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
Help - Leopoldi Angel Trouble
- Daragh_Owens (Daragh Owens)
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I got seven of these little beauties nearly two weeks ago, see photo here: www.irishfishkeepers.com/cms/component/o...w/id,31515/catid,27/ and they settle in well and were feeding well. They are in a mature two foot tank 18\" high and share with four young L066. Temp 78 pH 7.0 nitrate less than 40 Ammonia 0 and Nitrite 0. The other evening I saw one at the surface gasping, when I approached it stayed in position which is unusual as they are still fairly skittish. That fish was dead the next day. There were no signs of any swollen or protuding gills. There were no marks on the body, even with a magnifying glass. I hoped it was a one off and did water change added a dose of melafix and primafix and crossed my fingers.
This evening there was another one at the surface, it has died since and now there is another. I have retested the water and nothing has changed. I did a 50% water change and increased water flow from filter but the gasping fish is still at the surface and shows no sign of improvement. I am guessing a gill fluke or parasite, but wouldn't that mean swollen gills?? What should I treat with or any suggestions welcome.
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- serratus (Drew Latimer)
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Call up today and if you bring a \"body\" ill do a scrape on it (i want to know why as well!), just fed ours and they are fighting over it-aggressively!!!
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- Daragh_Owens (Daragh Owens)
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I think there is a bit of confusion here, the angels you are referring to are the little wild peruvian guys, very small I agree, but you don't know that until you open the box. From personal experience exporters operate from a different metric scale ruler than the one I have

The leopoldi I am referring to are much larger, about 2 inch body size. They were perfect looking when I bought them and none in the tank they came from seemed in any distress or gasping. I don't know what the remained are like now, though I will shortly as I am heading up there. Mine were here over a week before the first fish started gasping.
Hopefully we will get it sorted, Drew is going to do a gill scrape - I draw the line at body scrapes, I would never make a surgeon!
It is fair enough to say find an alternative supplier, but with fish like the leopoldi you may not get a second chance. In 25 years of fish keeping I had never seen them in the flesh, only in books. I have never seen the in the UK either.
BTW what are you going to do with the angels you got when you find some altums?
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- JohnH (John)
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I recall a similar scenario with Altums once and the temperature rise definitely helped, but that was bringing it up from 75f, if your Leopoldi are at 78f the benefit might be less 'physical' for want of a better word. But this is the reason why Discus are kept at such artificially high temperatures - it definitely knocks the parasites, bacteria etc for 'six'.
I just fear that your Angels are perhaps a little young to receive such severe \"adult\" treatment, but it might just be worth a 'last resort' tactic if all else fails - hopefully though it won't come to that...
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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- russell (russell)
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Sorry for the confusion, I asumed that these were the small Dumerilli/ leopoldii that were on display yesterday. The dissapointment was that I went with the intentions of buying the entire stock!!! quite a few hundred euro, and when I saw the size & price I was realy knocked back. especialy as there condition was not all that great. I still say they were tooyoung for sale at the price.
But getting back to the subject. as you know they like the TDS to be very low 33 is 1 d/hardness. this is normal but certainly between 1 and 3 with a Ph at about 6.5 lower if stablity can be assured, Like Discus they don't like Nitrate something they don't experience in the Wild. Gasping is usualy a sign of low oxegen saturation which I an sure you don't have. A good dewormer i.e wormer plus which has fluenol/flubezadol will erradicate parasite /flukes act. take temp gradualy to 82. and watch. will be interested in the scrape results.
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- Daragh_Owens (Daragh Owens)
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So I am not adding any treatments, but I will go with the temp increase and do another large water change. The TDS here from the tap is 60-70 and in that tank it is currently 110.
I lent my oxygen meter to some one so I can't test it, but I am sure it is not low. As I mentioned there is a large air filter with a good flow of bubbles from below the surface and an Interpet PF2 internal. I don't want the water too fast either as angels don't like that.
I saw the Peruvian angels and I thought they looked pretty good (apart for the size) there were 7 left. Drew had isolated the three that were being bulied and looking a little rough, the remaining four were so nice I bought them! I just can't help myself. I need fish anonomus!
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- russell (russell)
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Goos luck
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- derek (Derek Doyle)
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30 tanks specialise in african cichlids, angelfish and various catfish
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- russell (russell)
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Hows the angels doing. I hoe they are improving. bought three large angels on friday from Drew and they have paired up & swawned already.
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- Acara (Dave Walters)
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Dave
always on the lookout for interesting corys.pm me if you know off any!
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- Daragh_Owens (Daragh Owens)
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