Moothbrooders offer a great subject for a photo session, although it turns out that they are quite difficult to find.  On the pictures below,  a ring-tailed cardinal fish (ostorhinchus aureus, syn. apogon aureus), named after the black ring at the base of its tail, decided to pose and model for me. It kept opening and closing its mouth to circulate oxygen-rich water around its eggs.

The story for the shot? It was taken on the north coast of beautiful Bali in June timeframe. The tricky part – after finding the fish – was to capture the fish with its mouth open. It took about five minutes to get the shoots done.

Equipment used? A full-sensor DSLR, 100mm macro lens,  one flash mounted top but positioned at a slight angle sideways to give the fish a bit more profile using shadows.  1/100s at f/16 and ISO 100 for those who want to know the detail.