Aphyosemion elberti N'douzem

[RonWill]

Folks,
In addition to the Aphyosemion elberti N'tui mentioned earlier, here's one fine ELB N'douzem male. I'm smiling ear to ear as I counted my first egg and hoping for more good eggs, of course


The N'douzem album is here.

These new images were taken from a modified acrylic betta tank and I think the results are much better, with richer colors, darker and less distracting background.

In case anyone's wondering how the background became so dark, I cheated and used black sticker paper

I'll up the drool-factor with more pics (when time allows). Enjoy and stay tuned!

[TyroneGenade]

Hi Ron

Super fish! I understand having some Methylene blue in the water helps keep the eggs alive (helping with O2 exchange). Just FYI...

In case anyone's wondering how the background became so dark, I cheated and used black sticker paper

Most people don't like taking pics against a dark background as one tends to loose details such as black margins to fins etc... A neutral grey or green background seems to give the best results from what I'm told and lead to believe. We got a lovely pic of the orthonotus using the green mesh net as background... still have to find that pick and post it here.

As for acrylic: good move! Acrylic is much clearer than glass so you should get much better pictures. Only polycarbonate is better (or so I am told).

I'm very envious of you elberti.

Regards

[RonWill]

oh... one more thing.

Even though both the N'douzem and N'tui are the same elberti species, note the difference in base color and pigment demarcations/stripes, especially in the anal fin. [another good reason for maintaining the lines separately]



Side Note (a feature I found on my Canon PowerShot A85):
When shooting in macro mode, 'Spot Metering' takes a more accurate flash/ambient-light reading than with 'Center Weighted' or 'Evaluative Metering. [oh well, back to basics while I go delete the rest of the blasted #&%$* over-exposed images ]

[timebomb]

here's one fine ELB N'douzem male. I'm smiling ear to ear as I counted my first egg and hoping for more good eggs, of course

Great pic, Ronnie. I see your photographic skills have improved considerably. And what a lovely fish. I'm glad you finally succeeded in raising the A. elberti. It was the fish we both wanted during the first mass order, remember?

Loh K L

[RonWill]

It was the fish we both wanted during the first mass order, remember?

oh yes... how can I forget all the elbowing and knee-jerks but it's hard to keep a good (stubborn?) man down, ya?

Kwek Leong, when I finally see the elberti mature and bloom, somehow, the heartaches and damned disappointments seem to be worthwhile (although my wallet feels alot lighter these days ).

I've set short-term goals in killie-keeping and one of them is to have a whole tankful of elberti, displaying in all it's glory... then I'll be happy.

[RonWill]

Super fish! I understand having some Methylene blue in the water helps keep the eggs alive (helping with O2 exchange).

Tyrone, I'm going back to basics and to what worked for me. No meds but natural tannins, peat pellets and regular water changes. The 3gal plastic critter tank isn't even aerated albeit for generous bunch of plants.

Such small water volume is dangerous too as it can foul up oh so quickly and it's breeding tanks like these that I discipline myself not to overfeed. Of course, having one or two ramhorn snails works wonder too.

As for the acrylic photo tank, I modded it this morning and already, I feel like reshooting all my killies but oh shoot... I don't have 48hr days.

[timebomb]

Kwek Leong, when I finally see the elberti mature and bloom, somehow, the heartaches and damned disappointments seem to be worthwhile (although my wallet feels alot lighter these days ).

Yup, I can understand how it feels. The fish is so lovely it makes all the effort and heartaches worthwhile. Congratulations, Ronnie. I'm so happy for you. If anyone private messages you for the fish, make sure you ask for exhorbitant prices. It's only fair.

Loh K L

[RonWill]

Kwek Leong,
When I have a stable population count of the elberti, do yourself a favor and clear up some room. These are indeed very nice and for someone who yearns for them as badly as I did, I'll be sure that you enjoy them in your tank too. After all, you're worth it 'cos you're still my killie-buddy

As for money, it cannot displace the satisfaction. When I reach the stage that I can distribute/sell off some (cross my fingers), these naturally won't be cheap but then again, I won't ask for the moon.