# Today in the Fishroom~3/21/10 P. managuense macro



## Aquamojo (Jan 4, 2003)

Here's a series of photos that I thought was interesting. I spend a lot of time in front of the tanks with camera in hand observing the fish behavior as well as taking opportunities to record in photos. There is a logical progression to the birthing of fry. I picked this up at the stage where eggs have been laid, fertilized and most of the fry hatched. You can see on the rock how the eggs have been meticulously chewed open to extract the newly born fry. Amongst the many "shells" are some eggs that have begun to fungus because they were not fertilized.










If you look just below the mouth of the parent fry you can see the last of the fry that have been born. The parents then carry the fry to a safe area on the side of the tank where they will stand guard. Both male and female will make multiple trips to the breeding area to ensure all of the fry have been collected.










The female removing one of the last fry










While the male does wide perimeter sweeps, the female will stay close and repeatedly turn her body sideways to the pile to inspect her brood.










When I took the above photo the male became very aggressive and smacked the front of the tank. The motion of his beating caudal fin scattered the very tiny and not yet swimming fry.










The female simply went to work collecting the delicate fry by the mouthful and spitting them back onto home base.










At this stage the fry are extremely tiny. Here's a photo of the fry (from below) when they are literally two days old. The entire mass would not be large enough to spread on a saltine cracker.










A little closer....If you look very carefully you can see the development of their eyes. What will become their back and tail are visible, but very light in color. You can see the contents of their tiny yolk sac bodies. For perspective on size of the fry they are surrounding a single grain of aquarium gravel.










The growth rate is astounding. Exactly one day later the fry eyes are quite evident. Their spine and what appears to be gills are more evident. If you were to look at the pile from on top they appear to actually vibrate moving the back end of their bodies continuously.



















The male managuense stops to take a peak at the fry and noticed the long lens of my camera. Unlike when the lens is an inch from the front of the glass, he does little more than just posture to scare me off. This done perhaps so as not to disturb the fry.


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## JohnBob (Apr 7, 2008)

Great pics! Very different viewpoint from what most people do. It's much more than just a hobby to you. :thumb:


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## Aquamojo (Jan 4, 2003)

Thanks for that! I appreciate it.

Mo


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## bstuver (Apr 28, 2005)

Wow great shots! I love the last pic it is very cool.


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## Aquamojo (Jan 4, 2003)

Here's the female...day four and she is standing watch over the fry. For the most part from this angle they don't look much different than yesterday...except that more are vibrating their tails.










From below they are looking more like little fish. The dark line of what must be their internal organs developing is more apparent. This picture was taken in a larger cluster.










On the perimeter you can see that the fish are actually "getting some air". The fry's wild flailing is no longer while flat on the glass...but are actually tail up and giving their body a test drive toward the bottom of the tank.










Even closer you can see the small indentation in their eye...which is apparently further developing. What I don't know is if the black spot is the entire eye or if it's the socket and indentation is the actual eye.










If you look closely you see some of the tiny mouths starting to grow.










Hopefully I will be able to get them as they start to lift off and swim. More to follow.


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## Aquamojo (Jan 4, 2003)

Finishing up the series:

Two more shots. The fry are getting the hang of swimming...not too high yet.










Mom looks like she's encouraging them along.


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## CaseyV (Jan 2, 2010)

Aquamojo said:


>


OH MY GOD, THEY ARE SMILING! Happy little fishies   
beautiful photos!


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## exasperatus2002 (Jul 5, 2003)

Your skill with a camera is masterful. Thanks for sharing this rarely seen side of life.


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## abhinaba (Oct 7, 2008)

Thanks for sharing. Congrats on the fry!!
Exceptional photos.. What are the equipments used?


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## Aquamojo (Jan 4, 2003)

abhinaba said:


> Thanks for sharing. Congrats on the fry!!
> Exceptional photos.. What are the equipments used?


Thanks all.

Nikon D3 with Nikkor 105 VR Macro lens, two Nikon SB-800 flash units and one Nikon SB-900. Pictures were shot at an ISO of 100, F32 1/250th utilizing 1/128th camera flash in commander mode to remotely trigger the flash units. Flash units were positioned above and to left and right.


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