# African Cichlid Tank



## Stoogie

Hi everyone,

I learned something today; underwater cameras are very cool! I dropped my camera into my tank, left the room, came back in five minutes, and had an awesome video of my fish. No worrying about glare off the glass! The colour is a little weird, but that's probably due to my crappy lighting. Also, I may need to find a better spot for the camera, one where you can see more of the tank. Other than that, here it is!


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## bingerz

wow!! what kinda camera do you have? i could just sit there and watch it forever. you should stream it online...i'd keep it open on my desktop and watch while i work!


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## bingerz

lol...that peacock is real bossy...staying flared up and chasing everyone away. this is my food!! go away!! lol!


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## Chappy

Oh, *VERY *cool.......more, please


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## monkE

awesome video... I'm going to have to try that with mine


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## Stoogie

I'm using an Olympus Stylus Tough, it's an awesome little P&S. I can't wait to take it diving this summer!


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## Stoogie

bingerz said:


> lol...that peacock is real bossy...staying flared up and chasing everyone away. this is my food!! go away!! lol!


He definitely thinks he's king of the tank.  I wound up with him by accident (he was supposed to be an acei too, lol. 0-5 on the ID for me) but I'm wishing I could keep him, he has a LOT of personality.


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## monkE

i've got a GO PRO HD and it should be able to take some cool video underwater.... we'll see


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## neven

what a great idea, you can likely make a mount to hang the camera angled downward from the top front corner of the glass to get a more tank shot like view.


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## Stoogie

neven said:


> what a great idea, you can likely make a mount to hang the camera angled downward from the top front corner of the glass to get a more tank shot like view.


Sweet idea! I'll have to see what I can rig up this weekend. (hopefully I might have some acei in there by then)


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## Stoogie

Ok, here`s a shot from the upper left corner. (water looks a bit clearer, finally!)






I fiddled around a bit last night with different angles and lighting, and I've come up with two that I liked. This is the first one, and I'll post the second after it's finished uploading. I'm still experimenting though, so any ideas are appreciated. I was thinking I should take a half hour long video, loop it, and just have it continuously playing on my second monitor at work  That way I can be a productive member of society, and still sit and watch my fish all day!


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## Stoogie

And here's the second one (finally!) Sorry about the shakiness, this week I'm going to try and make some sort of cradle for the camera to rest in, and that way I won't have to stand there and hold the camera steady the whole time.


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## BCAquaria

That's really cool.

Thanks for sharing!


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## monkE

agreed, it looks great! the angles make all the difference... maybe you can suspend the camera with something simple like a bent coat hanger???


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## Stoogie

Due to my failure to successfully differentiate between an Acei juvenile and a red top zebra, (which Noodles informed me were the other species he had) my tank now has just my saulosi left in it. It looks so empty in there! The good news is, I'm now waiting on my Acei and some Rusties, so within a month my tank will be nice and multi-coloured again! 

In the meantime, I'm working on some sort of mount for my camera, utilizing the suction cups from an old broken internal filter. This is turning into some weird marriage of a tank journal and a DIY thread


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## Stoogie

My saulosi are starting to get some color! One male so far, and another possibly. Hopefully just the 2!


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## Stoogie

*New Video*

Finally, after months of searching, I have my acei! (Definately not red top zebras this time)


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## bingerz

yellow tail aceis? did you see that one member on here selling them? nice video! man you're water's immaculate!


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## Stoogie

Thanks Bingerz! Yeah, I got them from BigDuke a little while ago, this is just the first chance I've had to take a video. I was worried that they might be a little small, and would get chased around and bullied, but the six of them just hang out together front and center in the tank, and everyone else generally leaves them alone. Now I just need to find some rusties, and I can finally stop annoying my wife talking about how cool my tank is going to look, and start annoying her by talking about how cool my tank looks


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## rich16

Nice job on the video, and nice looking fish! Did you ever find the Rusties you were looking for?


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## Stoogie

Not quite yet, but I'm still hopeful!


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## Stoogie

My dominant male is starting to colour up, finally!


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## rich16

Nice shots!
What's the fish on the right side in the second photo?


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## Stoogie

Thanks Rich, 
That would be a rather frightened red empress (the saulosi have been picking on him, unfortunately).


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## Stoogie

*Full Tank Shot*

Here's a full tank shot, showing off my new lighting and a few of my new saulosi! I've finally found some rusties too!!!

I'm not sure if I'm sold on this new lighting, it really makes my saulosi females look orange rather than yellow. I'm thinking I may have to add another light somehow that isn't an aqua-glo


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## jay_leask

that tank looks insane!


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## Stoogie

*New Video*


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## gklaw

Gorgeous tank and super cool video. Now you are tempting me to get a new camera 

My Canon got a couple drop of SW in my Mexico trip and flash died. New camera before snorkelling in Hawaii 

"i"Dea. Why not ask Apple to make the next generation iPhone waterproof hehe.


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## Stoogie

A waterproof iphone would be an awesome idea! Great for hiking, too.


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## Stoogie

I finally got some rusties today! 





Unfortunately, you cant see them in this video.


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## Stoogie

*New Pics*

Here's some new pictures I snapped last night. You can even see the new Rusties I got!



















I'll try and get some better ones tonight, these pics don't do them justice.


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## Stoogie




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## Stoogie

*A few new pictures*

Acei and Rusties!










Red Empress


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## Stoogie

Everybody is finally feeling at home. Tried to get a few good pics of the rusties, but this male saulosi kept chasing them all away from the camera. What a camera hog. I'll try get some more tonight.


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## Raf

cool! good idea!

we are on our second Olympus tough...they are great cameras for underwater shots. This one goes to 30 feet even though my buddy took his down to over 40 feet without any issues...


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## Stoogie

I've been generally happy with mine, it's a tough little machine. You just have to be really careful that all the seals are clean before you take it underwater! (One little hair stuck in mine caused a bit of a leak )


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## Stoogie

Finally managed to get a decent pic of one of my Rusties! SOO glad I finally found these guys, they've got loads of personality, and they're so peaceful (for africans)


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## bingerz

nice shot! are rusties as 'peaceful' as yellow labs? what size tank is yours...i like the size!!!


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## Stoogie

Well, I've never kept yellow labs, so I wouldn't know how they are in comparison, but I've never seen one of my rusties start a fight, even with each other. They're the most "live and let live" fish in my tank, and they don't seem to take offense to anything.


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## Stoogie

Oh, and my tank is 55 gallons. It's getting to be a bit overstocked, since my fish have been growing like weeds lately. (I think one of my rusties has put on half an inch in the last four weeks!) Which reminds me, I've still got two male saulosi for sale, if anyone should happen to be looking .


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## Stoogie

These males are colouring up nicely


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## rich16

Very nice!


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## Stoogie

*Some new pictures*

Finally had time to take some new pictures!

The female Saulosi 









Red Empress and Saulosi









Red Empress Yawning


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## Stoogie

New pictures!


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## Stoogie

Female Rusty









Red Empress









Male Saulosi


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## Stoogie

And finally, a decent full tank shot.


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## Stoogie

Two rusties


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## thefishwife

OH my what a beautiful tank!!! Wonderful photo's and gorgeous looking fish!


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## Stoogie

Thanks! I think the new camera is helping a lot too, though 

Here's a few more

Dominant Male Saulosi









Subdominant Male Saulosi


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## thefishwife

Again wow! Yes I guess having a good camera helps. I am still trying to learn mine. I also meant to tell you the scaping of your tank is awesome, love how the wood and rocks are placed in there!


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## rich16

Your tank looks great, beautiful fish and excellent pictures!


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## Stoogie

Here's some more! I can't stop taking pictures, this camera is awesome. Hopefully the rain holds off this weekend so I can go shoot something other than my fish!

My Red Empress yawning









And my Saulosi yawning









I guess it's been a long week


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## Stoogie

Fry on the way? It is valentine's day, after all.


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## Stoogie

The best picture I've managed to get of my subdominant male. I think that he's actually got more potential than my current dominant male (his stripes seem a lot more even, and I don't know if it's just me, but he seems to have a lot more personality).


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## Stoogie

Some new pictures!



















Both were taken without flash,
18mm
1/60s
f/3.5
ISO 1600

I suspended a lamp over the tank shining down to try for a spotlit effect. The first one is unfortunately out of focus, but I think I hit pretty close to the mark on the second


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## Stoogie

Here's a few more. I'm using that overhead light more, I like the look a lot more than the camera flash.


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## Stoogie

My sub dominant male saulosi chasing each other









My dominant male saulosi









My Red Empress staring at you


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