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
Added live rock! now the waiting begins...
- siocla (Siobhan Cleare)
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- siocla (Siobhan Cleare)
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- paulbohs (Paul Doyle)
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- siocla (Siobhan Cleare)
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- Processor (Niall O'Leary)
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Glad it's not just me. Can't stop staring at the rocks. In the trop tank I can't stop staring at the fish.
I need a drink....Oh look it's New Years eve!

Processor
PS.Happy new year to all of you.
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- Seany (Sean Phelan)
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I cant stop looking at my tank?? is this normal behaviour??
Not in the least. I did it for 4 loooooooooooong weeks!
Patience is the key to your success. Best of luck with the setup.
Kind regards
Seany
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- siocla (Siobhan Cleare)
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- siocla (Siobhan Cleare)
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3 green chromis,
1 ocellaris clownfish(must get another),
one purple dottyback( I know I just couldnt resist but he is being a gent so far time will tell),
1 scooter blenny,
10 hermit crabs(mix)
5 turbo snails
5 narcissus snails
1 coral banded shrimp
1 blue starfish
1 sand sifting starfish
1 brittle star
1 pencil sea urchin
1 long spined urchin
1 short spined urchin
1 hammer coral
1 snakelock anemone( looking to rehome if anyone is interested???)
1 cleaner shrimp(currently on the missing list?)
1 sebae anemone(very bleached so hoping it will come round with lots of feeding and lighting??? this is why I need to rehome my snakelock as I know two anemones in one tank is a recipe for disaster)
i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa161/siocla/2008_0205tank30006.jpg
i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa161/siocla/2008_0205tank30005.jpg
i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa161/siocla/2008_0128tankm0003.jpg
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- lampeye (lampeye)
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what size is the tank ?
youve added a lot in 1 month. just a couple of things i noticed.
1. your powerheads seem to be down very low. they have much more power when up the top of the tank and also increase the oxygen in the tank by breaking the surface of the water.
2. As far as i know urchins eat coraline algae. (check that as it may only be certain types)
3. keep an eye on your starfish. they generally dont do too well in immature small tanks.
if you like coraline/macro algae it might be a good idea to get rid of the urchins. cleaner shrimp are very hardy and not shy.
what does the scooter blenny eat? i think they rely on critters in live sand.
sand sifting stars get big , need a deep sandbed and a mature tank ....have a look at this link www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=572 not much info but could be of help.
its great fun stocking a tank innit!! take your time though . a quarintine is a must really. take a deep breath and enjoy. dont make any impulse buys and dont buy anything unless youve read up on it. they will be in stock again.
the best of luck in your project
fran
lampeye
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- siocla (Siobhan Cleare)
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I have moved my powerheads around to try and suit everyone just trying to fin d a happy medium, the fish seem to love the current lower down. What would you recommend?
And I have read the urchins eat some types of coraline but I got a lot of these guys as gifts so reckon I will be doing some swapping around in the future its trying to find someone to take them is the biggest problem...

So far the starfish are doing well and only time will tell with them as I said a lot of
these guys werent on the list but I was very happy to receive them how could I say no?
The scooter blenny eats all the micro critters in the live rock and the sand, he is obviously getting enough as he is fat as mud! and has grown since I got him!!
And I saw my coral banded shrimp eating a little critter that looked really like a mini sand hopper??? any ideas? this was alive when I saw him starting to eat it I have looked it up and cant find it anywhere, kinda looked a bit like an isopod but tiny??
Thanks again for your help it is hard to take things slow so I am using organic aqua as I have heard great things about it and I will take it easy on residents for a while...

Oh yeah the dimensions are 48\"x20\"x24\" and I have a 36\"x12\"x12\" quarantine tank.. Siobhan
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- siocla (Siobhan Cleare)
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- lampeye (lampeye)
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the powerheads should definately be on top breaking the surface. they will put a stronger flow on all levels of the tank this way. (i think its because there is less pressure up the top)
your lfs should take the urchins back if thats what you want.
keep an eye on the scooter as if its anything like the mandarin fish it will run out of live food and starve (usually a few months). If you see him getting skinny try to give him to someone with a huge tank with sump or back to lfs. don't wait and hope for the best.
glad to hear you QT. this should be for 4 weeks each fish. its long i know but worth it.
I dont know much about the organic aqua but you prob dont need it seen as you have live rock. a 10% weekly water change is the recommended and for you this would be just 20 litres. easy peasy!
all the best
fran
lampeye
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- siocla (Siobhan Cleare)
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My books did say the urchins were good reef inhabitants?? thought this meant they wouldnt do any damage... disappointing as they are mad to watch too.. as you can see I do get carried away with it all, just fascinated with all the life in there and I thought the inverts were tough enough to start off with..back to the drawing board..thanks Fran, no matter how many books you read its great to get the input from people like yourself with some experience, its much appreciated,
Siobhan:)
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