POTM Nov 2025 POTM: Utility fish

maroun.c

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Welcome to the Reef2Reef Nov 2025 POTM Contest - Photo of the Month
Sponsored by
Avast Marine!

This month's subject - Utility Fish
Deadline to Enter: Nov 25, 2025 at 11:59 pm (EST)

This month's picture is Utility fish

by utility fish we mean any fish that serves some cleaning purpose in a tank or in a frag tank setup for example wrasses or other fish helping clean pests, tangs helping clean algae...

Remember, the photo has to have been taken by you, and the subject has to be in your aquarium. No watermarks or captions are allowed in the pictures, and pictures with watermarks will be disqualified. A bit of info around your fish how long you had it, what does it help cleaning, do you notice it cleans more if underfed or no difference. does it nip on specific corals ...

This is a photo contest after all, and we're looking for the best photograph. Yes, you can use a post-editing to improve your pictures. We encourage it! Here are a few tips:
  • Clean the tank glass a day in advance of the photoshoot.
  • Compose your shot in a way that adds dynamics or interest to the picture.
  • experiment with multiple exposures aiming to show a crisp sharp image or maybe a blurryone showcasing movement, a full in focus image or maybe a shallow deapth or field shot showacsing the mouth and eyes and relating them to what they clean.
  • would be great if you can snap a shot of the fish cleaning or doing its job!
As always, refer to the multiple photography articles or post any questions you might have on the photography forum for better support. You may also want to post a few pictures for suggestions and critique to improve your shots while preparing for this month's contest.

Prize: The winner will recieve a POTM Winner Banner, one year free Premium Membership, and an Avast Marine Porthole courtesy of Avast Marine. (Note: Winners located outside the United States will be responsible for applicable shipping costs)

How To Enter:
Entering is easy, just a few simple guidelines to follow:
  1. Enter ONE photo, taken by you of the subject for the month before the deadline
Posting a second or more photo, for discussion purposes, you need to mark just above the picture: Not my submission. Failing to do so, your submission will be disqualified.

If you want to change your submission, ensure that you tag the first entry as above or delete it before posting the new submission. If you are unable to edit or delete, please PM me to have it done before you upload your new submission.

Here are some rules:
  • Multiple entries, off-subject photos, or broken image links will be disqualified.
  • Entries must be submitted before the deadline
  • The photo must be taken by you and in your tank
  • Pictures with watermarks will be disqualified
  • You must have an avatar uploaded when you enter
  • Prior winners (within the last 6 months) are welcome to enter, but not eligible for the prizes
  • To qualify to win the Avast Marine Porthole, you must also like the Avast Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/avast.marine/

Winner Selection:
The mod team will select up to 15 finalists, and a poll will be created and posted in the Reef Discussion Forum. The Grand Prize Winner will be determined by Reef2Reef member voting. To be eligible to vote, you must have been a member for 30 days and have 25 meaningful posts. Votes cast by members who do not meet these criteria will be disregarded in the final count. In the case of a tie, the mod team will assist in choosing the winner. Rules, deadlines, and terms are subject to change without notice at any time. The winner will be posted and tagged in the voting poll and will have 48 hours to claim the prize.

Soliciting votes, non-constructive criticism of submissions in the POTM thread or in the voting thread, challenging the Moderators' choice for the 15 finalists or the votes of other members, identifying which picture is yours or another member's submission in the voting thread... will result in your comments being automatically deleted and your submission being disqualified. This is to ensure a smooth POTM and voting process. We welcome positive critique and suggestions; however, this has to wait till after the voting deadline and preferably in a separate thread in the photography forum.

As this is a photography competition, the goal is to recognize the highest quality picture. So take your time, do your post-shot editing, and submit your best image.

Good luck to all and may the best picture win.

#POTM #POTMWinners #MODS
 

vetteguy53081

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Tangs cleaning algae

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littlefoxx

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My utility fish is very unusual. Loki cleans up after everyone including eating algae and pellets that have fallen on the sand. Very unique and goofy eel

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JoJosReef

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BristleWormHater

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A perfect topic for this photo of my old starry blenny, he belongs to @Hunna’s Stunnas now. To be clear this is still my photo though.
For anyone wondering about the rainbow beam, it pops up when sunlight is able to hit the corner where the glass panes meet, only happens a few months out of the year though. My rainbow blasto didnt make the cut for October, hopefully this will!
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BryanM

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I'm going go with this photo as my entry. Pretty much the entire crew is in this pic. If you zoom in, behind the pink goni where the sailfin's nose is pointing at - Brigette, my fat sausage of a lawnmower blenny's head is there.

But I have quite the host of herbivores :)

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