Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)
Hi,
John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.
I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.
With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.
I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.
If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.
I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.
I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.
Thank you
Darragh Sherwin
Good fish for a community 145L tank
- Jasonb (Jason Browne)
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As most of you know from this forum, I'm starting my first tank, which currently has 145L of water in it and is in the middle (well the early stages) of getting the filter up and running.
I'd like some advice about what fish to stock. The ones I know I'd love would be some Sterbas Corys, and I'm planning to put 6-8 of them in.
I'm also thinking of some Tetras, maybe 10 Rummynose or Glow Light, I'm not certain. Would the Rummynose or Glow lights be ok with the Sterbas?
After that I'm not too sure. Maybe another small school of something else, or maybe a couple of something bigger.
Any suggestions?
Thanks...
J.
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- Jasonb (Jason Browne)
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A video of it can be seen here:
s1213.photobucket.com/user/jasonb13/medi...zps5e553a46.mp4.html
Thanks!
J.
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- paulv (paul vickers)
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- Jasonb (Jason Browne)
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J.
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- wylam (Stuart Sexton)
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I always go with my template of , bottom feeders- cory's / loaches
mid tank (dither fish) tetra's/ cardinal/rummie/glow light/penguin.
top tank, hatchet fish
Feature fish, KRIBENSIS!!! ofc what else.
The cory's are a bullet proof fish , very tough and easy to keep for someone new to the hobby.
The mid tank fish can be a bit harder to keep, things can go south very quickly with these guys, i found rummies to be quite delicate , NTD or neon tetra disease can appear over night and you'll have a hard time getting rid of it.
The most common top dweller would probably be hatchet fish very nice looking fish, be careful as they might jump out of the tank.
As for your feature fish there are many you can pick from , some are easier to keep than others and just for sheer entertainment i keep Kribs.
I would not advise keeping hatchets with kribs(i had a bad experience with that combo one time)
Stuart.
Multi tasking: Screwing up more than one thing at a time.
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- louis (David Knowles)
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- JohnH (John)
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Perhaps something to be considered after the initial stocking?
One other thing, they really seem to do best when in a larger quantity, seven or eight (or even more).
John
Location:
N. Tipp
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.
ITFS member.
It's a long way to Tipperary.
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- gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
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The way people usually work it is a Bottom dweller (Corries maybe) Mid dweller (Tetras maybe) and Top dweller (Hatchets maybe) and then a showfish like an Angel or Dwarf Cichlid..In your tank you could keep a single Angle or a couple of Dwarf Cichlids....
If your looking for an interesting top dweller thats a little different I would suggest Splash Tetras....They are amazing fish often overlooked in the fish shop because they dont look so colourful...
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- Jasonb (Jason Browne)
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Thanks...
J.
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- davey_c (dave clarke)
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Choose your community fish wise because some shops are stocking mass produced shite that when something goes wrong makes ye think it was your fault when it may not be.
Anyways best of luck

Below tank is for sale
my plywood tank build.
www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...k-build-diary#137768
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- Jasonb (Jason Browne)
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The Kribensis looks lovely I have to say as well!
So, as an example, how does this sound:
8 Sterbas Corys (the gravel is very fine and I asked in SH if it was ok for the Sterbas).
10 Rummynose Tetras
8 Harlequin Rasboras
2 Kribensis
Does that sound like a lot of stock for my tank? Obviously, I could go with only 1 Kribensis (would it be ok on its own, or does it prefer company?) and I could reduce the Corys / Rasboras to 6 and the Tetras to 6 or 8 if needed. That way I'd still have the schooling fish in groups of at least 6.
Thanks...
J.
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- wylam (Stuart Sexton)
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As for the krib's , you will need to either buy a pair of them or make a pair your self , which can be quite tricky for a beginner , if you are dead set on getting krib's then i would stock the tank first and let all the other fish settle in and after awhile try and pair up some kribs. remember to gradually stock the tank until the filter is fully matured and can take the load.
Stuart.
Multi tasking: Screwing up more than one thing at a time.
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- christyg (Chris Geraghty)
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- Jasonb (Jason Browne)
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Could you make some suggestions about another bottom dweller that would be happy with just 2-3 of them in the tank?
My plan would be to get one species first (either Corys, Tetras or Rasboras, don't know which yet) and get them up and running, and then the next species after a while, and then the next after a while again! Is there any preference in which ones I get first (leaving the Kribs until last of course...)
J.
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- christyg (Chris Geraghty)
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- wylam (Stuart Sexton)
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As for which type of fish to add first? it's up to your self , i don't think there is any real advantage in adding cory's before you add tetra's or vice versa. But add the fish slowly over a couple of weeks to let the bacteria in your filter get accustom to the heavier bio load.
Stuart.
Multi tasking: Screwing up more than one thing at a time.
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- Jasonb (Jason Browne)
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As always, thanks for all the help and advice...
J.
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- davey_c (dave clarke)
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Have you tested you ph to see what would be suitable fish wise?
Below tank is for sale
my plywood tank build.
www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...k-build-diary#137768
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- Jasonb (Jason Browne)
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I'm keeping an eye on the tank pH, it's currently 8 but that's with Ammonia added to help with the filter. And I also plan to add some real wood in the next week. So all going well, I'm hoping the pH will drop a bit, I'll keep an eye on it.
J.
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- gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
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To be sure test your tap water PH.......To get a true tap water PH reading fill a bowl with your tap water and let it sit for 24 hours...Then test! This gives all the gases in the water time to dissipate and hence results in a true PH reading.....
Kribs will dig pits under decor to breed if there isnt a cave available...More than likely if you keep a male and female together they will breed and yes they will protect the young with whatever means possible...Keeping either a single male or female is quite acceptable.....
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- Jasonb (Jason Browne)
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I did test tap pH and got 7.8, but I didn't leave it for 24 hours, so I'll start that process this evening, thanks...
Still can't decide whether to go with one or two Kribs, but I have plenty of time to figure it out...
J.
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- paulv (paul vickers)
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