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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

new to tropical please help!!!

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16 Mar 2010 23:03 #1 by r2potat2 (Derek Martin)
hi im new to tropical tanks and was just wondering how long should i leave my tank light on?

its a 60 litre tank with 2 oscars, 2 angel koi, 1 bala shark, 1 albino frog, 1 lepoard pleco, 2 common pleco.

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16 Mar 2010 23:07 #2 by murph (Tony Murphy)
60L, 600L or 60G?

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16 Mar 2010 23:18 #3 by Viperbot (Jason Hughes)
8 to 10 hours a day is fine if you have no plants. Did you mean 60 litres? If so, your gonna need a bigger tank asap.

Jay

Location: Finglas, North Dublin.

Life
may not be the party we hoped for, but while we
are here we might as well dance.

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16 Mar 2010 23:20 #4 by Dioza (Adam Bell)
I hope its 60G, the bala shark is going to get far too big for the tank. Where did you get it? And welcome to the forum.

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16 Mar 2010 23:41 #5 by Viperbot (Jason Hughes)
Even a 60 gallon wont cover what he has there. The two Oscar- a foot each, Bala Shark- 10inches to a foot, The frog- snack for a lucky Oscar, If by leopard plec he means a Sailfin (Gibby) that will reach about 20 inches and the two Common Plecs will reach 24 inches a piece. 500 litre (120 Gallon) minimum for a stocklist like that. Its probable that they are all small now but that will change very quickly.

Jay

Location: Finglas, North Dublin.

Life
may not be the party we hoped for, but while we
are here we might as well dance.

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16 Mar 2010 23:47 #6 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re:new to tropical please help!!!
Was thinking the same thing Jay, I can see the Bala and the Oscar saying look dude one of us has to go. lol

Kev.

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16 Mar 2010 23:53 #7 by murph (Tony Murphy)
Presumably after they have shared the koi angels for lunch.

I suppose it's one way to sell those big display tanks...

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17 Mar 2010 00:11 #8 by igmillichip (ian millichip)
I'll say, simply, Hi and welcome to the world of fish.


ian

Irish Tropical Fish Society (ITFS) Member.

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17 Mar 2010 00:22 #9 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re:new to tropical please help!!!
Yes! enuff takin' the proverbial, update your details dude and let's see how everyone can help you.


Kev.

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17 Mar 2010 00:36 - 17 Mar 2010 09:35 #10 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re:new to tropical please help!!!
Firstly, describing your stocking levels raises issues more important than your how long to leave on your lights.
We could say, eight hours and good luck but that would be unfair to both you and your fish.

There are rules in Fishkeeping that state that you can only stock an Aquarium at a level where the Fish aren't crowded which leads to agression then stress then illness and finally death of the inhabitants.

The following Website has a rough outline of the Inches of fish to a gallon rules, it is the one normally quoted and is a reliable guide, you will learn how to use it as you become more experienced.

You need to realise that all fish aren't necessarily going to be buddies with every fish in your tank and this is where the Forum can help, you will get some of us taking the pi$$, that's a given but you'll find good advice here.

Get back to the forum and ask questions, you'll find out whatever you need to know, don't be embarassed realising you need to take a Fish back to a store because you made a mistake, we all do.

www.thinkfish.co.uk/calculators.php?calc=stocking

Kev.
Last edit: 17 Mar 2010 09:35 by stretnik (stretnik).

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17 Mar 2010 07:34 - 17 Mar 2010 07:35 #11 by Frontosa (Tim kruger)
Hi,
all said above.Welcome to the forum.You will get plenty of help here to avoid further mistakes.Feel free to ask any question.
Regards,Tim

Midlands - in the heart of Ireland.

Keeping and breeding : Frontosa Blue Zaires , Synodontis Petricola , Tropheus Red Rainbow (Kasanga) , Tropheus Moliro . Regulary fry for sale.
Community tank with P.Kribensis and different livebearers.
Last edit: 17 Mar 2010 07:35 by Frontosa (Tim kruger).

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17 Mar 2010 10:37 #12 by Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
Welcome to the forum, as Kev said, update your details and we will help you out :)
Ask lots of questions and again welcome along.
Gavin

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17 Mar 2010 22:08 #13 by r2potat2 (Derek Martin)
hi thanks for all the replies and i do understand i wont be able to keep the oscars very long i was told that when i bought them. he said that i should get about 6 months before the oscars need a new bigger home, as its my first tank i do plan on going bigger and the oscars were to beautiful to not buy i will buy bigger to accommadate them.

it is a 60L tank i havent got time now but il upload photos of my tank for more of your helpful tips.

and im a lover of inverts, i used to keep crays in coldwater i loved them but my girlfriend made me give them away when one escaped i stupidly left the lid open after feeding them.

once again thanks again to all who replied.

oh and just so everyone knows i do care for the fish i obviously made bad choices in fish but pervious to buying the fish i did everything right i let the water lie empty for 5 days and tested the ph levels and all that i actually bought the pro test set so everything was done properly.

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17 Mar 2010 22:16 #14 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re:new to tropical please help!!!
No worries mate, no one can accuse you of anything given the number of mistakes we all have made and will make in the future, I know I have, just recently, introducing Fish into my established Aquarium without Quarantining them first, I lost nearly everything. Simple but true.

Keep the questions coming and don't lose the sense of fun and wonder that this hobby can give you.


Kev.

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18 Mar 2010 13:19 #15 by Viperbot (Jason Hughes)
Good to see your willing to upgrade to keep the Oscars. The popularity of big South American Cichlids has wained these days. They are a great fish, full of personality and always watching whats going on in the room. They will eventually recognise their owner and will constantly beg to be fed, seriously, they are like aquatic dogs. I urge you to buy the biggest tank you can afford to house them. They grow rapidly and can attain 10 inches in their first year. Dont skip on filtration as they are messy eaters and produce a lot of waste. They are prone to Hole In The Head diesease and this is thought to be brought on by poor water quality so frequent water changes are a must.

Jay

Location: Finglas, North Dublin.

Life
may not be the party we hoped for, but while we
are here we might as well dance.

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18 Mar 2010 23:53 #16 by r2potat2 (Derek Martin)
anyone any tips on how to clean aquarium sand my fish are producing a lot of waste

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19 Mar 2010 01:32 #17 by igmillichip (ian millichip)
r2potat2 wrote:

anyone any tips on how to clean aquarium sand my fish are producing a lot of waste


You could use an aquarium vacuum cleaner. They used to sell air-powered one, not sure what is available now.

OR, when doing a water change, use one of the syphons with a wide initial chamber....the lightweight muck will be lifted with the water and the sand will settle back.....but needs a bit of practice to get it perfect.

I'm also sure than many people had an interesting mix of fish in a smallish tank when they first started out.
So, hope the outcome of the evolution of your tank works out fine for you.

ian

Irish Tropical Fish Society (ITFS) Member.

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19 Mar 2010 03:26 #18 by Tetra (Tetra)
I think your tank is well overcrowded every fish you have in there is to big for your tank in the end this will only end badly my advice would be to return the fish asap or transfer to a much larger tank after all a dead fish ain't worth money return them and start off with something small some tetras would be a good choice.You say your going to upgrade but you have just started off these fish need a BIG tank and alot of filltration and your tank at the moment is not suitable for this start off with fish that fit your size tank then you will know how to care for a aquarium without having fish dye at the start or getting a infection and dishearting you from cointinuing on in the hobby . This is only my opinion you DON'T have to heed it but im only providing advice as to help.

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