Ron's "Studio" ala Killie Photo Tank
No fish will ever keep still long enough for you to take that shot and unimaginable, if the subject is in a big tank!
It's like chasing down kids who can't keep still... like me!
Killifishes are beautiful and the previous pictures that I have taken don't
do them justice. The end results are plagued with 'dirty' shots... of algae
on tank walls and detritus on the tank's floor, reflections of scratchy plastic
tanks OR it just doesn't look presentable.
Having a short fuse and a pathetic lack of patience doesn't help either !!
So I checked up on the Web and asked around in forums... and this is basically
what I came up with and it provide some very AOK pics!
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I bought this little glass tank for about S$7, I think, and it's very nicely made with bevel-polished finishing.
Tank size is 6"L x 4"W x 6"H.
Cut up a scrap piece of thin plexiglass and fitted it to the long-side of the tank.
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Top view.
The cut plexiglass panel is placed about 1" away from the front glass.
A little gravel is poured in so that the pics will look a little more "natural".
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Java moss is placed in the rear portion of the tank to provide a background or backdrop, and water is slowly filled in.
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Side view.
It isn't necessary to fill the water to the brim... the more room these fishes have, the more they'll swim around!
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The following are somewhat nicer pics of the killies I'm maintaining. Will upload other species when time allows.
Aphyosemion australe "Chocolate"
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Aphyosemion australe "Orange"
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Aphyosemion australe "Gold"
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Aphyosemion australe
Orange "Spotless"
Not taken in photo tank
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Aphyosemion striatum
Not taken in photo tank
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picture not available yet
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Aphyosemion bitaeniatum Ijebu Ode
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Aphyosemion bitaeniatum Ijebu Ode
Pair
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Aphyosemion bitaeniatum Lagos
I've not taken the Lagos pics in the Photo Tank but there're older pics found here.
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xp
Aphyosemion bivittatum Funge
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picture not available yet
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Simpsonichthys magnificus
"Itacarambi" B7
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Simpsonichthys constanciae, male
"Barra de São João"
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Simpsonichthys constanciae, female
"Barra de São João"
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Fundulopanchax filamentosus
Not taken in photo tank
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Fundulopanchax amieti
young male
Not taken in photo tank
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picture not available yet
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xp
One of my fave... the Clown Killie
Epiplatys (Pseudepiplatys) annulatus | 
Aplochelius kirchmayeri
common name: Goa Killie
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picture not available yet
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Although the A200's macro was nice, it wasn't powerful enough... and the
digital zoom really sucks! I experimented taking some pics with the camera
lens sitting over a stereoscope and the results wasn't too bad.
I call it my 'Egg Page'.
I'm
a night person and I work nights. Of course that doesn't help when there's
insufficient light, even for the camera's auto-focus to kick in. To help
it along, I placed a head-worn light (ok... so I look like a coal miner!)
over the tank and when the fish swims near or under it, aim and shoot! The
additional light also aid in composing the shot and can possibly be used
for 'special effects' too (but I'll try it later!)
Camera used;
I purchased the Canon PowerShot A200* based on the decent reviews at DPreview and Steve's DigiCams.
The plus point with this model is the very close macro focusing of only
5 cm or about 2 inches, and macro resolution was the best in it's price bracket.
At 2.0 Megapixel, it's more than ample for simple web work (and I ain't no IT bloke!)
* The A200 has since been superseded by the A300 which offers higher resolution and a few more features.
The settings I used;
Manual program on Auto White Balance and at ASA/ISO 50.
Macro Mode and focusing at Macro: 5 cm - 20 cm.
Exposure compensation at -1/3.
Compression at 'S'... or least compression to preserve pixel quality.
Resolution at 1600 x 1200 pixels (largest possible size on this toy!)
Hope you find the pics and info useful, in your goal to shoot better fish pics!
If you need to use the pics in your pages, please seek permission.
Good luck and more importantly, have fun!
Ronnie Lee . 2003
Created Dec 3rd 2003
1st Updated Feb 27th 2004
2nd Update Feb 29th 2004
Fundulopanchax filamentosus
