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
themed nano tank info
- john gannon (John Gannon)
- Offline
- Junior Member
-
- Posts: 223
- Thank you received: 57
ive recently got myself a 10ltr cube and am thinking of keeping oscars in it[only joking].no what i would like to do is a miniture cottage with garden theme type thing if you know what i mean .is this possible or am i wasting my time.id like to try find pictures of places in blessington before the lake was formed .i know there is a church in the lake and am sure there is houses there too but cant find any pictures.
any info or even to tell me its a crap idea welcome
thanks in advance
john
ps. im going to keep some shrimp in this tank and maybe just one oscar

IRISH TROPICAL FISH SOCIETY CLUB MEMBER
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- derek (Derek Doyle)
-
- Offline
- Platinum Member
-
- Posts: 1397
- Thank you received: 133
30 tanks specialise in african cichlids, angelfish and various catfish
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- Jambomac (James McConville)
-
- Offline
- Senior Member
-
- Posts: 262
- Thank you received: 21
www.poulaphuca.com
“A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.”
quote Bruce Lee
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- davey_c (dave clarke)
- Offline
- Elite Member
-
- Posts: 922
- Thank you received: 163

there is a church down there alright and the old mill beside where the origional bridge was(all under water of course) but alot of the old stone houses were dismantled and moved to higher ground so the locals would have somewhere to live so there would be very few houses down there now but the book has loads of pic's from the time before

dave
Below tank is for sale
my plywood tank build.
www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...k-build-diary#137768
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- john gannon (John Gannon)
- Offline
- Junior Member
-
- Posts: 223
- Thank you received: 57
@jambo thanks for the link some food for taught there
@ dave if ye could get your hands on the book it would be great even if you could think of the name of it i could try source it myself
thanks john
IRISH TROPICAL FISH SOCIETY CLUB MEMBER
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- davey_c (dave clarke)
- Offline
- Elite Member
-
- Posts: 922
- Thank you received: 163

i'll see what i can do for ye, i got in the book store in blessington and was quite a good read too

Below tank is for sale
my plywood tank build.
www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...k-build-diary#137768
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- stretnik (stretnik)
-
- Visitor
-
Sounds like a great idea there is a website i found called beneath the poulaphuca and theres a video of things now submerged
www.poulaphuca.com
Good man , that's brill, to Hell with Fishkeeping, that's so damn interesting !!!
Cheers.
Kev.
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- stretnik (stretnik)
-
- Visitor
-
You have no idea how happy that link has made me !!
Kev.
Please Log in to join the conversation.
I have to say that I am intrigued with the inspiration for your nano cube lay-out.
I'm from Rathcoole Myself and have always spent a lot of time up at the Blessington lakes and surrounding areas, whether it be fishing, hill walking, camping or whatever, if I have a day off and it's Sunny out 9 out of 10 times I'll end up there.
anyway the point being, I think Cloghleagh, Ballysmuttan, Kilbride would also be a great place to find inspiration.
I've been heading up there with My camera this last while and the place just amazes me.
it's only about 5 mins up the road from the lakes and well worth checking out.
hope this helps
keep us informed as to how it progresses
fairplay John
the inspiration is all around us if we care to look...

Cheers
Des
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- john gannon (John Gannon)
- Offline
- Junior Member
-
- Posts: 223
- Thank you received: 57
Thanks for the input lads keep it coming
John
IRISH TROPICAL FISH SOCIETY CLUB MEMBER
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- davey_c (dave clarke)
- Offline
- Elite Member
-
- Posts: 922
- Thank you received: 163

Below tank is for sale
my plywood tank build.
www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...k-build-diary#137768
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- stretnik (stretnik)
-
- Visitor
-
John, I have a nice piece of Sandstone from the Lake, (Legally obtaind with permission from the Parks Dept) if you want it.
Kev.
Please Log in to join the conversation.
beautiful place
constant source of inspiration...
cheers
Des
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- Andrew (Andrew Taaffe)
-
- Offline
- Premium Member
-
- Posts: 580
- Thank you received: 52
@john Gannon - great thread and inspiring a few people by the looks of it
ITFS Club Secretary
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
see the ITFS tab above for more information www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/itfs
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- john gannon (John Gannon)
- Offline
- Junior Member
-
- Posts: 223
- Thank you received: 57
@des wow some really beautiful shots there you could get inspiration for many planted tanks.there could be a photo comp theme in all this. It also goes to show what a beautiful little country we have if you just look
@andrew thanks but now I'm a little confused about which way to go .decisions decisions
IRISH TROPICAL FISH SOCIETY CLUB MEMBER
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- Melander (Andreas Melander)
-
- Offline
- Elite Member
-
- Posts: 797
- Thank you received: 140
@Jambomac: I had no idea about this event so thanks for the link, very interesting.
@Des: great photos, like said before great composition.
@John: It’s very nice to see an unorthodox project like this, I’m afraid I can't think of how to go ahead with it but I will follow this space.
Melander
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- john gannon (John Gannon)
- Offline
- Junior Member
-
- Posts: 223
- Thank you received: 57
I'll let yous know what direction this goes
Thanks
John
IRISH TROPICAL FISH SOCIETY CLUB MEMBER
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- davey_c (dave clarke)
- Offline
- Elite Member
-
- Posts: 922
- Thank you received: 163
Hi all just went out today and bought the book beneath the phullaphuca. Lots of reading and research to do.
I'll let yous know what direction this goes
Thanks
John
hey john, good to hear you sourced it mate(don't think there were many printed) and there was no luck on my part unfortunately. full of good reading and can't wait to see the progress

Below tank is for sale
my plywood tank build.
www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...k-build-diary#137768
Please Log in to join the conversation.