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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

jumping the gun, stocking ideas please

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11 Nov 2010 17:03 #1 by joey (joe watson)
so i am selling up most my stock and want a planted community in my 4 foot 450l with 100l sump
i am keeping:
5x cory sterbai
6x clown loaches
small species pleco (unidentified) 5"
4x otto
3x chinese algae eaters
1x denisonii barb
1x rainbow shark

i know its jumping the gun a bit, like spending lotto winnings befor the ticket is bought, but does anyone have any suggestions of what to stock it with? i want 6 denisonii's and am thinking medium barbs, i dont care about being biotopal just a selection of schooling fish that are plant safe.

was thinking of tiger & ruby barbs too. any suggestions for the top of the tank, or will i keep the archer fish???

Location: Portlaoise, Midlands

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11 Nov 2010 17:19 #2 by SpiderMonkey (Mark O'Neill)

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11 Nov 2010 17:58 #3 by duzzy1 (Martin Kennedy)
not sure about the plant safe side of things but i saw some really nice red cheek barbs in av yesterday which looked really nice

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11 Nov 2010 18:40 #4 by joey (joe watson)
seen them too, red checkered barbs
i have just googled and seen they ARE plant eaters
anyone keeping red eye tetra? seen them in a few shops they are big enough to not get too much hassle but anyone here keeping them? do they school well??

Location: Portlaoise, Midlands

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11 Nov 2010 19:11 #5 by dyco619 (steve carmody)
a friend of mine has a school of about 25 Columbian redfin tetra, they look really good and shoal up well.

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11 Nov 2010 19:42 #6 by Gerry The Chip (Gerard)
I have 4 columbian tetra in my community tank along with a school of rummynose and a school of neons and pristella tetras but the Colombians are the best to watch there much bigger and jus chase each other around all day, I got them in Aquatic village around January. Or wat about some Poppendetta? they have great colors and really thrive in a planted tank.

Gerry

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11 Nov 2010 20:00 #7 by Turner85 (David Turner)
I have ten denisonis, they always stick together and follow me as im walking by the tank

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11 Nov 2010 22:25 #8 by joey (joe watson)
Turner85 wrote:

I have ten denisonis, they always stick together and follow me as im walking by the tank

what size tank do you have? sounds lovely

any ideas on something that will swim in schools near the top/middle area of the tank? my denisoni hangs near the bottom, but i'm not sur if its just from the bigger boisterous barbs and sharks

Location: Portlaoise, Midlands

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11 Nov 2010 23:41 #9 by Viperbot (Jason Hughes)
I keep tigers and would reccomend them in any barb setup but I would be a little concerned for your ottos. However, if your tank is big enough to house a shoal of 8 or more (12 being ideal) then I doubt you would have too many problems as they would be more interested in bickering with each other...most of the time.

Jay

Location: Finglas, North Dublin.

Life
may not be the party we hoped for, but while we
are here we might as well dance.

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11 Nov 2010 23:47 #10 by Turner85 (David Turner)
My tanks around 420 litres there abouts. Only have the barbs and a pleco. They stay mid to bottom most of the time. Not to sure what fish would hang around the top of the tank

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12 Nov 2010 00:01 #11 by Viperbot (Jason Hughes)
Danios spend a lot of their time in the upper region of the tank. They like some flow to swim against. Great little fish that will chase each other all day long.

Jay

Location: Finglas, North Dublin.

Life
may not be the party we hoped for, but while we
are here we might as well dance.

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12 Nov 2010 12:36 #12 by joey (joe watson)
@viperbot: if i get 6 normal and 6 green tiger barbs would they school together or would i need 12 of just 1 variety?

@turner85: this is why i am contemplating keeping my archer fish they are always at the top, but i want barbs or tetra cherry barb sized, and would be afraid of predation

Location: Portlaoise, Midlands

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12 Nov 2010 12:51 #13 by Viperbot (Jason Hughes)
joey wrote:

@viperbot: if i get 6 normal and 6 green tiger barbs would they school together or would i need 12 of just 1 variety?



They will indeed shoal together and will also happily breed together too. Try to find green tigers with a dark metallic colouration that covers the entire body. They look great.

Jay

Location: Finglas, North Dublin.

Life
may not be the party we hoped for, but while we
are here we might as well dance.

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12 Nov 2010 13:03 #14 by joey (joe watson)
aye i have seen them, i was thinkin i need 8-10 of each to spread the aggression but now i can get 6 of each as 1 multicoloured school! class.

any suggestions for the top strata? or will i keep the archers? decisions... i'm worse than her picking what shoes to wear...

Location: Portlaoise, Midlands

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12 Nov 2010 13:25 - 12 Nov 2010 13:26 #15 by Viperbot (Jason Hughes)
Archers are amazing to watch. I was given a feeding demo a while back by Tommy in Kinsealy who placed some bugs on a branch that was suspended over an open top tank they have on their floor. It took a few shots for them to zero in on them but when they did it was incredible. Knocked straight in and devoured. Archers haowever, are slow moving in comparison to the barbs, and some nipping may occur but if kept in a large shoal like you are planning then I doubt there will be too much trouble. Just keep an eye on things and remove any over boisterous tigers that may attack them.

Jay

Location: Finglas, North Dublin.

Life
may not be the party we hoped for, but while we
are here we might as well dance.
Last edit: 12 Nov 2010 13:26 by Viperbot (Jason Hughes). Reason: spelling

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12 Nov 2010 13:28 #16 by Viperbot (Jason Hughes)
Just to add. I prefer they normal tigers and keep a shoal of a dozen of them. However a mixed shoal of six of each would be very impressive too. Just try to get good quality greens ;) .

Jay

Location: Finglas, North Dublin.

Life
may not be the party we hoped for, but while we
are here we might as well dance.

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12 Nov 2010 13:43 #17 by dar (darren curry)
Viperbot wrote:

keep a shoal of a dozen of them


a dozen or a bakers dozen?

Check out the angling section, it is fantastic

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12 Nov 2010 13:47 #18 by stan (stan)
joey,

not sure if your looking for the hanging around shoaling type or the constantly active type but i used to keep a shoal of 8 of these a few years ago and they are brillant
BARILIUS CANARENSIS.
always on the go and a stunning fish

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12 Nov 2010 15:47 #19 by joey (joe watson)
i seen them in purrfect pets during the week stan, have stephen (hopefully) holding them for me they are lovely. sometimes known as mackrel barbs but often confused with some other similar species! good find mate cheers.

Location: Portlaoise, Midlands

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12 Nov 2010 15:51 #20 by Viperbot (Jason Hughes)
dar wrote:

Viperbot wrote:

keep a shoal of a dozen of them


a dozen or a bakers dozen?



Doesnt need to be exact, and like most fish that prefer to be in groups, the bigger the shoal the better.

Jay

Location: Finglas, North Dublin.

Life
may not be the party we hoped for, but while we
are here we might as well dance.

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12 Nov 2010 15:53 #21 by dar (darren curry)
i once read fish prefare odd numbered groups, don't ask me why, i reckon it is just a myth though

Check out the angling section, it is fantastic

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12 Nov 2010 15:58 #22 by joey (joe watson)
funny that coz in cooking we use odd numbers on the plate (well i do) it is more aesthetically pleasing which might be where that came from

Location: Portlaoise, Midlands

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