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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

Opinions please...

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07 Jul 2013 12:20 #1 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
I have mixed feelings about this gravel. It's river gravel (not bought, actually from a river) and I left some of the larger walnut-sized stones in to see how it would look. any thoughts?



"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life; your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you.They're freeing your soul."
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07 Jul 2013 13:54 #2 by JohnH (John)
Replied by JohnH (John) on topic Opinions please...
It certainly has a very 'natural' feel and look to it, I like it, but it might be hard to get a gravel cleaner in amongst the larger stones - and you would have a potential 'haven' for any uneaten food.

Anyone else have opinions on LJ's new substrate?

John

Location:
N. Tipp

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.


ITFS member.



It's a long way to Tipperary.

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07 Jul 2013 15:21 #3 by derek (Derek Doyle)
agree with john that it looks good but not practical for maintenance.

30 tanks specialise in african cichlids, angelfish and various catfish

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07 Jul 2013 17:05 #4 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
to be honest, I hadn't worried about cleaning it. it's a small tank, will have few residents and i'm a cautious feeder. it's empty (of fish) at the moment and it'll be a few weeks before I stock it, so I think there'll be a few evenings of staring at it and seeing if it grows on me!

"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life; your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you.They're freeing your soul."

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07 Jul 2013 18:31 #5 by CrustyCrab (Peter Biddulph)
Looks Good. Very Natural.

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07 Jul 2013 19:50 #6 by Gonefishy (Brian oneill)
Looks good...think the cleaning will be only down side but certainly looks the bomb...

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07 Jul 2013 20:12 #7 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
cheers guys. i'm going to wait until it gets dark and then take a photo or two of the whole tank... all 65 litres of it! I painted the back and sides of it, the gravel is dark and there's Mopani, katappa leaves (still floating) and I might be adding alder cones so it's going to be a dark tank.

"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life; your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you.They're freeing your soul."

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07 Jul 2013 20:50 #8 by hammie (Neil Hammerton)
Looks great IMO
Use a small syphon to get in between the rocks and you'll be fine..... or move them around during cleaning!

I have to say I'm a big fan of natural environments

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07 Jul 2013 21:12 #9 by irish-zx10r (James feenan)
very nice looking forward to seeing more photos

Something fishie going on here

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07 Jul 2013 21:56 #10 by Melander (Andreas Melander)
It looks very nice and natural as the lads said, what are you planning to stock it with?

Andreas

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07 Jul 2013 22:23 - 07 Jul 2013 22:24 #11 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
I'm planning on stocking it with Pelvicachromis subocellatus "Matadi". 3-4 until I get a breeding pair and then they'll get the place to themselves. The photo makes the tank look smaller than it is (though it certainly isn't big). They're slightly smaller than a regular Krib so they should be ok. I was thinking of using an old 10ml syringe and some airline, see if I could make the world's gentlest gravel cleaner... or end up just looking like a confused junkie! :pinch:

I also may bed the larger stones further into the gravel... so the effect is still there but they don't need to be moved around


"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life; your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you.They're freeing your soul."
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07 Jul 2013 23:52 #12 by Stem12 (Stephen M)
Agree mate,
I think the Rocks look great!
Best of luck with the new tank and awaiting more pics :)

Stephen M.

Juwel Vision 260-
20ltr-Fluval Spec-
19ltr-Fluval Chi-

Keep The Water Fresh-

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08 Jul 2013 19:52 #13 by wylam (Stuart Sexton)
The set up looks very good.Just one question about the cable tie.Is the plastic used for the cable tie's safe for aquariums?I have a vague memory of a thread about this topic before.

Stuart.

Multi tasking: Screwing up more than one thing at a time.

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08 Jul 2013 20:16 #14 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
as far as I know, it is. it won't be permanent though, just until the java fern gets a grip

"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life; your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you.They're freeing your soul."

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09 Jul 2013 16:16 #15 by wylam (Stuart Sexton)
It does look very realistic tough nice work. :)

Stuart.

Multi tasking: Screwing up more than one thing at a time.

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09 Jul 2013 17:51 #16 by JustinK (Justin Kelly)
The tank looks very well and shouldnt pose a problem with cleaning.
Its only when big stones are all pushed together that it gets hard.
The only issue I see is that stone that might be rusty.
Also in the next photo the bigger rock piece looks off colour now too ?

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09 Jul 2013 19:08 #17 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
yeah, I wondered about the larger rock but I think the rock itself is basalt.

I put in a few katappa leaves on the weekend and there wasn't much difference to the water colour, but last night I added alder cones and boy has the water gotten darker! i'll post a pic in a bit

"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life; your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you.They're freeing your soul."

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09 Jul 2013 20:05 #18 by Melander (Andreas Melander)
Looking forward to more pics.

The tank looks good already, it will look great when the plants have settled and the Matadi are in.

What are you planning to use as a spawning cave, is it enough with the natural rocks? I'm struggling to hide my coconut....

Jez, there's a statement. If this was not a fish forum I would be worried.

Andreas

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09 Jul 2013 21:01 #19 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)

I'm struggling to hide my coconut....


self praise is no praise! :whistle:

the Mopani actually has quite a large cavity under it, so i'm hoping that'll be a breeding site. if not, i'll rethink. i'm looking forward to the java fern giving some coverage on the wood. when it gets going it really gets going. the java moss is there more to help keep nitrates down but it should look good too

I thought i'd give you a before and after to show you the effect the alder cones have had.

BEFORE


AFTER

"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life; your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you.They're freeing your soul."
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21 Jul 2013 10:24 #20 by Melander (Andreas Melander)
Any updates on this one, did you get your Pelvicachromis?

Andreas

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21 Jul 2013 11:18 #21 by igmillichip (ian millichip)
I think it looks great.

Cleaning? well, if all of my African Cichlids tanks are anything to go by then I cannot make any negative comments on cleaning as all my African Cichlids are kept with lumps of rock, bog wood, leaves, cones and a few inches of peat chunks.

If, though, LJ only started keeping fish yesterday then I'd probably mention about difficulties in cleaning.

ian

Irish Tropical Fish Society (ITFS) Member.

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21 Jul 2013 15:31 #22 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
I took out some of the larger chunks of rock because, on examining my parameters, I realised they were limestone; and in fairness, once I took them out and had a good look, it was obvious. I also removed the larger rock with the java moss attached. I bought a breeding cave that i'll cover with moss instead... and I've bound some moss (yes more!) to the branches hanging down. even without the larger bits of rock in it, the substrate still looks chunky and natural.

I got the Kribs today from Des in Maxi Zoo (diamond bloke who makes you more enthusiastic about this hobby just by talking to him). He only had 2 females so I went with 1 male and 2 females. They've just gone in and when it gets dark tonight I'll take a few photos and post 'em

Johnny

"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life; your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you.They're freeing your soul."

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21 Jul 2013 22:27 - 21 Jul 2013 22:29 #23 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
forgive the quality of the photos. they have a lot to do with the camera used (iPhone) and the person holding it (iNcompetent)

ok, so here is the male, the most confident of the bunch. all three of them are small (as u can probably gauge by the alder cones in the photos)


here are all three. I only noticed when I started taking the pictures that with their present colouring they blend in really well with the substrate. I wonder if there's so much granite in the rivers around Lagos.


they're already exploring the tank and the male has started picking at the leaves and gravel looking for something to eat. amazingly, one of the females has already started to colour up some, just around the belly, and sticking with the male. early days yet though

"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life; your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you.They're freeing your soul."
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22 Jul 2013 04:48 #24 by Melander (Andreas Melander)
Nothing wrong with the photos!

Very nice, they are small but it adds the pleasure of seeing them growing IMO.

Andreas

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22 Jul 2013 08:51 #25 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
Thanks mate. They've settled in nicely this morning, eating and swimming around the tank like they own it. I added an extra cave, a clay one I got in MaxiZoo. I glued java moss onto it so hopefully it should blend in in time

"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life; your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you.They're freeing your soul."

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