just a few tips on showing and transporting fish
dont feed for 24 hours beforehand
bring plenty of extra water from home tank
dont show mouthbrooding or gravid females
be careful when netting as fins eyes and scales can be damaged with rough handling
fish with obvious illness or parasites should not be shown
when benching dont mess too much with water parameters such as temp. and PH as all fish hate sudden changes esp. a drop in either (if unsure benching stewards will advise)
if you have any questions or need advice on showing or benching feel free to ask
derek (show judge)

I have a really important question that i think everyone is afraid to ask, do you you take back handers :?:

dont show mouthbrooding or gravid females

Is there a particular reason for this? other than the fish look out of shape! Lets say I'm not too concerned with a fish I wanted to show loosing a mouthful of fry can I still show the fish? or should I catch the fish, strip and dispatch the fry and then show the fish?

I rember in the mid eighties at the open show in Pres Bray I showed one discus and got second prize, the fish was drugged up weeks before hand with methyl testrone got from the vet, I felt bad about it when I was older, thats teenagers for you. The discus came 100% with this own water, and was not stressed at all. I all brought some tiger barbs but trusted the stewards as bards are hardy, the barbs were dead in 20 minutes after coming from an alkaline tank to the bench water.

Word of caution never let Father Jack show fish as he will cheat.

Never bring Africans from ph 8 and trust bench water.

When you do release the fish into the show tank keep half of the original water so if the fish starts to pant fast you can return him to "his bag water"

Never bring Africans from ph 8 and trust bench water.
I've had a think about this (careful...) - you've raised a really important issue here...(and not the cheating - what was the name of that stuff you used again?).

The water out here is pretty hard and alkaline too.

Would anyone have an idea of the ph and hardness of Tallaght water?

I think it wouldn't be possible for me to fetch enough water for the fish I was going to bring along. I might have to re-think this a bit.

John :?

im living down in kingswood nd my tap water comes out with a PH of bout 7 - 7.2 nowadays, ( aint sure on the hardness!) but only a 15min walk away my girlfriends water is coming out around 7.5-7.8....i aint sure if there from the same source (i know we got different electricity sources...she even got me some hot water one night during a power out!)...nd i know tetra tetras water stats are a bit dif from my own too!..nd he lives the other side of tallaght!....anyways not sure if ppl think this is a big diffrence or it matters much but just incase someone says there water is XX and when they gt to the show they find it differs a bit!...

@Sean

why don't you show your frozen clownfish in the section sponsored by Birdseye?

@Sean

why don't you show your frozen clownfish in the section sponsored by Birdseye?

We have tested the water in the hall at ph 6.8
Anyone needing water of a higher ph this can be arranged.
It is still best to bring as much of there own water as possible.

CMC; i will take the brown envelope off you. No problem :wink:

tanks_alot; showing a gravid female would be like entering an 8 month pregnant female in to a beauty pageant. It just ain't right.

3 days to go........

The PH of my own water is 7.0-7.2 just wondering lads has the tanks been cycling or are you's using filters of matured system.Just out of curosity.