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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
What am I doing wrong?????????
- Lido (Eddie Hourigan)
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15 Oct 2008 21:50 #1
by Lido (Eddie Hourigan)
What am I doing wrong????????? was created by Lido (Eddie Hourigan)
Hi guys,
Thank you for all the advice so far.
What has happened so far?
When I brought my tank, my retailer gave me 2 goldfish to \"cycle\" the tank, subsequentialy, I put 5 Mollies in, when it looked to be going OK, all of which died in 1 week. After numerous water checks, my ammonia levels were off the scale, so I emptied the tank completely, changed the water, using the original filters, which had matured, as I thought, checked the water, and the levels were pretty much OK, I bought 2 plants and 5 guppies, 2m and 3f. Within 3 days the males had died, the 3 females are still thriving, although they have stripped 1 of the plants x 50%, I have removed the decayed leaves, and alternating their food between flakes and frozen combo of bloodworm / mosquito larvae etc. Have anyone come across water that is TOTALLY unsuitable? I live in the suburbs of Cork, so there shouldn't be an issue about water, I think???????????????
Any advise will be greatly appreciated as I don't know what do do next.
Regards,
Eddie.
Thank you for all the advice so far.
What has happened so far?
When I brought my tank, my retailer gave me 2 goldfish to \"cycle\" the tank, subsequentialy, I put 5 Mollies in, when it looked to be going OK, all of which died in 1 week. After numerous water checks, my ammonia levels were off the scale, so I emptied the tank completely, changed the water, using the original filters, which had matured, as I thought, checked the water, and the levels were pretty much OK, I bought 2 plants and 5 guppies, 2m and 3f. Within 3 days the males had died, the 3 females are still thriving, although they have stripped 1 of the plants x 50%, I have removed the decayed leaves, and alternating their food between flakes and frozen combo of bloodworm / mosquito larvae etc. Have anyone come across water that is TOTALLY unsuitable? I live in the suburbs of Cork, so there shouldn't be an issue about water, I think???????????????
Any advise will be greatly appreciated as I don't know what do do next.
Regards,
Eddie.
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- KenS (Ken Simpson)
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15 Oct 2008 22:19 #2
by KenS (Ken Simpson)
Regards,
Ken.
Replied by KenS (Ken Simpson) on topic Re:What am I doing wrong?????????
It would be good to know the size of the tank.
You would have been better sticking with the two goldfish rather than adding additional fish at this early stage. When cycling with fish, you need to monitor your paramters closely. If ammonia or nitrITE go over 0.25, you should do a 25% water change. You'll probably find yourself doing daily water changes.
Goldfish are hardy, but they will not tolerate very high levels of ammonia or nitrITE over several days. When your levels were high, there was no need to empty the tank. A couple of 50% water changes over two days would have done the trick.
Make sure your levels are right and start doing water changes to keep them within acceptable limits for your fish. Also ensure you're using a dechlorinator and bringing the water up to tank temperature for water changes. There will be no need to clean your filters during this process. In fact, cleaning them will slow down the cycle.
Is there any way you can get some matured filter media? This would speed up the process significantly. Cycling with fish without matured media will take 4-6 weeks before you can add more fish.
You would have been better sticking with the two goldfish rather than adding additional fish at this early stage. When cycling with fish, you need to monitor your paramters closely. If ammonia or nitrITE go over 0.25, you should do a 25% water change. You'll probably find yourself doing daily water changes.
Goldfish are hardy, but they will not tolerate very high levels of ammonia or nitrITE over several days. When your levels were high, there was no need to empty the tank. A couple of 50% water changes over two days would have done the trick.
Make sure your levels are right and start doing water changes to keep them within acceptable limits for your fish. Also ensure you're using a dechlorinator and bringing the water up to tank temperature for water changes. There will be no need to clean your filters during this process. In fact, cleaning them will slow down the cycle.
Is there any way you can get some matured filter media? This would speed up the process significantly. Cycling with fish without matured media will take 4-6 weeks before you can add more fish.
Regards,
Ken.
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- Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
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16 Oct 2008 09:59 #3
by Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
Replied by Fishowner (Gavin fishowner) on topic Re:What am I doing wrong?????????
Eddie,what are you tank readings? Also what part of Cork,Im in Cork myself so may be able to tell you abit about the water.
Gavin
Gavin
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- organicsteve (steve whiteside)
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16 Oct 2008 11:56 #4
by organicsteve (steve whiteside)
Replied by organicsteve (steve whiteside) on topic Re:What am I doing wrong?????????
Hi Eddie,
Very good advise from KenS.
There is another way though.
Using Organic Aqua at this stage will afford you the luxury of being able to stock your tank immediately without the danger of any fish loss whatsoever.
I am well aware that lots of fishkeepers prefer the old and trusted method of cycling their systems 'traditionally' but I think most people would agree that using a product that stops fish dying and reduces the time you must spend maintaining your set-up without the use of chemicals has got to be a good thing.
Organic Aqua is available from the pet shop beside the Kinsale Road roundabout if you're interested.
Please do not hessitate to contact me with any queries you or anyone else may have regarding this revolutionary new method of fishkeeping.
Cheers,
Steve
Very good advise from KenS.
There is another way though.
Using Organic Aqua at this stage will afford you the luxury of being able to stock your tank immediately without the danger of any fish loss whatsoever.
I am well aware that lots of fishkeepers prefer the old and trusted method of cycling their systems 'traditionally' but I think most people would agree that using a product that stops fish dying and reduces the time you must spend maintaining your set-up without the use of chemicals has got to be a good thing.
Organic Aqua is available from the pet shop beside the Kinsale Road roundabout if you're interested.
Please do not hessitate to contact me with any queries you or anyone else may have regarding this revolutionary new method of fishkeeping.
Cheers,
Steve
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- Lido (Eddie Hourigan)
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13 Nov 2008 23:31 #5
by Lido (Eddie Hourigan)
Replied by Lido (Eddie Hourigan) on topic Re:What am I doing wrong?????????
Hi Guys,
Sorry I haven't been able to reply earlier, thanks for all the advice, I now have a reasonably good tank, still learning though.
One question I have though is about my Silver Dollars. I have noticed over the last few days that they're fins look to have been nipped, on 2 of them anyway. I have them now for 4 weeks and they are growing well, but this week their fins seem to be disintegrating.
I have 3 x Guppies, (2 x females, 1 x male) 4 x neons , 4 x rummy's. I haven't noticed them nipping, it does not seem to be fin rot ( I think), maybe it's the rough-ish rocks in the tank, I'm not sure.
Any ideas guys??????
Eddie
Sorry I haven't been able to reply earlier, thanks for all the advice, I now have a reasonably good tank, still learning though.
One question I have though is about my Silver Dollars. I have noticed over the last few days that they're fins look to have been nipped, on 2 of them anyway. I have them now for 4 weeks and they are growing well, but this week their fins seem to be disintegrating.
I have 3 x Guppies, (2 x females, 1 x male) 4 x neons , 4 x rummy's. I haven't noticed them nipping, it does not seem to be fin rot ( I think), maybe it's the rough-ish rocks in the tank, I'm not sure.
Any ideas guys??????
Eddie
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- duzzy1 (Martin Kennedy)
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13 Nov 2008 23:43 #6
by duzzy1 (Martin Kennedy)
Replied by duzzy1 (Martin Kennedy) on topic Re:What am I doing wrong?????????
silver dollars , pacu's and pirahna are all of the same family , and are well known for eating each others fins as a source of protein . wouldn't worry about it too much ... as long as they are all still swimming . How mature are the silver dollars ??
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- Lido (Eddie Hourigan)
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14 Nov 2008 23:00 #7
by Lido (Eddie Hourigan)
Replied by Lido (Eddie Hourigan) on topic Re:What am I doing wrong?????????
Thanks for the reassurance duzzy1, they are swimming very well, I have them now about 4 weeks, not sure how old they were when I got them, just a bit bigger than a €2 coin, I suppose. They have grown a lot in the last few weeks and are very active in the tank. I believe with fin rot that a white mucus appears on the fins, is this true???
Eddie
Eddie
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- bren (brendan keenan)
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14 Nov 2008 23:26 #8
by bren (brendan keenan)
Replied by bren (brendan keenan) on topic Re:What am I doing wrong?????????
Try filtering your water fronm the tap and warm it to your tank water and then axchange 1/8th of your water.Do this every weeek.Make sure you dont over feed (ie all food gone after 5 minutes).
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- sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
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14 Nov 2008 23:55 #9
by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
Fishkeeping the Only way to get wet and wild
currently 25 tanks, and breeding is the aim of everything i keep
location:Limerick
Replied by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie) on topic Re:What am I doing wrong?????????
this article in practical fishkeeping will help you more clearly if it is finrot or just nipped fins, hope it helps
www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages...e.php?article_id=263
www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages...e.php?article_id=263
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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- Lido (Eddie Hourigan)
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15 Nov 2008 00:37 #10
by Lido (Eddie Hourigan)
Replied by Lido (Eddie Hourigan) on topic Re:What am I doing wrong?????????
Thanks guys,
On the last water change I did boil the water and add it to ordinary tap water, about 0.25 boiled to 0.75 normal, so the water was warm when adding to the tank.
With regard to Fin Rot, thank you Sheag, that article was very useful, I had a Guppy with very similar symptoms during the week which has died since. The dollars are not showing similar signs, it does seem like nipping, probably amoung themselves, I will have to keep a close eye on them.
Eddie
On the last water change I did boil the water and add it to ordinary tap water, about 0.25 boiled to 0.75 normal, so the water was warm when adding to the tank.
With regard to Fin Rot, thank you Sheag, that article was very useful, I had a Guppy with very similar symptoms during the week which has died since. The dollars are not showing similar signs, it does seem like nipping, probably amoung themselves, I will have to keep a close eye on them.
Eddie
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- bren (brendan keenan)
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18 Jul 2009 22:30 #11
by bren (brendan keenan)
Replied by bren (brendan keenan) on topic Re:What am I doing wrong?????????
Trouble with discus, not eating look emaciated ,i think i have tapeworm infestation .any advise wellcome
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- sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
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19 Jul 2009 02:11 #12
by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
Fishkeeping the Only way to get wet and wild
currently 25 tanks, and breeding is the aim of everything i keep
location:Limerick
Replied by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie) on topic Re:What am I doing wrong?????????
quarentine those you suspect have it and treat with an anti internal parasitic treatment, would also treat the main tank incase they pooped out and tapeworm eggs
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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