Improving my camera skills

I found my camera manual! This sounds like I went and found an actual booklet, which I kind of did, since I pulled out the box full of extra stuff that came with the camera... but the manual itself was already installed on my computer, I just forgot that I had already done that way back when we got the camera. Ooops. Then after skimming through the interesting-looking parts of the manual I discovered (through much trial and error) how to set the shutter speed in the mode wherein the camera fixes the aperture for you. Then I discovered that if I set the shutter speed fast enough, the photo comes out black! So I dialed it up until the leaves closest to the light started getting overexposed, and here is the result.



In the front on the left side of the photo, two cories are hanging out and sifting for food in the sand; one is an albino, the other a newbie - today I purchased three panda cories, so now I have six total. Three albinos and three pandas. Back when I was setting up this tank, I tried some emerald green cories, but they darkened their color to the point that it was difficult to see them against the black sand, so I returned them to the store. Next I bought the albinos - no problems with fish changing color there! I'm hoping that the pandas won't darken up too much despite the black sand and background, since they're bred to be white with the namesake black spots. I couldn't find any good stock at the time or I might have gone with these from the beginning!