Tip of the Day – 8/31/2012

Want to take the best pictures of your clams and corals, but hate having to deal with distortion through the aquarium glass and lack luster colors? Try taking the images from above, instead of through the side of the aquarium. Top-down shots are very popular among reef keepers primarily because these sorts of photos show off the true colors of a clam or coral. Because the zooxanthellae, the colorful algae that lives inside the tissues of corals and clams, rely on light energy for the production of sugars, they orient themselves in such a way to maximize their exposure. This causes corals and clams to look the most colorful from above, and the differences between viewing from the side as opposed to the top can be almost night and day. This drastic change in coloration is the most noticeable in clams.