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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

Heart set on a Beta (fighting fish)!!?

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20 Aug 2008 19:28 #1 by Gercro (Ger Cronin)
Hi All,

Just looking for some advice on keeping the siamese fighting fish in a potential community tank. It is a fairly new setup and I currently only have 4 Marigold Platys in the tank, while I decide on my next move. Will the Beta be ok with these and vice versa?

The tank is a 180L, well planted setup, and very well fitered. The girlfriends heart is set on a Beta (I think its the only reason I was allowed a tank in the first place!).I'd really appreciate some advice on good tankmates for it if anyone can help, as the info on the net is quite contradicting at times.

By the way do Platys ever stop giving birth!!!!!?

Thanks
Ger

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20 Aug 2008 19:50 #2 by serratus (Drew Latimer)
Hi Ger, bettas can get picked on in a community tank, hiding and eventually wasting away, have even seen neons give them a hard time!!!! Best group of fish to keep with them is Rasboras-harlequins, redlines, scissortails etc. in a well planted tank, corys. and other small cats are ok, ottos. whiptails, plecs. etc. most other fish will nip/harress them!!!

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20 Aug 2008 20:29 #3 by Gercro (Ger Cronin)
Thanks Serratus,

The last thing I want to do is put one of these beautiful fish through a stressful time. With fins like that I would imagine they could become irresistable to one of their tankmates. I'll stick to the more traditional community setups I've read about so, can you suggest a fish from your experience thats relatively hardy with dramatic impact?

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20 Aug 2008 22:15 #4 by PAULHARTE25 (PAUL HARTE)
Hi ger,if you're looking for something different why not try apistos,i've two female and a male aggassizi double reds,they're a beautiful fish,there's many different varieties,i'm sure you'll find one you like,nice with a big shoal of neon or cardinal tetras

Paul

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20 Aug 2008 22:20 #5 by Valerie (Valerie)
Replied by Valerie (Valerie) on topic Re:Heart set on a Beta (fighting fish)!!?
Betas are indeed a beautiful fish. Their large fins make them indeed quite a target for some fin nippers and also slow swimmers which renders them even more vulnerable.

The only problem I found however with these fish is that, whatever I do, they are quite short lived. :-(
However, it might just be me! :S

Valerie

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20 Aug 2008 22:33 #6 by CJackson (Frank Farrell)
Boesmani Rainbows are fantastic community fish - lively, non aggressive, incredible colour. The adults are most vibrant in their colours - getting better from morning to evening, but you are better off buying juveniles which initially (and especially in lfs tanks) look quite dull and pale. They like to be in a group of 6 or more. A planted tank is a plus, but more important is good swimming space mid tank - some floating plants will help. There are loads of lovely rainbows, but for my money the boesmani are the best.

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21 Aug 2008 09:44 #7 by Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
You could always divide a portion of the tank off with a plastic mesh divider and keep the Betta on that part of the tank where the other fish will be unable to access. Ive seen several betta tanks keep fish in this manner, of course the arguement is there then that you are limited the betta to the size of the tank that he/she has to move around in and also having done a similar set up for my fry before,you will find the tank is never quite the same when things arent fully open to all the fish.
You should consider getting a small tank just for the betta,they dont require large tanks at all,you'd easily get away with a 5 gallon tank for a betta on her own and perhaps a cory or two who wont annoy her.
Gavin

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21 Aug 2008 14:31 #8 by Gercro (Ger Cronin)
I think you are right Gavin, its just not quite the same effect having a sectioned off portion for an individual species, and investing in a seperate tank for a Beta might be a better option in the future. She will just have to keep til then! I have had a look at the Boesmani and the aggasizi double reds and they are indeed fantastic looking fish and definitely something I would consider for this setup.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Ger

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21 Aug 2008 15:37 #9 by Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
Let us know how you get on Ger

Gavin

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