hand-held - Andrea held the flash it at 45 degrees to the front of the tank (she's still seeing spots!). I'd like to try a few variations - faster shutter speed with smaller aperture, and place the second flash above the tank. Your picture is "flashed out" - if you shoot at 90 degrees to the tank, you get the flash right back at you. Just angle the camera a little (not too much ) to the glass until you dont get the flash-back. I didn't use a tripod - too cumbersome. If you use a shutter speed of 1/60 sec or higher, you should be OK. with fast moving fish, just pick a spot, focus on it (shutter button half depressed) and wait for the fish to come into view, then click. A lot of it is luck and patience. If you try chasing these guys around, you'll get pretty frustrated. HTH Cheers, Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrdog Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 Awesome stuff man . Jamie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoliroMan Posted March 13, 2006 Author Share Posted March 13, 2006 I can just picture Andrea holding the flash in position, must have been hilarious to watch!! At such high apertures u need a lot of serious light!!!! Also i try to use a shutter speed of at least 1/200. The ISO of 100-200 is OK as long as u can create enough light. Great pics for your first tropheus shots. Would luv to see more! I have tried having the flash above the tank and found it gives the best results. I also leave the aquarium fluorescent light on as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fman Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 Yes, I thought so too, however, the onboard flash on my camera seems to adjust its intensity according to the apperture and shutter speed settings. I've just taken a few pics at f22 and 1/125 sec - exposure fine. I dropped down to f32, and that's when I started to need to reduce shutter speed. HTH Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoliroMan Posted March 19, 2006 Author Share Posted March 19, 2006 Hi Troph Fans! I had the privilege and pleasure to visit Jim this weekend where i saw his awesome new colony of wildcaught Ndole Red Fluorescent Tropheus! I must say they look every bit as red and fluorescent as their name implies!! I didn't have much time but was able to take some photos which i think were quite hopeless and does not in anyway demonstrate the true beauty of this amazing tropheus variant. Maybe he will allow me time to visit again for another try? Holding Female (awfully out of focus!) - i couldn't keep still because my heart was racing!!! Enjoy! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoliroMan Posted March 19, 2006 Author Share Posted March 19, 2006 Some more pics! My Wildcaught Golden Kazumba male showing off to the girls! Male Erethmodus cyanosticus (anyone interested in these cute guys? I am trying to get in some wildcaughts with Nigel's next shipment?) Enjoy! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoliroMan Posted March 19, 2006 Author Share Posted March 19, 2006 Here is a new variant of tropheus i was looking at importing!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrdog Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Nice work Dave and very creative . Good to see some of your pics again. Jamie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wormboy Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Here is one of my bubby moliros starting to get a bit of colour...finally. It is not one of the dominat individuals but probably has the best red colouration -Mat- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoliroMan Posted March 20, 2006 Author Share Posted March 20, 2006 looking great Mat!!! How many of them are colouring up at the moment. I found some individuals especially dominant males tend to show the best colours! How big are they now? Are u adding salts and buffers to the water? Keep posting pics! thx Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wormboy Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Thanks Dave. They are all between 1.5 and 2in now, two maybe pushing 2in+. It's funny, one of my dominant males is colouring red really well but the other (number 2 in pecking order) is predominantly black with red tinges and a red streak near the tail like some of the other moliro pics I have seen. I've put it down to individual differences in fish quality . I initially lost one of my bubs so I have 9 now, where the one went i have no idea but I think i lost it when I shifted the tank from one room to the other. Of the remaining 9, I have 3 what I would call potentially exceptional colours, another 3 good colours and the last 3 fairly average as far as red goes. The latter 3 all still have a fairly strong juvie banding pattern and are the smallest so they may improve yet. They will be going into the 8fter in maybe 2 months so I cant wait. BTW Dave, did you see my other thread "link"? Nobody seems to want to give me any advice. Oh yeah, no salts of buffers, just aged water with Prime. My tap water comes out at about pH 8 so I dont feel the need to play with it too much, particularly because they are tank bred Ts not the finickey WCs. I don't believe that this influenced my loss at all because I saved the best part of the tank water and put it back in with minimal new water (25%) compared to my usual weekly/fortnightly 50% changes -Mat- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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