Hello from an old timer fishkeeper

I'm a bit late introducing myself. I think I placed his intro into the wrong section the other day.

I'm the founder of St Pappin's AS which we started back in the '70s in Ballymun, and remained the secretary until we lost the club basement... and some bad blood sneaked in as will in most successful ventures.

How we got started: I placed a notice in the window of Miss Mary's shop in Ballymun asking interested parties to contact me. Ken Norton was one of the first to sit around with us discussing whether the club might work or not, and we decided to give it a go. The club was formed in my flat and that's where we started our meetings, moved to monthly meetings in St Pappins Hall and then to a basement in the flats, donated by Dublin Corporation.

Very quickly we joined the FBAS and we used to have great table shows at the meetings in the school hall, and the raffles were well worth winning. The auctions were fun, some items could be seen openly, but we also parcelled up our no longer required equipment (often rubbish) and the bidder didn't know what they were bidding on.. that was fun and a good way of raising much needed funds for the club -- rent for the hall, printing, FBAS membership, trophies etc. We had a great treasurer in a chap named Jim Kenny (RIP) from Portmarnock, every penny accounted for and he was also a good fundraiser for the open shows.

The All Ireland Open Shows were well attended, lasting a weekend with aquarists benching from all corners of Ireland and good ol' Davy Jameson coming all the way from Belfast to judge the entries.

I'm getting on a bit now, but I've been thinking of resurrecting St Pappins A.S. So who knows, we may arise again, Phoenix-like.... and see more great friendships form and fishkeeping thrive here and in surrounding areas again.

My first tank I bought in the '60s in Capel Street cost me 25 shillings and I bought the gravel, pump, filter as well as a few guppies which were 1 shilling each for males.

I'm still into my fish, haven't been without fish in 40+ years. My favourites have always been the more peaceful cichlids as I enjoy a well planted tank.... though I love a well setup community tank as well.

Best wishes to all.

welcome to the forum rashers, very interesting past there you've had, why not join the lenister fishkeeping club thats up and running, they meet in Rosie O Gradys i'm sure someone here will direct you to the next meeting.... anyway enjoy welcome and spread the knowledge

Nice of you to pop in, and for sharing that interesting bit of history. Will you be hanging around? New Blood is always welcome !

What's a Shilling?

Kev.

stretnik wrote:

Nice of you to pop in, and for sharing that interesting bit of history. Will you be hanging around? New Blood is always welcome !

What's a Shilling?

Kev.

just for you kev


you young whipper snapper

Welcome to the forum rasher. have you noticed the hardyness of the fish changing through the years?
Like the way guppys used to be really really Hardy years ago not these days


Mark

Thanks for the welcome sheag35, stretnik and yep I'll be dropping in to the forum more often, or for as long as no one gets bored listening to an oul fella talking about the 'good ol' days'.

Thank you too SpiderMonkey. And yes it's incredible how small and weak some fish have become. Like you I notice it particularly in the livebearers -- guppies, platies, swordtails. I blame years of inbreeding in attempts to produce man-made specimens... how many lyretail or so-called hi fin swordtails would one find in the wild for instance? I don't think its a coincidence that it's the easily bred fish that are suffering.

Welcome along, its great we get a so called newcomer...yet has so much experience to share. Thumbs up.
Hope you enjoy the place here, we can benefit from your knowledge,and who knows,we might even get Kev into the old money as well!!!
Im also glad to see that after all these years,where you no doubt went through different phases and stages of keeping certain fish etc, that you are still drawn to a nice community set up also.
Gavin

Thanks for the welcome Gavin,

I've been a member for 3 years but totally forgot. Then when I began thinking if resurrecting St Pappins club locally I remembered... and anyway over the years my old fishkeeping buddies have either gone their own ways or went off to see what comes next. So it'll be nice to chat with fishkeepers once again.

Yep, I went through all the stages, from only livebearers to you name it... had one fish we named Mick Jagger which seemed to enjoy moving the gravel from one end of the tank to the other... an aquatic JCB! It was a food fish in the then Mozambique, so you can guess what it was. The tilapia mosambique... I'm sure it's since been reclassified.

I love a well planted tank, and there's few things more relaxing to look at than a community tank with fishes which swim in all levels, and of course the plants. Years ago I read somewhere that the reason doctors and dentists kept tanks in their waiting rooms was because they were relaxing for patients - I can well believe it.

Well said Rashers, the tv in my house gets less viewing time than the tanks thankfully,and as I type this now Im watching Kribs fry sifting through the sand,a pair of eyes popping out of the Java fern belonging to some kulhi loaches, a bamboo shrimp taking it all in under the filter outlet and a few corys just doing their thing amongst others in their! Yup tanks can be the best for relaxing thats for sure!

Gavin

Ah kribs... my wife's favourite ever since I bought the first pair for two and six (12 and a half pence Kev ) You've reminded me of what I must buy next time I see them in a reputable pet shop.

I remember a kuhli loach going missing once and turning up much later in an outside filter, found another one when I lifted the plates of an undergravel filter.

At the mo I'm looking at my convict cichlids defending their cave, and others just mooching around. Everyone says that they are notorious plant eaters, but in over the year since I got the preombasent ones they haven't as much as nibbled at the finest plant in the tank, the cabomba.

welcome rashers - great to hear that you kept with the fishkeeping all that time. Would be great to see St. Pappins back in action

Jim.

Thanks Jim.

Sorry for the delay in my response. I have an idea for getting St Pappins AS up and running again, though I probably wouldn't be as active as I used to be -- so hopefully a new, younger committee could get it running again in it's former glory.

Jim

PS/... Is there a section on the board here where one can offer free fish? I don't seem to qualify for the For Sale threads.

I must have missed this thread.

Welcome along to the forum Rashers.

t'naught wrong with old-timers going on about the good olde days......if only to give the youngsters laughs about angle iron marine tanks falling to pieces as we watched them flake-apart.

ian

igmillichip wrote:

I must have missed this thread.

Welcome along to the forum Rashers.

t'naught wrong with old-timers going on about the good olde days......if only to give the youngsters laughs about angle iron marine tanks falling to pieces as we watched them flake-apart.

ian

Thanks for the welcome. Ah yes the oul tanks, and not just marine, falling apart. I once had a lovely angle iron tank -- 3ft deep! I used to have to stand on a box to reach the bottom because it was welded onto iron legs bringing the top of it past chest height. Anyway, after a few years it started to flake near the top and luckily I checked and found it hadn't long to live -- thankfully I saved the neighbours in the flat below from a good drenching.

I got a 6ft angle iron tank frame and had it standing on it's side in the hall. One morning when I came home from work it was just a heap of iron. The wife had decided if the other one could have drowned a neighbour or two what would a 6 ft one do if it blew... so she spent most of the night cutting it with a hacksaw! We talk again now

By the way, don't know if you saw my bit at the end of the previous post, but I'm trying to give away a few fish but it seems I don't qualify to post on the For Sale thread... even though they're free. So if you know a moderator put in a good word for me please

rashers wrote:

igmillichip wrote:

I must have missed this thread.

Welcome along to the forum Rashers.

t'naught wrong with old-timers going on about the good olde days......if only to give the youngsters laughs about angle iron marine tanks falling to pieces as we watched them flake-apart.

ian

Thanks for the welcome. Ah yes the oul tanks, and not just marine, falling apart. I once had a lovely angle iron tank -- 3ft deep! I used to have to stand on a box to reach the bottom because it was welded onto iron legs bringing the top of it past chest height. Anyway, after a few years it started to flake near the top and luckily I checked and found it hadn't long to live -- thankfully I saved the neighbours in the flat below from a good drenching.

I got a 6ft angle iron tank frame and had it standing on it's side in the hall. One morning when I came home from work it was just a heap of iron. The wife had decided if the other one could have drowned a neighbour or two what would a 6 ft one do if it blew... so she spent most of the night cutting it with a hacksaw! We talk again now

By the way, don't know if you saw my bit at the end of the previous post, but I'm trying to give away a few fish but it seems I don't qualify to post on the For Sale thread... even though they're free. So if you know a moderator put in a good word for me please

...and then when the top ledge had totally rotted away, you could hook one of the air-pump driven bubble-up external filters outside the tank (actually, I wouldn't mind getting one of them again).

ian

Jaysus Rashers i just read your earlier posts and you brought a lot of memories(none fishkeeping) back to me.....Being originally from the flats or high rise apartments as we used to call them for the craic,words like St Pappins and Miss Mary's shop brought some great memories back!!
Anyhow if you could post on here any progress with getting St Pappins AS back up and running would be great and as i still live quite close,i would defo join!!

Ger

rashers wrote:

By the way, don't know if you saw my bit at the end of the previous post, but I'm trying to give away a few fish but it seems I don't qualify to post on the For Sale thread... even though they're free. So if you know a moderator put in a good word for me please

I know you may not sell any items without the requisite number of posts, but there have been examples of new members giving fish away (well, shrimp if I remember correctly).
You could always pm one of the mods and ask if you are allowed.

Anywho, welcome on board.

L

Hi Rashers,

Belatedly welcome to the forum !

You are not a "new" member per se as your contribution to the Irish fish keeping community is proven !
Please post away in the "For Sale" category, I won't delete your post !

Valerie

ger310 wrote:

Jaysus Rashers i just read your earlier posts and you brought a lot of memories(none fishkeeping) back to me.....Being originally from the flats or high rise apartments as we used to call them for the craic,words like St Pappins and Miss Mary's shop brought some great memories back!!
Anyhow if you could post on here any progress with getting St Pappins AS back up and running would be great and as i still live quite close,i would defo join!!

Ger

Sorry about the delay in getting back to you, Ger, and to everyone.

I've asked my daughter, who used to be a junior member of the club way back when, if she would do as I once did... canvass for interest in the resurrection of the club in the area and trying for a meeting place.

I'll probably wait till after Christmas to put real time into it, but then I'll advertise locally to see the level of interest that might be shown.

All going well it would be nice to see St Pappins AS meetings once again in the Spring.

Valerie wrote:

Hi Rashers,

Belatedly welcome to the forum !

You are not a "new" member per se as your contribution to the Irish fish keeping community is proven !
Please post away in the "For Sale" category, I won't delete your post !

Valerie

Thank you Valerie.

I will now advertise my Convicts. I want to change to a pure community tank with lots of plants, and the Convicts, while breeding in particular, can be a nuisance to other more peaceful tank occupants.

As for my contribution to Irish fishkeeping... sure I'm a young old age pensioner.

Welcome on board. Love the stories so keep posting. I'm a culchie so angle iron is used for making trailers, fences and the like. However, in my younger days i actually stayed in digs for a while in St Pappins. The landlady was just that a lady and I really enjoyed my unfortunately short time there as I moved on to bigger different things

welcome, think il be learning a bit from you

jeff wrote:

welcome, think il be learning a bit from you

Hope so jeff. Though the attitude I'm coming across in pet shops is "this oul ba**tard is trying to tell us how things were done in his day!" All I try to do is compare things as they were years ago with how they are now. For instance as mentioned earlier many fish were more robust than some I'm seeing these days. I was in a pet shop a couple of weeks ago and if the same guppies had been on sale a few years ago the owner would have been advised to feed them to his piranhas... no one with any experience would have bought them.

Still I'm equally certain there are many changes for the better too.

rashers wrote:

ger310 wrote:

Jaysus Rashers i just read your earlier posts and you brought a lot of memories(none fishkeeping) back to me.....Being originally from the flats or high rise apartments as we used to call them for the craic,words like St Pappins and Miss Mary's shop brought some great memories back!!
Anyhow if you could post on here any progress with getting St Pappins AS back up and running would be great and as i still live quite close,i would defo join!!

Ger

Sorry about the delay in getting back to you, Ger, and to everyone.

I've asked my daughter, who used to be a junior member of the club way back when, if she would do as I once did... canvass for interest in the resurrection of the club in the area and trying for a meeting place.

I'll probably wait till after Christmas to put real time into it, but then I'll advertise locally to see the level of interest that might be shown.

All going well it would be nice to see St Pappins AS meetings once again in the Spring.

Ah here's hoping Jim......it would be great alright.....and if things start to happen in the New Year,dont forget to advertise on here as i'm sure there would be plenty of interest!

Ger

rashers wrote:

Still I'm equally certain there are many changes for the better too.

not many.

the quality of the fish available is getting worse by the day. the resession and the need to drop the prices but stay profitable is causing a pro rata drop in quality.

just to add that imo it is not the shops alone that decide the quality, it is the buying public. as in all business its all about supply and demand.

Hello and welcome to the forum. Great to have another veteran on board.

Jay

ger310 wrote:

rashers wrote:

ger310 wrote:

Jaysus Rashers i just read your earlier posts and you brought a lot of memories(none fishkeeping) back to me.....Being originally from the flats or high rise apartments as we used to call them for the craic,words like St Pappins and Miss Mary's shop brought some great memories back!!
Anyhow if you could post on here any progress with getting St Pappins AS back up and running would be great and as i still live quite close,i would defo join!!

Ger

Sorry about the delay in getting back to you, Ger, and to everyone.

I've asked my daughter, who used to be a junior member of the club way back when, if she would do as I once did... canvass for interest in the resurrection of the club in the area and trying for a meeting place.

I'll probably wait till after Christmas to put real time into it, but then I'll advertise locally to see the level of interest that might be shown.

All going well it would be nice to see St Pappins AS meetings once again in the Spring.

Ah here's hoping Jim......it would be great alright.....and if things start to happen in the New Year,dont forget to advertise on here as i'm sure there would be plenty of interest!

Ger

Once things get started I'll be shouting it from the rooftops, Ger. And this forum is a good rooftop too.

derek wrote:

rashers wrote:

Still I'm equally certain there are many changes for the better too.

not many.

the quality of the fish available is getting worse by the day. the resession and the need to drop the prices but stay profitable is causing a pro rata drop in quality.

just to add that imo it is not the shops alone that decide the quality, it is the buying public. as in all business its all about supply and demand.

You bring up a couple of good points there derek.

The recession: I remember back in the 70s (and before) when workers were put on 3 day weeks, the oil shortages, the government telling us we must tighten our belts... and back then IMO the quality of the fish was good and didn't seem to deteriorate with the shortages then. Only difference that comes to mind is the number of species available was nothing like it is today... and Rift lakes cichlids were almost as expensive as marines.

As for customers deciding on the quality... how right you are. If customers would stop allowing the pet shop assistants to decide which fish to put in your plastic bag things would change. Be assertive (this to newbies to the hobby) and pick out your own fish and yes even net them yourselves.... and let the assistants, as well as anyone within earshot, know the reason you refused to take any of the others -- ie they are presenting with clamped fins.... poor deportment.... having concave bellies. I could go on but this would have to be a long post then. But in truth you owe it to the hobby to refuse to buy sub-standard fish.

God, derek... you nearly had me dragging out me soap box there!

Hey there Mr Bacon....

I recently purchased Ten German Rams and the quality is , out of this World, Sean also known as Vision 260 got a dozen too and agrees they are fabulous. They are active, were active from the moment they were released into the Tank, begging for Food. Now, the strange thing is, the source, the supplier, is well well known and has a history of supplying very below par Fish but these are really strong, I got an outbreak if Ich shortly after, could have been them , who knows but the were subjected to 32 degrees c and Salt and eSHa Exit and have romped home the winners.

I agree on the whole, inbreeding and subjecting the Fish to all sorts has lead to Rubbish being sent to the unwary Hobbyist.

When you see these

You have to ask yourself, who sets the standards?

Kev.

I'm not familiar with the German Rams, stretnik. But on suppliers... I remember when a pet shop in town used to buy fish from breeders. One particular breeder used to supply well looked after Swordtails and Platies and would never touch a hifin nor a lyretail... man-made fish.

But in general, those who sold their surplus to that shop got to be known and you could trust the quality of their fish.

I suppose there might be a debate in whether there is a plus or minus between trusted local sources -v- overseas suppliers. I have seen many shops recently selling fish almost immediately they are releasd into their tanks. Anyone remember Jebi's in South Richmond St (now long closed)? He wouldn't sell you fish from any of his tanks until they had been quarantined for 3 weeks in the tanks where they could be seen. Now that was a shop you could trust.