1st Place Marine Life Behavior
Kenji Sato
“The Birthday“
The Story:
Black cardinal fish live in shallow coastal waters, and males raise eggs they receive from females in their mouth (mouth brooder). The eggs hatch in about a week. Until they hatch, males stay still behind a rock and feed the eggs with fresh seawater. At first, I did not know when the eggs would hatch, but after a few observations, I could tell when the eggs would hatch. Hatching occurs within a few hours after sunset. At the moment of hatching, the father swims upward and spits out the babies in an instant. So, it’s difficult to take a picture.
It is said that the number of fries in a single hatching is about 20,000, so the moment of hatching is quite impressive. As soon as the babies hatched, they scattered all over the place. I hope that many of the fry will grow up and survive next year.
Location:
Miura Peninsula in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Equipment Used:
- Camera: Canon EOS 7D
- Housing: Zillion ZAP7D
- Lens: Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM
- Lights/Strobes: Inon Z-240,Fisheye FIX NEO Premium
Camera Settings:
- Aperture: F7.75
- Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec
- ISO: 320
