Tucker,
Sorry, xtm said he/she took a "quick snapshot", so I wasn't looking critically at the photograph itself. I mean, otherwise, was xtm's point, "I just took a quick snapshot and its better than the shot you slaved over"? I didn't take the comment that way, but I noticed that the fish has issues, so that is what it was "telling me". The point I was trying to make is that everyone has a different perspective. I read xtm's information, will try to learn from it, and thanked him/her.
Personally, with xtm's anthias image, I see a tack sharp fish in a rather plain setting. A good snapshot. I would use something like that (after cropping to remove the two white specks below the fish's caudal fin) for the ID signs in my building. Here is an anthias shot I took. I didn't submit it to the photo contest because the upper fish was too far cropped out IMO. But, it does tell a story:
If the whole frame had been moved up and to the right a bit, I would have been much happier. It seems underexposed, but this fish is a temperate water Japanese fish, so the tank is dark. This is the essence of my photography - I'm not very artistic, have to struggle with the technical aspects of my D300, but I sell a fair number of photos because I have access to subject matter that few other people have.
However, there is a distressing trend going on since around 2007. I used to write an article or a book, add photos and sell the whole package. Now, I'm starting to get feedback where my text is accepted for publication, but they are going to use stock services for the images! So in reaction to that, I'm going to have to really work on my photography skills, thus prompting my initial posting....
Jay