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
curve in spine
- mrsFishpatrick (Astrid Fitzpatrick)
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and was breathing very fast and had buoancy(spelling) problems.
I immedeatly pulled it and ............ it, I feel very bad. Could this have been anything other than TB and if not, did I do enough or will I end up having to break down the tank.
Thanks
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first if there is any chance you have tb in the tank it is time for gloves. but the fact you use the term "bloated" i would say it is not TB. but some internal bacteria
check this out it may help and put your mind at ease!
www.aquarticles.com/articles/management/Keefer_FishTB.html
Mickey
Mickey Wallace & Cath Woods
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- mrsFishpatrick (Astrid Fitzpatrick)
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Who said fish were relaxing, I had a sleepless night over this:unsure:
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- sincgar (Feargal Costello)
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scary stuff that article. as someone who regularly pluges into the tank to do the gardening or retrieve loose lead bands I thought electrocution though terminal was the worst that could happen. As a fairly novice fishkeeper can I ask what most people do particularly in the larger tanks that most of you seem to use
Sincgar
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- Valerie (Valerie)
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Don't lose sleep over this!

Valerie
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- mrsFishpatrick (Astrid Fitzpatrick)
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- Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
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Sorry to hear you had to kill the fish, if you notice any of the remaining fish having unusual poop then it could be internal problem.
Gavin
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- mrsFishpatrick (Astrid Fitzpatrick)
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Hi,
scary stuff that article. as someone who regularly pluges into the tank to do the gardening or retrieve loose lead bands I thought electrocution though terminal was the worst that could happen. As a fairly novice fishkeeper can I ask what most people do particularly in the larger tanks that most of you seem to use
Sincgar
Hi Feargal,
yes it is scary when taken out of context. but this hobby is like everything else a few precautions go a long way!!!!!!! personally i would sterilise my nets bucket and syphon every other week. nothing like a bit of boiling water and vinegar. which is then rinsed.
when i am stupid and let water in my mouth while using the syphon i use mouth wash and brush my teeth. i have a bucket solely for use on an isolation tank or tank under treatment nets as well if i am unsure about a problem i use powder free rubber gloves
and after i have finished what ever i have to do with any of my pets i wash my hands with anti bacterial wash why take risks when they are avoidable!
always remember ask question here take precautions. but i wonder how many people here have had a tank with TB. note it is opportunist fish usually already have a compromised immune system.
don't introduce new stock or plants without quarantine and check water quality. if you go to buy stock if it looks wrong then it is wrong avoid
Mickey
Mickey Wallace & Cath Woods
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- derek (Derek Doyle)
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i have put my hand into hundreds of tanks without picking up an infection of any sort.
apart from the odd parasite or mild bacterial infection on newly imported or stressed fish any other health problem is rare
(and probably beyond our ability to diagnose correctly or cure.)
most health problems ime are caused by incorrect water conditions.
the key to good fishkeeping is good water quality.
30 tanks specialise in african cichlids, angelfish and various catfish
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- Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
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If it was a turtle or something I would be alot more careful. But I guess Mickey I know where you are coming from on it alright,the odds are probably really low. But to fair I would say also that while water is the predominant cause of fish problems, I think we have all been caught at some stage with introducing fish and then having something in the tank that we didnt have before the new fish arrived.
Do I always protect my hands when doing water changes or other things, truthfully never. But I also make sure I dont wash them directly before they go into the water with soap! I do wash them afterwards though!
Gavin
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- derek (Derek Doyle)
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i always wash my hands after having them in a tank or petting a dog, and would absolutely reccommend this.
and i fully agree with and practise quarantine of all new arrivals.
the point i am making is that tb and other major illness's are rare and dificult for us laymen to diagnose correctly.
30 tanks specialise in african cichlids, angelfish and various catfish
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- sincgar (Feargal Costello)
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Feargal
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