Dwarf Fuzzy Lion...killer, or softie? A photo essay...with some text :)

IPT

Active member
So, I have become quite attatched to this DFL (Dwarf Fuzzy Lionfish) I had thrust into my life. I was terrified to put him in my community tank for fear of all my inhabitants. He was small though, so I took the risk.

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He is quite the speciman....
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Look at those eyes!!
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of course I have become quite fond of my Fire Shrimp too....
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Being always on the alert, you can imagine my concern when this stuff started going on....

drive by one....
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sizing him up?
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lying in ambush.....oh boy :D
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Turns out all he wanted was a kiss!!

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LOL - man, in all seriousness this has been the most crazy thing to watch over the past few days. They are all over each other. The Lionfish will literally push him, and follow his thru the Finger Leather....then let the shrimp crawl all over him. I have since found out the shrimp is part of the cleaner family (true or false? true I hope).

The DFL is going into his own tank in the near future. I know it is just a matter of time and he will wipe out most of the inhabitants in here. He is simply too small still, thank God :).

Hope you enjoyed the sequence of images.
 
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Re: Dwarf Fuzzy Lion...killer, or softie? A photo essay...with some text :)

wow those were some AMAZING photos of your dfl. WOW. i loved the picture of him cruising through the leather. and watching him through the viewfinder that close to the fire shrimp must have been nerve racking. to the point where you wanna set the camera down and intervine.
 
Cool Louis. I think fire shrimps have "cleaner genes" in them as I had one that would clean my fingers and hand when inserted in the tank. Thanks for sharing.
 
Fire/blood shrimp are definitely cleaners. However, they arent nearly as willing to clean as the typical cleaner shrimp offered in the trade. Also, they are usually just more expensive than a regular scarlet cleaner and so you dont hear about them as much.

I had a pair of fire shrimp in my 75 that cleaned all my fish, it was great to see. They would also jump onto my hands and clean me, it was quite interesting.
 
LOL - yeah, I am not so sure how willing this guys is either. I've been watching them all morning. The DFL is just a pest. He follows, literally almost pushes himslf underneath or infront of the shrimp. A few more from yesterday...

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A few from today....

the cleaning station...
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uh, service please...
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Pal, I will eat you if I choose too....
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'bout time..
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hey, watch the feet man!
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All clean...am I purdy or what??!
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Cool essay Louis. I like your captions and your images are also excellent. The ones of the shrimp cleaning are my fav. (along with #2- looks like he is already learning how to pose for you... :) The "trusting or suicidal" caption is too large for my liking- another location may be more effective as well- Hope you don't mind my critique on that. I just think it cramps the composition..
Are you shooting with your flash?
Did you get this little guy trained over to frozen?
 
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Simply gorgeous photos. The bloodshrimp are such a vibrant red with legs that look like they were dipped in white paint. Very, very nice.
Thanks :). Crazy, right?!!
My wife always said my pair had french tips :)
Jeeze…imagine another expense??!! “honey, need some $$ to get the shrimp’s legs done”…eek!
Geeze brown has never looked so nice! Great pics. I think you make it look better than it would in real life.
Thanks..I think the flash really helps to bring out the color in him. I can see tinges of it under the tank lighting, but not like it is with the flash. The flash is probably much more of a 65K spectrum than the bulbs I have running on the tank. Other than the flash, sharpness, and a crop on a few, I didn’t touch these. Straight from DPP with the WB to Auto, Picture style – standard, tone and saturation 0 to PS for the final sharpening and border..
Cool essay Louis. I like your captions and your images are also excellent. The ones of the shrimp cleaning are my fav. (along with #2- looks like he is already learning how to pose for you... :) The "trusting or suicidal" caption is too large for my liking- another location may be more effective as well- Hope you don't mind my critique on that. I just think it cramps the composition..
Are you shooting with your flash?
Did you get this little guy trained over to frozen?
Flash….I am experimenting with my flash. I usually don’t like it because I tend to dislike how it opens up the background and undersides of the coral. I am trying to get in closer and tighter though and need the light. Especially with these guys moving all the time. As noted, it also seems to bring the tones of his colors to life. It amazes me every time I look at the coloration and patterns in this dude! I was also trying to stop down for more DOF, so once again, needed the light.

I have had some success’ with him eating prepared (Mysis). Sometimes I need to throw in Ghosty to get him pumped up first. He is very finicky about what he’ll take. If that shrimp isn’t moving just right in the current he’ll ignore it. Never did get him to take anything off a feeding stick. My best bet was to use a turkey baster and siphon up a Mysis or two and expel it gently near him.
His eyes still freak me out. Those vessels or Nerves looking like an electrical storm. Just totally wild!!
I’ll have to see what other pics I have to post.

oh, and that text....lol - that was some stuff I had put on the pic to email a few non-fish people. I forgot it was there actually :). No doubt it takes away from the shot.
 
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I don't think the text takes away from the shot at all. My eyes went directly to the fish, then down his body to the shrimp, and it wasn't until I had surveyed both that I even noticed the text.
 
yeah, there were some posts of a yellow on here not too long ago. It was spectacualr!! Aside from this guy just being plain cool looking, he really has somewhat of a personality too. Some of the people on the aggresive fish forum refer to them as being like "puppy dogs" and I can see why.

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