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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

culturing fish foods

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05 May 2008 16:59 #1 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
hi guys, just ordered micro worms and whiteworm cultures for my fish anyone got advice on how to grow on these cultures
Seamus

Fishkeeping the Only way to get wet and wild

currently 25 tanks, and breeding is the aim of everything i keep
location:Limerick

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05 May 2008 17:55 #2 by JohnH (John)
Seamus,

Darren did a nice little article which covered the foods you wish to culture along with others - here is the link:

www.irishfishkeepers.com/cms/content/view/28/30/

John

ps I'll try to remember to put you a starter culture of Vinegar Eels/Worms into a receptacle and give it to you when next we meet.

Location:
N. Tipp

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.


ITFS member.



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05 May 2008 22:30 #3 by platty252 (Darren Dalton)
After you receive your cultures and have a half decent culture yourself make a small culture of each as back up.
Some times they can crash or die off so a second one will save the day.

Watch they dont dry up. If the micro worm culture starts to crack like a dried up lake it is way to dry.
The whiteworms should be verry damp. Try keep them cool.

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08 May 2008 02:46 #4 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
thanks john a culture of vinegar eels would be most appreciated..hope to meet up again soon
Seamus

Fishkeeping the Only way to get wet and wild

currently 25 tanks, and breeding is the aim of everything i keep
location:Limerick

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09 May 2008 12:12 #5 by goldy (goldy .)
what do you find the best for feeding white worms. I am feeding them bread at the moment but they wont take flake food at all. Any other suggestions as the bread doesnt seem to let them multiply the way I want

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09 May 2008 12:38 #6 by JohnH (John)
Nessa, hello,

Personally my cultures literally 'gobble up' flake at an alarming rate.
I put a pinch in the centre once the existing lot has been consumed and then give it a quick 'squirt' with a little domestic sprayer (you know the ones, in B&Q for 94c).

Years ago I used to use bread which had been slightly soaked in milk but this really needed changing every couple of days or so as it would quickly go 'rancid'.

Are you feeding them dried flake or dry bread? And is the 'soil' they're in fairly dry? I ask because it really does need to be quite moist - likewise with the feed.

Talking of which I have tried using coldwater pond pellets, again slightly moistened, two or three at a time and they consume these pretty quickly too. These have the great advantage of being comparatively cheaper than Flake.

HTH,

John

Location:
N. Tipp

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.


ITFS member.



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09 May 2008 12:46 #7 by goldy (goldy .)
thanks for that john I will try out some of the flake again and see if it makes a difference. the soil is quite moist and its a mix of peat and topsoil. I wasnt feeding as often as you say you are so I will step it up and see what happens.

The bread was wetted down with water before I put it in and yes it does go off. this doesnt help with hiding them as the smell gives it away

thanks

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09 May 2008 17:10 #8 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
great tip john must try that myself..will let you know how they go

Fishkeeping the Only way to get wet and wild

currently 25 tanks, and breeding is the aim of everything i keep
location:Limerick

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09 May 2008 22:17 #9 by killikid (donald carson)
I mix Ready Brek and milk and a small amount of bakers dried yeast into a damp paste, i use small plastic tubs pour a small amount of micro worm into centre keep warm they should start to crawl up the sides in a few days.
For white worms i use Ready Brek and water mix into a thick paste i use Polestyrine boxes i do not get any infestation of springtails or mites,hope this helps,Don

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10 May 2008 00:36 #10 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
Cheers Don, must try that.... another quick question.
How will i know when i can make more cultures from my own.. just started them this morning
Seamus

Fishkeeping the Only way to get wet and wild

currently 25 tanks, and breeding is the aim of everything i keep
location:Limerick

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11 May 2008 21:46 #11 by killikid (donald carson)
The micro worm will start to die of after about 10 or 12 days just mix more paste and start again,As for the white worms just keep feeding them and they will multiply,good luck Don

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12 May 2008 12:58 #12 by Seany (Sean Phelan)
New Book about to be published from TFH all about culturing your onw live foods for aquarium fish. See link below.

www.amazon.co.uk/Culturing-Live-Foods-Mi...10596978&sr=1-18

Kind regards

Seany

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12 May 2008 17:45 #13 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
Hi Seany
Thanks for the link must get this
Seamus

Fishkeeping the Only way to get wet and wild

currently 25 tanks, and breeding is the aim of everything i keep
location:Limerick

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19 May 2008 15:04 #14 by mickeywallace (Michael Wallace Cath Woods)
Is anyone using or heard of \"Banana Worm\" what are your experences?

Mickey Wallace & Cath Woods

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19 May 2008 16:04 #15 by JohnH (John)
Michael, good afternnon.

I have been culturing and using these for a while now...well, I bought them as Banana Worms - but they did come from a slightly dubious UK seller who also sent me two phials of peat, purporting to be Killifish eggs!!! Anyway that's a different story...
Banana Worms are supposedly half the size of Microworms but are cultured in the very same way. I haven't had the opportunity to compare them like for like, so to speak, as I lost all my Micro cultures through neglect:S

Fry seem to relish them, Banana or Micro (whichever they might be) so that's the main thing.

Later in the week I'll send you up a starter culture, treat them as Micros and you won't go far wrong.

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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19 May 2008 19:08 #16 by mickeywallace (Michael Wallace Cath Woods)
Cheers John
:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: Your are a star.!:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:
Mickey

Mickey Wallace & Cath Woods

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19 May 2008 19:42 #17 by Sean (Fr. Jack)


Its important to keep the white worms in the dark and moistloam.:ohmy:

That would be a ecumenical matter!!!
Attachments:

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19 May 2008 23:32 #18 by platty252 (Darren Dalton)
I found the Banana Worms/ Milli worms to dry up verry quickly. So just make sure they are wet.
The handiest way to remove them from the culture for feeding to your fish is to place a small piece of half decent kitchen town over a small section. The worms will work their way through it with out the media. Just scoop along the towel with a plastic spoon or something similar. Dont remove the towel. The worms will keep coming through it ready for removal.

For micro worms i use a clear plastic container with a dark lid. Poke some holes in the lid to let air in. The media i use is instant potatoes (for mash get smash) mixed untill it is almost pourable. This media wont smell roting if it starts to go off unlike a lot of others. Keep them in the dark.
The idea of the clear container is, as the media gets used up by the worms it goes a light brown colour from the bottom up so you will know when to start a new culture. A tub 6\"x3\"x1\" deep would last me about 2 months before starting a new one.

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20 May 2008 09:19 #19 by JohnH (John)
mwdragondk wrote:

Cheers John
:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: Your are a star.!:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:
Mickey


Well;
I've been called a good few things both on and off this Forum in the past year or so...but that's the first time I was ever called a 'Star'...

:unsure: :unsure: :unsure:

Cheers,

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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