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
Hobby's
- LimerickBandit (Donal Doran)
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We all have fish keeping in common and that can take up a lot of time
So when the tank(s) have been cleaned and the fish are fed what else do you do?
For me its mainly biking, any chance I get I’m out on my bike
On the 27th of June I’m going for a 3 day bike run over a 1000 miles should be fun
Hope the weather is good
Here's a pic of my bike
So what do ye do?
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but i got a medical ban:angry:





for me its birds and sci fi
Ps zebra finches for sale soon:laugh:




Mickey Wallace & Cath Woods
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- JohnH (John)
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Hopefully I'll be able to go again in the near future.
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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- darragh (Darragh Sherwin)
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- Valerie (Valerie)
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- oog1111 (Orlagh O Grady)
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excellent photo Darragh!!
I'm currently researching the carnivalesque in Northern Irish contemporary visual art! tis great except for the lack of time to do anything else. When I finish that I hope to go back to making things from metal, wood and plastics. Have tried to attach image hopefully it'll work. this piece is made from sterling silver and now property of the National Decorative arts museum in Collins Barracks. other hobbies would include most water sports; fishing, surfing canoeing...(but I've sold all my equiptment, some was bit dated anyways).also play piano, (but again I sold it a few years ago, hope to get a new one in next few years though).also love cooking, but hate peppers:angry:
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- tanks_alot (Denis Coghlan)
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Here are a couple of fish that I managed on fly so far this year;
My first ever mullet of 4lb 2oz (fought like a train and took me 16mins to land on a #5 weight)
Had a lot of these small Jack Pike (still looking for that first double figure fish)
Lots of Pollack
First Brown Trout of the year
A small finnock trout (sea trout)
The other good thing I like about fly fishing is that it gives you the opportunity to tie all your own flies. Here's a snap of a pike fly that worked particularly well. Note the length of copper thread wire to stop the fish biting through the mono.
Lead me not into temptation, For I can find it myself!
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- lampeye (lampeye)
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i suppose reading is my other hobby...i need to read! one book that sticks out as my favourites is cannary row
ive been getting into carpentry...nothing fancy yet , some bookshelves.
lampeye
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- tanks_alot (Denis Coghlan)
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Lead me not into temptation, For I can find it myself!
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- pointer28 (Noel Lambert)
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I've had to give up a few over the last couple of years through lack of time. Now my main hobbies are:
1. Showjumping Course Designer (originally for the summer months but now it's year round). I love it though and it means I get to do lots of travelling and meet loads of like minded people.
2. Ferreting (winter only), I have 1 male and 3 females and provide a pest control service for horsey people with rabbit problems, and stock my freezer at the same time.
3. Try to do some fishing as well, I took up fly fishing but it usually results in lots of swearing, multiple knots where there shouldn't be and no fish for dinner.

P.S. Valerie, that arena looks very familiar but I can't think where.
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Nice pieces oog1111, did you see the craft competition series on TG4 there a while back, very good series( subtitled of course!) they did a very good one on fine metal work, the people made some very nice pieces.
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- Seany (Sean Phelan)
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- lampeye (lampeye)
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tanks a lot: do u eat them or put them back in?
lampeye
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- tanks_alot (Denis Coghlan)
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Nice house Seany, which room is the new marine tank going in? is that a purpose built fish shed on the right hand side of the house or is that going to be the orchid house?
Lead me not into temptation, For I can find it myself!
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- Daragh_Owens (Daragh Owens)
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I used to do some fishing, but never enjoyed catching anything, hated getting the hook out, the barbless hooks sound like a good idea. I enjoyed the peace and quiet more.
I also paint, at least I used to have not done anything for a couple of years, www.flickr.com/photos/bluetit/67645829/sizes/m/in/set-532061/ but breaks that that are not unusual. I will get back it. I also do some photography, www.flickr.com/photos/bluetit/sets/427895/ but that that not had much attention for the last 12 months or so, particularly like street photography and photographing musicians, www.flickr.com/photos/bluetit/sets/72157594149931396/ because I love music.
I guess fishkeeping is in pole position at the moment, I need to realign priorities a little.
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- JohnH (John)
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A good thread, and I hope everyone participates.
I would add that I have been interested in Photography since my schooldays (an awfully long time ago now) starting off with an Ensign (sort of) TLR camera, I progressed through all sorts of 'better' 35mm cameras but returned to roll-film cameras in later years, even have a couple of plate film cameras.
Sadly, then along came these digital monstrosities and for me photography sort of 'lost something' then.
I have to admit embracing (but never fully) digital 'cameras' and grudgingly have to admit they do have their uses but in my opinion nothing in that line of things can improve upon the satisfaction you can feel watching an image appear before your eyes in a developing tray (under red lighting) in the darkroom it's sort of magical and never ceases to excite me...well, I'm easily pleased!!!
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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- oog1111 (Orlagh O Grady)
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good luck with it and hope things go a little more smoothly for you.
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- Dreamergirl (Dreamergirl)
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dont have a lot of spare time on my hands, work is taking a lot of it. But my pets are my passion after that. Got ( apart from the fish ) 3 dogs, 3 cats, 2 bunnies and 2 horses.
If I do find some spare time, I like photography and drawing animals. Here some of my work in case you like to see it

this one is still unfinished

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- Daragh_Owens (Daragh Owens)
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- Dreamergirl (Dreamergirl)
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The drawings are all A4 size. The actually look a bit grainy here because I put them up so small

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- Seany (Sean Phelan)
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tanks_alot: I am planning a 8 foot reef tank in the kitchen/Diner If my other half agrees to it. I'm still working on it! I plan to have the sump in the utility room which backs onto the Kitchen Diner so all noises / smells will not be a problem. Thats the plan anyway.
DreamerGirl: Those pictures are amazing. Do you do commissions ?
Following on from the fishing photos here a picture of my most recent capture in Maderia some time ago.
A three hundred pound yellow fin tuna. Took 45 minutes to land this baby. An hour previously I hooked but lost an estimated (Boat Skipper) 600lb Marlin. Hope to get back some day and try again. The marlin is for the new tank





And yes that is a Chelsea FC Cap. Don't mention the war !!!!!
Kind regards
Seany
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- oog1111 (Orlagh O Grady)
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- Dreamergirl (Dreamergirl)
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DreamerGirl: Those pictures are amazing. Do you do commissions ?
Following on from the fishing photos here a picture of my most recent capture in Maderia some time ago.
A three hundred pound yellow fin tuna. Took 45 minutes to land this baby. An hour previously I hooked but lost an estimated (Boat Skipper) 600lb Marlin. Hope to get back some day and try again. The marlin is for the new tank![]()
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And yes that is a Chelsea FC Cap. Don't mention the war !!!!!
Kind regards
Seany
WOW, that is some size fish. Dont think I would have the heart for fishing, I would keep putting them back in the water


Yes, I do commissions. Time is my biggest enemy right now tho

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- LimerickBandit (Donal Doran)
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- Daragh_Owens (Daragh Owens)
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The photo is very small, but looks great. Learning with digital is great as you can shoot as many as you like and it doesn't cost a penny to see how they turn out

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- sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
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1) Angling... yes i know fishy people do fishy stuff
2) Photography
3) golfing ( hell i get to play for free at work so why not)
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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- sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
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1) Angling... yes i know fishy people do fishy stuff
2) Photography
3) golfing ( hell i get to play for free at work so why not)
this is where i work by the way
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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- LimerickBandit (Donal Doran)
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Great camera, welcome to the Canon club
The photo is very small, but looks great. Learning with digital is great as you can shoot as many as you like and it doesn't cost a penny to see how they turn out
Daragh i might be calling on you for a bit of advice about the canon

Ok here is a better one i took today of anna
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- PAULHARTE25 (PAUL HARTE)
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