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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

Guppies or endler?... or platy?

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24 Sep 2011 11:33 #1 by Kevin (Kevin Burke)
Going to get fish for my new set up very soon (54l tank with alkaline and slightly hard water).

I was thinking of getting about 4 guppies because I've heard they are more suited to conditions I have and also are generally hardy. But I was also thinking maybe 5-6 endlers just because they're smaller and will have more space in my tank while still being suited to my conditions.. Are they an okay starter fish?

Platy is a potential too.

Any advice greatly appreciated.. I will be purchasing next week! Looking forward to finally getting some fish in my tank.

Kevin

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24 Sep 2011 13:15 #2 by ger310 (Ger .)
How yeh Kev,there is not much difference between the guppy and endler(very closely related) even in size so i'd leave choosing which until your at the pet shop and see which one catches your eye the most....The platy's are alway's an excellent choice as are Mollies but just be careful when buying as they are often pregnant when you buy them(which is not a bad thing) so just ask in store which is male/female(anal fin is fan like on the female) and which does not look pregnant if it's a female you want......Remember at all times,your tank is only 54L so don't go mad when in there(happens to us all),but try and resist

all the best

Ger

What do you call a three legged Donkey?

A Wonkey....duh ha :)

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24 Sep 2011 13:49 #3 by Kevin (Kevin Burke)
I thought that guppies are roughly m=1.2in, f=2.4in and endler are m/f=1in. And this is why i was leaning possily to endler because they'd have more space in my tank.

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  • Valerie (Valerie)
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24 Sep 2011 18:40 - 24 Sep 2011 18:43 #4 by Valerie (Valerie)
Replied by Valerie (Valerie) on topic Re: Guppies or endler?... or platy?
Guppies/endlers, platy, swordtails are easy enough fish to keep when starting up. Though, they are not as resistant as they used to be. I find it hard to keep mine alive for any big length of time for some reason !

Personally, I would go for either guppies or endlers. Both are from the same family and would mix, shall there be any fry (hybrid). Ratio-wise, for either, I would go for 1 male / 3 females.

A mixture of community fish would be nice in a 54 l tank, but, don't add them all at the same time (let the bacteria build up slowly) and be careful not to overload it in time. They say approximately 1 cm of an adult fish per litre of water.

Starting to put fish in a new set up is a nice moment in a fish-keeper's life ! Enjoy ! :)

Valerie
Last edit: 24 Sep 2011 18:43 by Valerie (Valerie).

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24 Sep 2011 23:52 #5 by Kevin (Kevin Burke)
Hey Valerie

I'd say I'll most likely go down the endler/guppy route. I was thinking more endler because I thought they're smaller but Ger said they're similar in size.

Well I'll see what they look like in the shop but it'll be one of the two. And I was planning on getting 4; one male three females as you suggest.

I wasn't intending on getting next fish for probably 6 weeks or more after that. But the plan is to get maybe 3 corries and 2 dwarf gourami. That'll be enough in my tank. I want everyone to have space.

I need to find out about a small breed of cory.

Kevin

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  • stretnik (stretnik)
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25 Sep 2011 09:20 - 25 Sep 2011 09:21 #6 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re: Guppies or endler?... or platy?
Corydoras habrosus or pygmaeus, I've had both and adore them, they are cute to boot !! I had 4 after a shoal of 12 were decimated by a big spike in Nitrites, my fault, a few months later I was just looking at the Tank, not for anything specific and out of the blue a shoal of 12 were back to their former glory, they had bred I knew this because the newer ones were much smaller than the originals.

The sieve from the return of the External fell off and they disappeared yet again, I opened the Filter and yes, they were all there, alive and kicking, they look neat in a group and aren't crazy money either.

Have you thought of some of the newer types of Platy ?

Kev.
Last edit: 25 Sep 2011 09:21 by stretnik (stretnik).

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25 Sep 2011 09:22 #7 by sincgar (Feargal Costello)
I have not seen many female endlers in shops as it is only the male that is colourful. The male is tiny and mine are barely an inch if you include tails to lips. Any guppy i've seen are much larger.
They will interbreed so prob best kept on their own

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25 Sep 2011 11:28 #8 by Kevin (Kevin Burke)
Hey Kev - I was actually looking at those corries online last night afterwards.. I googled "small corydoras" haha. Yeah they look pretty cool. I'd say a shoal of about 6 or so would be good in my tank. They'd have plenty of space. Are they busy during the day and are they as hardy as the standard corries?
Although they must be hardy enough if they were in your filter! What are the newer types of platy? I don't know anything about them.



If it's only male endlers do they fight with each other? Also, how big are endler females if they were available?


Kevin

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25 Sep 2011 11:39 #9 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re: Guppies or endler?... or platy?
Pygmaeus and habrosus will be active pretty much 24-7, they are cool in a shoal, the bigger the shoal the more you'll see of them. Endler males will be fine together and the colours are amazing. Dwarf Cories need good Water quality to thrive.

Kev.

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