lawnmower blennie not eating

[NaCl]

Any ideas on how to get this fish to eat? I've got a sheet of
Nori rubberbanded to a long length of PVC pipe, he hasn't
touched it. i give Formula Two, he hasn't spits it out. S/he is in
my refugium with plenty of hair algae etc..i don't see him eating
that stuff either..

[exodus]

Are you sure you have a lawnmower blenny? You may even want to try feeding it some meaty stuff just to get it eating... live brine seems to do the trick with a lot of fish. I could also still just be settling into its new home.

[JohnL]

In addition to nori, mine eats spirulina flake and all of the frozen formula foods. Perhaps our resident fish care experts can offer some advice.

[hcs3]

don't clean your glass. mine loves to clean the filmentous alga off my glass. evens leaves small "kiss" marks when doing so. brine shrimp, recommended above, is another good idea. mine also likes frozen mysis and both formula foods. it does pick at the hair algea i have growing, but it could not sustain itself on it for the amount it eats.

HTH

henry

[NaCl]

thanks guys, i saw some lip prints on the glass!! i'm so worried that it won't survive, that this is wonderful news!

i will 'keep it posted'

BTW where did that phrase come from? i know the internet has been around since the '50s but surely that isn't the origin?

[reefmaniac]

are lawnmowers always this hard to feed? i thought they were good feeders!

[Gene Brewer]

Mine darn near knocks itself out smacking the glass to scrape off green algae. It also gives the rocks a good going over.

Gene

[NaCl]

Gene,

i noticed your 'interests' and thought maybe you could help
advise me.

i'd like to do some macro photography of my tank, preferably
like 1:1 with 35mm. is this possible to do inexpensively?

say like $300?

[Gene Brewer]

NaCl,

First of all you will need a Macro lens capable of focusing at the distance from the tank glass to the subject plus a few inches from the glass to the camera lense. I would stick with a lower range macro zoom say 28-80mm.

You will need to clean the inside and outside of the glass well. I would also recommend using a tripod and to avoid refraction of the glass/water interface, shoot perpendicular to the tank glass.

For best results use an off camera flash if at all possible. If not get the camera as close as possible to the glass to avoid having a glare from the flash. You will most likely need to set the flash as FILL FLASH to get the correct exposure without overexposing. This is done easily with a fully automatic exposure mode.

A digital is the really nice way to go for aquariums. You can shoot it and then see the results and don't waste film. Shooting 35mm aquariums pictures has always been a hit and miss proposition for me.

I have attached a sample of my Kodak DC290 digital camera picture of my Manderin fish 'posing'. I had to squeeze it down and made it a GIF file so some of the resolution is gone and it is a bit flat. But I think you will get the idea.

Good Luck and Good Shooting,

Gene



C:\Documents and Settings\lebrewer\Desktop\Aquarium Photos\Manderin.gif

[NaCl]

Gene,

Many thanks!! i was thinking that because of the tank lighting,
i wouldn't need a flash!!! Does a smaller aperature-am i using
the right terminology-require a flash? also what is depth of field
and how do f/ stops affect it. thank you again for helping a
newbie

[Gene Brewer]

NaCl,

i was thinking that because of the tank lighting, i wouldn't need a flash!!!

Depending on the type of lighting and intensity on the subject, you may not. But you will probably find that using a fill flash will bring out details in any shadowed areas in the rocks, etc. Experiment and keep notes with each shot, that way you'll be able to look back and learn from the mistakes and the successes.

Does a smaller aperature-am i using the right terminology-require a flash?

The larger the f/stop number (aka aperture) the smaller the iris in the shutter and the less light available at the film plane and the longer the exposure required for a given amount of light with respect to the same light and a smaller number for f/stop. An example would be if the proper exposure is obtained at f/4 at 1/2 second then the same exposure levels would be obtained at say f/11 at 4 seconds. For each increase in f/stop you double the exposure time for the same amount of light. To answer the question - flash required is not solely dependant on f/stop selected.

also what is depth of field and how do f/ stops affect it

Without going into a technical disertation (I don't like typing THAT much) suffice to say that Depth of Field (DOF) is the distance range from the near focus point to the far focus point. Every f/stop for a given lense aperture has a DOF range. For lower f/stops (larger iris) the DOF is short, usually only a few feet or less. For larger f/stops (smaller iris), the DOF can be several hundred feet to effectively infinity. That is why when shooting with the new auto everything camera, there is usuall a series of ranges selectable by a icon (or picture) showing a person's head (or such) which would usually use a smaller f/stop number for quicker photos in a given amount of light or flash and then shows a icon of a mountain for landscapes which use a larger f/stop number with a longer exposure and a greater DOF.

If you are interested in learning this sort of stuff about enhancing your photo making, I would suggest picking up a 'Dummies' series book to start with (no reflection on your abilities). I really like the 'Dummies' series books as primers because they focus on fundamentals up front and leave the hype to you once you understand the basics. From there it is a matter of discipline to learn from your photo experiences.

I shoot 35mm, medium format and 4"x5" larger format cameras as well as digital. I don't specialize in any one style but mainly do nature, wildlife and scenics most of the time. People are the hardest subject to shoot correctly.

Good luck with your photos and remember there are no BAD photos, only opportunities to learn how to get better.

Gene