Stella Posted June 9, 2009 Report Share Posted June 9, 2009 Where could I get hold of some kind of mirror that you can see through? I was just being mean to my bully, holding up a mirror and watching him got nuts at his reflection. I would love to video this, but it doesn't look so dramatic when looking at the fish doing this sideways (ie holding the mirror to the end of the tank, while I look through the front) I would love to video it *through* the mirror, as that is where you get to see the displays from the angle it is intended. Some kind of enormous mirrored sunglasses that don't cut the light down too bad could do the trick... Or a bit of that mirror-coated glass window stuff. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted June 9, 2009 Report Share Posted June 9, 2009 1 way glass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted June 9, 2009 Report Share Posted June 9, 2009 reflective glass works on reflected light so you need more light on your tank side and less on your side. the best is a product called Mirror Pain but there is no such thing as off cuts so you should maybe ask your local glass company if they have any other reflective glass Another idea may be to scratch some of the back of a mirror off big enough to let your camera lens see through? do this with a stiff back razor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiplymouth Posted June 9, 2009 Report Share Posted June 9, 2009 You can get a reflective one way film that you can stick on to glass. Probably the cheapest option Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted June 9, 2009 Report Share Posted June 9, 2009 oh.. window tint for cars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiplymouth Posted June 9, 2009 Report Share Posted June 9, 2009 oh.. window tint for cars Thats the stuff but you can also get it for house windows for privacy and so ya curtains dont fade etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted June 9, 2009 Report Share Posted June 9, 2009 right you are. we used dark blue stuff like you described in an apartment for the same reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LYNDYLOO Posted June 9, 2009 Report Share Posted June 9, 2009 I use window tint on the sides of my Fish Tanks, cuts down the natural light so less algae too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted June 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2009 mmm, that window tint stuff is probably ideal. I am sure I can find a spare bit of glass to stick it to, then I could prop that in front of the tank Now just need to hunt some down... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted June 9, 2009 Report Share Posted June 9, 2009 if people like stella didn't document these behaviours we would never be able to learn about how, why, or when such behaviours occur. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted June 9, 2009 Report Share Posted June 9, 2009 Ah! ok. :-? She is writing a book on native fish after all... :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted June 9, 2009 Report Share Posted June 9, 2009 I don't mean to sound mean or any thing, I just appreciate the science behind such behaviours. Fish in the wild also defend their territories against males of the same species sometimes; interesting to see if bullies also use sight to differentiate between the sexes in their species. Interestingly enough some fish (i forget the name, it was in my old biology book, it had red on it) recognised not only body shape; but also the where the colouration on the dominant male was. the males are aggressive towards each other, to defend their territories - but the males only went for the correct fish based on the body shape of the fish, and the location of the red patch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted June 9, 2009 Report Share Posted June 9, 2009 Thats the stuff but you can also get it for house windows for privacy and so ya curtains dont fade etc BTW fading is caused by UV light 40%, heat 40%, and other factors including visible light Films are easy to scratch and become harder to see through but are still a great product that I often recomend. They also work on a reflective coating that needs light to preform at its best Tinted films are different to reflective films Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted June 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2009 Yeah, I am really interested in their behaviours. They are stroppy little fish but most of it is in displays and slight chasing, rather than all-out physical aggression (usually). I noticed one of my male upland bullies was attacking another quite a lot last night, and using the mirror can help distract a stroppy bully and diffuse the situation. (By being 'mean' I kinda meant teasing him, he gets all agro at the glass for nothing) Male bullies seem to have quite different displays for use on males or females. When they are wanting to entice a female into their nest they go all black (like a black moor goldfish!) and with a brightly coloured dorsal stripe. When trying to show dominance against another male only the fins go dark, and they flare out their gills to make themselves look much bigger. They display side-on to other males. The upland bullies have different coloured dorsal stripes in certain catchments. Since the males display side on, the stripes are probably significant for this. I would love to do some experiments to see if males recognise males with different stripes as reproductive competitors, and if the females recognise them as potential mates. These are some photos of male Cran's bullies displaying to each other: In the top and middle photos the boys are flaring their gills at each other. The lower photo shows them immediately after but not flaring (mostly). They were not displaying for long enough for their fins to go dark, but the fins are also flared up to their full extents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted June 9, 2009 Report Share Posted June 9, 2009 nice pics stella. if you want to know what those fish were that attacked based on colour and shape - the book is Campbell Biology - I used it during my 1st year vet studies. Its definitely available in the library a massey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 One idea...Why don't you get a small mirror and try scraping the silvering off the back in a section large enough for the lense to see through? I doubt the fish would be overly upset by the black hole in the middle of the image of a horrible invading other fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted June 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 I contemplated that, but it works best having the mirror right up against the glass (that was it is an INTRUDER, not just and intruder), and the camera needs to be about 10cm away to catch all the action. I will try and hunt down some sort of shop that may sell this tinty stuff. Hopefully it will be possible to get a scrap. (bullies are actually not so-called because they are such aggressive little posers. The name is a contraction of 'bull-head', describing their stocky or even bulbous heads, and I think is a name borrowed from European fish) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 I contemplated that, but it works best having the mirror right up against the glass (that was it is an INTRUDER, not just and intruder), and the camera needs to be about 10cm away to catch all the action. Find a camera with better macro capability? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted June 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 My camera has awesome macro capability thank you 8) But if the camera is right up against the glass it will only record brief blurs of the fish shooting past up and down the side of the mirror. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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