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

Cool Loach

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16 Feb 2008 22:16 #1 by Daragh_Owens (Daragh Owens)

Cool Loach was created by Daragh_Owens (Daragh Owens)

Picked up six of these little guys, 1.5\", in the UK recently when I was looking for Sewellia lineolata www.flickr.com/photos/bluetit/2116039217/ . They originate from Borneo and like very fast flowing cooler oxygen rich water. I have them housed with some common bristlenose and Sewellia lineolata, they are doing fine, always active and always hungary.

Common name, spiny headed hillstream loach, Gastromyzon ctenocephalus

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16 Feb 2008 23:17 #2 by Acara (Dave Walters)

Replied by Acara (Dave Walters) on topic Re:Cool Loach

Lovely fish,great photo.
What sort of temp do they like.I recall Borneo as being,as you would imagine,as being very hot and humid(March),but being from fast flowing hill streams,would they prefer slightly cooler temps?
Unfortunately when I was there,I hadn't kept fish for 15yrs,and wasnt really into the hobby,although it regenerated on the plane with my mates PFK mags he'd bought along.Had I known then what I (claim to) know now,I would've paid a lot more attention to all those streams and pools,etc we trekked past in the jungles.Some of the shops in Kota Kinabalu had hundreds of betta,mostly splendens,and everything was just so cheap.Especially the booze!

Dave

always on the lookout for interesting corys.pm me if you know off any!

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17 Feb 2008 00:28 - 17 Feb 2008 00:56 #3 by Daragh_Owens (Daragh Owens)

Replied by Daragh_Owens (Daragh Owens) on topic Re:Cool Loach

Both loaches mentioned require a temp of 68-75 according to loaches online, however with the Sewellia lineolata I would definitely say that they prefer the lower end of that range. I have not had the others long enough to know what they prefer. However even more important is the oxygen content of their water and as the higher the temp the lower the amount of oxygen available that could be why the Sewellia lineolata seem to prefer the cooler temps. I have a 800 lpph and venturi firing from one end of a Rio 125 and an internal juwel filter at the other end upgraded to a 600lph pump, so it's like a washing machine in there and that's how they like it. They cling on to smooth stones against the flow with no problems, they do not use their mouth like a plec, but use tiny hook on the underside of their fins.

It is probably just as well you were not as into fish when you visited Borneo as you would have delayed everyone scanning pools for that rare betta or loach :laugh:

You may not have been too popular by the end of the trip :laugh:

Last edit: 17 Feb 2008 00:56 by Daragh_Owens (Daragh Owens).

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17 Feb 2008 00:30 #4 by platty252 (Darren Dalton)

Replied by platty252 (Darren Dalton) on topic Re:Cool Loach

Cracking looking fish and a great photo.
What is their diet? Veggie or meaty?
How exactly do you pronounce Gastromyzon ctenocephalus :laugh:

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17 Feb 2008 00:34 #5 by Daragh_Owens (Daragh Owens)

Replied by Daragh_Owens (Daragh Owens) on topic Re:Cool Loach

Gastromyzon ctenocephalus is pronounced \"loach\" in this house :-)

I am not sure of their diet especially after I was led astray with the Sewellia lineolata trying to feed them on algae only and watching them die one by one, until I met Tim in Hayling who advised frozen foods. Loaches online says that Gastromyzon ctenocephalus like to graze algae and will take other foods too, I have been feeding them a mix of flakes, fine pellets and frozen foods and they are eating no problem. They particularly sem to like frozen bloodworm.

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KenS (Ken Simpson)
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17 Feb 2008 01:04 #6 by KenS (Ken Simpson)

Replied by KenS (Ken Simpson) on topic Re:Cool Loach

Great looking fish and super photo Daragh. I've seen Hillstream Loaches mentioned on various forums and PFK, but haven't seen them in any LFS in Dublin.

Regards,

Ken.

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17 Feb 2008 01:11 - 17 Feb 2008 01:13 #7 by Daragh_Owens (Daragh Owens)

Replied by Daragh_Owens (Daragh Owens) on topic Re:Cool Loach

Neither have I. I was after the Sewellia lineolata after reading about them in PFK, but had to import them myself, I lost them all (19) bar one. I got three more in the UK a couple of weeks ago and picked up the other little guys too from Maidenhead Aquatics Peterborough, they had so many different loaches it was fantastic, the owner is a loach nut :-)