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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

Tank Shape & Cichlids Question

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02 Apr 2012 12:36 - 02 Apr 2012 12:37 #1 by PompeyBill (Killian Walshe)
Hi Guys, I am thinking about changing my tank setup and stock at the moment. I am intrigued about cichlids and have been reading up on a few basic ones like Convicts and Brichardi etc. My tank is a Fluval Osaka which is 155L/40G roughly. If you have seen this tank it is a more square shaped tank than the normal rectangular shape of most tanks. Does this make it a bad candidate for keeping cichlids? Obviously a longer tank would make it easier for the fish to establish territories, where as mine has more space height wise. I am just worried that the small footprint of the tank restricts me if I want to keep cichlids.

Any help or advice would be great.
Cheers
Bill
Last edit: 02 Apr 2012 12:37 by PompeyBill (Killian Walshe).

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02 Apr 2012 12:45 #2 by jwm (sean sean)
Bill i had my convicts in an aqua one tank. As tall as is wide. Used a number of fake rock for high towers and they never had above normal agression. Kinda like living in an apartment rather than a house. Worked well. Made caves from polystyrene so not that heavy glued with tec 7. Was grand. I love the convicts bullet proof fish always on the go and forever up to something. Can give ya a few to start ya off.

Cheers John

A person who surrenders when he is WRONG, is HONEST. A person who SURRENDERS when not SURE, is WISE. A person who surrenders even if he is RIGHT, is a HUSBAND.

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02 Apr 2012 13:04 #3 by PompeyBill (Killian Walshe)
Thanks John, that is good to hear! I might just take you up on that offer. I just have to figure out what to do with my current stock first. We have danios in there from when we first started keeping fish so my girlfriend doesn't want to give them up, but won't agree to getting another tank. No pleasing some people! :)

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02 Apr 2012 13:11 #4 by jwm (sean sean)
Only posted the same problem couple o weeks ago. Just before i bought a new tank, move things around the house for couple o days confuse and disorientate said girlfriend then let the new tank appear and just run with "that old thing sure thats here years". And then like me beg for forgivness and hopefully ya can keep it..... :)

A person who surrenders when he is WRONG, is HONEST. A person who SURRENDERS when not SURE, is WISE. A person who surrenders even if he is RIGHT, is a HUSBAND.

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02 Apr 2012 13:17 #5 by Ski (Alan McGee)
Ha ha, good solution. I'm sure most of us have had this issue!

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03 Apr 2012 01:02 #6 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
it is ideal to have a larger base area to reduce agression and allow the formation of territories, but by skillful stocking and planning of the tank this can be reduced, eg if buying cichlids dont have ones of the same shape together as one species may view the other as a potential rival for mates and cause agression, break the lines of sight so fish can retreat and hide safely if neccessary, have plenty of cover like jwm suggested with towers / layered rockwork etc so each can have their own home so to speak... but then again i've seen some of the weirdest combinations work for some people while the same combo has been disasters for others...
what kind of cichlids where you thinking of as some will go perfectly with your danios.... the convicts and brichardi's while lovely fish are the rabbits of the fish world, once they start breeding you will be over run with fry, especially brich's, i had 4 which turned into a colony of 200 with successive fry helping guard their more junior siblings before eventually moving the breeding pairs on and letting my frontosa sort out the excess fry, not ideal but i could not keep up with their breeding rate. one of my favourite little cichlids for a small surface area tank is Lamp. mulitifasciatus a shoal of these with shells on the bottom, and leptosoma on top, a fantastic comination imo.

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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04 Apr 2012 11:59 #7 by PompeyBill (Killian Walshe)
Thanks sheag. I honestly don't know what type I am looking for. If some could go with the Danios it would be great! I have a community tank at the moment but as far as I have read on the net, there are not many cichlids that go well in a community tank? (well Rams do but have done them and want something a bit bigger!)

I might just end up rehoming the current occupants and start afresh in the tank.

Just reading up on leptosoma it is mentioned that they are jumpers? My tank has a condensation lid on top but if a fish jumped I don't think it would stop them.

If any one else has suggestions please let me know. I have limited knowledge on cichlids so don't really know what is suitable!

Thanks again,
Bill

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04 Apr 2012 13:01 #8 by igmillichip (ian millichip)
With some cichlids it is not just a matter of base area that is important for territories.

Many Africans show an 'elevation hierarchy' within their community. That means that if you have fish that use the elevation hierarchy to determine who is top-dog then the top-dog will tend to own the lower parts of the tank; sub-ordinate fish will be relegated to the upper regions of the tank. If the sub-ordinates in such a system are given a territory of their own in the upper regions then that may help them stay alive for longer.

Not all cichlids follow the 'top-dog' rule by the way.
Some work by a visual territory.....what they see is what they 'own'. So, carefully placed visual barriers are also a good means to get an interesting mix.

ian

Irish Tropical Fish Society (ITFS) Member.

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