UNIVERSAL FISH CATALOGUE

 

Colour Paintings

The quality of these can be exceptional as is shown in the page of wrasses created by Elaine Heemstra of the SAIAB South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity.

Below the picture of the wrasses is a painting of a Yellowfin Tuna by L.A. Cada who has kindly donated the use of all his pictures to mankind.

Painting of Wrasses by Elaine Heemstra


Painting of a Yellowfin Tuna by L.A. Cada


Anamses caeruleopunctatus painted by Elaine Heemstra


Ptereleotris zebra painted by Elaine Heemstra


Nemateleotris decora painted by Elaine Heemstra

 

 

Photos Taken on Land

Typically the freshly captured fish would be placed on a flat surface or held up vertically and then photographed.

The picture of the longtail silver biddy shown horizontally was taken by G.V. Hermosa, Jr and that of the giant brindlebass being held vertically was taken by Jack Randall.

Gerres longirostris - Longtail silver biddy


Epinephelus lanceolatus - Brindlebass
 

Tank Photos

Typically the fish has been collected by an individual or by a collection team. It is identified and then pinned out on a board of some sort. The pinning process involves carefully pulling the various fins out to display them and pinning them in this position. Once all the fins have been pinned out, the base of the fins (median fins) are then painted with formalin. This causes the muscles to go rigid. The pins are then removed and the specimen with rigid fins is gently clamped between 2 flat pieces of glass. This assembly is then lowered into a tank of water and the picture is taken through the front of the tank. The glass being transparent is not visible and there is no indication that the specimen is in water.

The quality of tank photos can be surprisingly good as is shown below by the two pictures "A" and "B" taken by Dr. Richard Winterbottom on the left hand side. The pictures on the right hand side "C" taken by Dennis Polack and "D" by Sally Polack were taken underwater. If you compare "A" with "C" and "B" with "D" You can immediately see how much more useful the tank picture would be for someone that is trying to identify the fish on the basis of the number of spines in the dorsal or one of the other fins.

All tank photos are not always as good as these examples. Often the fish are left for a long time before being photographed allowing the color to disappear or to even turn black. It is also difficult to avoid getting bad reflections from the glass of the tank and a lot of experimentation is necessary before successfully taking this type of picture.

Tank Photo "A"		Underwater Photo "C"
Tank Photo "B"		Underwater Photo "D"

Aquarium Photos 

These are pictures of fish in an aquarium taken from outside. The aquarium can either be a small home aquarium or a large public aquarium. Extremely good pictures can be obtained when photographing fish in aquariums. The pictures shown below were taken by Dennis Polack of fish in a hotel aquarium in Cape Town.

Hotel Aquarium	Hotel Aquarium
Hotel Aquarium	Hotel Aquarium
Hotel Aquarium	Two Oceans Aquarium - Cape Town
The pictures shown below were taken by Dennis Polack while diving in the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town
Diplodus hottentotus	Chrysoblephus laticeps

 

Underwater Photography

The photographer is underwater with the camera. This is where most pictures are obtained. With the advent of digital cameras and cheaper underwater housings, many more people are taking pictures underwater and probably millions of pictures are taken daily. It is entirely different and much harder to take pictures underwater than it is above the water. Special equipment is needed and new techniques have to be learned. The effort is well worth it and it can become a most rewarding and enjoyable pursuit. Below are three examples of typical underwater fish pictures.

Rhinopias eschmeyeri Barry Skinstad	Oxymonocanthus longirostris Sally Polack	Nemateleotris decora Dennis Polack

Pictures Wanted

If you have pictures of fish and would like to share them with other interested divers and fish watchers please let us know by clicking on 'contact us'. Please read the FishWise Picture Specification regarding the format required for adding pictures to the FishWise website. You will be credited for the picture so please ensure that you include your full name and contact details. If possible please also give the scientific name of the fish as it is extremely difficult and time consuming to identify large numbers of fish images.