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February Pictures

Started by Guest_farmertodd_* , Feb 25 2008 11:21 PM

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28 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_farmertodd_*

Guests

Posted 25 February 2008 - 11:21 PM

Hi gang,

Got another gallery of shots. The bluehead chub is starting to dig, so that's got everyone else all fired up. Makes me sad that I lost my hornyhead chubs last year, but I'm really looking forward to the coming weeks.

Finally got some decent pictures of the banded and bluespotted sunfish. That makes me happy. They are so danged cryptic. Perhaps as the water warms (they're all at 55 F right now after two months at 45 F) they'll get a lot more active. I expect the same from some of the others... I've never had the southern redbelly dace fire their fins so yellow, so I can't wait for the red (which I normally get).

I also really wish I could photograph that studfish without the nasty algae background. There's just no good way to cast the light in there correctly. Oh well. As you can see... He's a bruiser. I reared him up from a 1" fish

The full gallery is here:
http://www.farmertod.../Reefle/022508/

Here's some teasers:

banded_sunfish_01.jpg 33.15KB 1 downloads
Banded Sunfish, Enneacanthus obesus

bluespotted_sunfish_03.jpg 31.9KB 0 downloads
Bluespotted Sunfish, Enneacanthus gloriosus

bleeding_shiner_02.jpg 41.99KB 0 downloads
Bleeding Shiner, Luxilus zonatus

Mountain_Redbelly_Dace_01.jpg 39.2KB 4 downloads
Mountain Redbelly Dace, Phoxinus oreas

redline_darter_01.jpg 52.48KB 1 downloads
Redline Darter, Etheostoma rufilineatum

Enjoy!
Todd

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#2 Guest_octavio_*

Guests

Posted 26 February 2008 - 12:28 AM

Great pics and beautiful fish, I really like the darter! What type of camera are you useing, I need to get a new camera.

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#3 Guest_farmertodd_*

Guests

Posted 26 February 2008 - 08:10 AM

Thanks! The camera is a Nikon D70 with a VF Macro lense and speed flash.

Todd

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#4 Guest_mikez_*

Guests

Posted 26 February 2008 - 08:35 AM

Great photos!
That obesus is beautiful. Where is it from?
The oreas are gorgeous. I'd like to get my hands on a few of those babies! I've gathered from this forum, they are hard to come by. Would you agree?
Ah, if only I had a job where I traveled around and caught fish. My Dad was right. I should have been paying attention at school. :rolleyes:

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#5 Guest_farmertodd_*

Guests

Posted 26 February 2008 - 09:47 AM

Thanks!

The obesus is from Tate's Hell in the Panhandle. I'm not sure if was Ochlochnee drainage or one of the direct drainages. It's kinda goofy down there.

MRBD are common as dirt where they occur (they're just one of those either or NOT). You just have to get into the upper Roanoke.

Yeah when I started back to school, I fortunately had the hindsight of my misspent 20's and realized that 1) if you have enough time, you don't have enough money and 2) if you have enough money, you don't have enough time... So I took a loan from Uncle Sam and went and saw it all

I also plan on putting our rebate right back to my loan. Then it turns into about $1800 by the time my loan is paid off. Does that help jump start the economy? At least I spent the money in rural TN, AL and FL the first time

Todd

Edited by farmertodd, 26 February 2008 - 09:47 AM.

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#6 Guest_NateTessler13_*

Guests

Posted 26 February 2008 - 09:56 AM

The gallery was great for this group of pictures (as usual). I was rooting for the Bluehead Chub to continue the digging so that you can get some great pics of colored up shiners galore. You're really lucky to be able to replicate the changing of the seasons in your aquariums as well. In this apartment I'm doomed to the 70*F to 82*F temperature range. I know this works for some things, but not the ones I'm most interested in. I've set up a tank just for minnows in the Cyprinella genus because I know I can keep them rev'ed up in that temp. range.

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#7 Guest_tricolor_*

Guests

Posted 26 February 2008 - 12:13 PM

Is redlip 2 redlip or saffron? It is good to see that greenside darter have a good time with shrimps :biggrin:

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#8 Guest_farmertodd_*

Guests

Posted 26 February 2008 - 02:09 PM

Nate, thanks! I can't wait until he really gets in the mood and blues up his head

He was just pickin', I figure by May he'll be rearranging the tank daily.

Tricolor, it's a redlip shiner. The saffrons haven't fired all the way yet. You can see one in the background here on the right:

http://www.farmertod...lly_Dace_03.htm

Notice how it doesn't have those "dirty" spots on it. Otherwise, yeah they're quite similar, probably derived from the same ancestor. I can't wait to see what Molly comes up with once she publishes the full analysis of Hydrophlox.

Todd

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#9 Guest_pmk00001_*

Guests

Posted 26 February 2008 - 07:44 PM

Terrific photos Todd, thanks for sharing.

Do you use a tripod?

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#10 Guest_farmertodd_*

Guests

Posted 26 February 2008 - 08:26 PM

Hey thanks Patrick! No I shoot free handed. Sometimes I lean back in a chair at the focal length I want and shoot away. Sometimes, I move around to get a better angle. And then sometimes, Erika walks in on me with a foot on the stand of another tank, leaning against the back of the chair, not breathing, getting the shot I want. Photography is an isometric exercise with me

Todd

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#11 Guest_schambers_*

Guests

Posted 26 February 2008 - 08:58 PM

Amazing pictures! Thanks for showing us!

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#12 Guest_teleost_*

Guests

Posted 26 February 2008 - 09:14 PM

I really admire your pictures Todd.

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#13 Guest_farmertodd_*

Guests

Posted 27 February 2008 - 08:47 AM

Thanks Guys

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#14 Guest_Kanus_*

Guests

Posted 27 February 2008 - 09:36 AM

Amazing tank and amazing pictures. Can't believe that's all in one tank. And not to disrespect your other beautiful fish, but that bluehead chub is gorgeous. I have never seen red fins like that on a chub.

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#15 Michael Wolfe

Board of Directors

North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 27 February 2008 - 09:50 AM

Well done Farmertodd... you have created the appropriate level of love for bluehead chubs... one of my favorite aquarium fish... I've got to get a picture of mine now...

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

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#16 Michael Wolfe

Board of Directors

North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 02 March 2008 - 02:16 PM

Well done Farmertodd... you have created the appropriate level of love for bluehead chubs... one of my favorite aquarium fish... I've got to get a picture of mine now...

I got a round to taking some pictures last night... here are a few of my Bluehead... she may not have the red fins that yours has, but she seems to have rather a steel blue head most of the time. I haven't seen any nest buiding behaviour or tubercles, so I'm going to keep calling her a she...

bhc2.jpg 432.47KB 0 downloads

bhc3.jpg 388.14KB 0 downloads
This last is not a great picture of her, but she was swimming un in the current and the yellowfin shiners were swimming around with her so I thought it would be a good picture anyway.

bhc5.jpg 374.74KB 0 downloads
...and last but not least I have decided that now (for a while anyway, she will be my new avatar.

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

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#17 Guest_farmertodd_*

Guests

Posted 02 March 2008 - 03:21 PM

Why thankee, Derrick and Michael

Great shots Michael. What's the locality for yours? From the Oconee? The one in the picture is from the Coosa (intersection of Hatchet and Swamp Creek). I was just looking at my Atlantic Slope pictures, and noticed they tend to have yellow in the finage (vs the red you see in these Coosa fish). I can't wait until my lil' feller colors his head up. I wish I would have grabbed a couple others to get a female.

Anyway, for those not aquainted... Here's what the male ultimately ends up looking like.

bluehead.jpg 54.23KB 0 downloads

Just an immaculate fish.

Since I have aquaristic experience with 3 Nocomis species, perhaps I should write an AC article. They look like they'd be predatory in the tank, but I've never had any problem with them picking off anyone else. And they contribute so much to the rest of the system. Everyone else knows WHO they are

I thought I'd also include this photo. This was Encounter #1 last year with the Law. This was walking away from taking the above bluehead picture. He was a nice guy (unlike that one ---hole in KY). I told this fella I had "Perfect Light" and he wasn't worried about me being in a big hurry to talk to him. Man, you gotta love people who understand perfect light.

cop1.jpg 76.47KB 0 downloads

I need to get these photos processed so I can send them to them.

Todd

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#18 Guest_NateTessler13_*

Guests

Posted 02 March 2008 - 06:04 PM

I've got a River Chub and a Hornyhead Chub in my tank that are definitely running the show. I'm really excited to get a mate for each of these species and see which minnows gravitate towards which chub nest. Or, if only one species will make a nest and not the other. Any experience with that? The only other problem I have is...do I have males or females? I don't want to put more than 1 male and 1 female of each species in my tank because they are food HOGS. What do you think about this Hornyhead...male or female?

Posted Image

Edited by NateTessler13, 02 March 2008 - 06:09 PM.

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#19 Michael Wolfe

Board of Directors

North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 02 March 2008 - 07:53 PM

Yes, Todd, she is from around here.

I was told by someone on the old listserv, that I should be concerned about having Creek Chubs in a community tank (since they are so omniverous and will eat small fish if given the chance), but that Bluehead Chubs would be very polite tank mates. I beleived the advise and have almost always had a bluehead chub or two in my 75, upstairs in the house, tank... and have never had a problem. I did have a male once that got all tuberculate and re-arranged the tank for me.

As far as Nate's question, I am not sure if there are specific pairings that have to be maintained... in the wild it is probably just a matter of who lives in the same stream. Hydrophlox shiners with Nocomic chubs seems to be the only rule.

Great shots Michael. What's the locality for yours? From the Oconee? The one in the picture is from the Coosa (intersection of Hatchet and Swamp Creek). I was just looking at my Atlantic Slope pictures, and noticed they tend to have yellow in the finage (vs the red you see in these Coosa fish). I can't wait until my lil' feller colors his head up. I wish I would have grabbed a couple others to get a female.

Since I have aquaristic experience with 3 Nocomis species, perhaps I should write an AC article. They look like they'd be predatory in the tank, but I've never had any problem with them picking off anyone else. And they contribute so much to the rest of the system. Everyone else knows WHO they are

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

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#20 Guest_farmertodd_*

Guests

Posted 02 March 2008 - 09:09 PM

Nate, they don't care... All they see is "chub". It's the moving of the rocks that gets them excited. I don't really think they care who it is moving the rocks (heck, it could be my hand). Just so long as they see rocks getting piles up.

As for whether yours is male or female... It's hard telling at that size. With the more colorful finage, I'd lean male. But a picture can lie to you a thousand ways. What I've done when aquiring a pair is to get a 6 pack of young juveniles, and cull out a pair as they grow and kinda pair off. Works well with studfish too. Takes some more food, but you get what you wanted. Otherwise, you're kinda playing guessy unless you happen upon a spawning mess of them.

Todd
ps sorry I didn't call back today. Would have loved to get out! Was busy banging up my hands re-doing the kitchen.