×
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

Pop-eye in Shubunkin

More
11 Apr 2016 12:49 #1 by FR85 (Gavin O'Sullivan)
Hi All,

I've a fish suffering from this and I have moved it to the 54l hospital tank I keep running all the time.
I've been treating with Myxazin and aquarium salt and it looks to be slightly improving.
Is there anything else I can be doing?
I haven't had a chance to check the water parameters in the main tank mainly because I cannot find my test kit but this one seems to be the only one suffering so I'm not overly concerned.

Cheers,
Gavin

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
11 Apr 2016 13:45 #2 by robert (robert carter)
this sort of thing can be a problem in coldwater fish , what you are doing would to me seem to be a good coarse of treatment . good luck with it

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
11 Apr 2016 16:43 #3 by FR85 (Gavin O'Sullivan)
Thanks, I picked up a test kit in Seahorse today so I'll be back n here if there is anything alarming.

Great forum, thanks for your help!

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
11 Apr 2016 20:34 #4 by FR85 (Gavin O'Sullivan)
So, PH about 7.4, ammonia 0, nitrite 0 and nitrate about 30 so I take it it's just one fish.

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
12 Apr 2016 09:24 #5 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
Be sure to shake the reagent bottles well before adding the chemicals to your water samples...Particularly the NitrAte number 2 bottle..shake it really well for about 2 mins...otherwise you will get sketchy readings

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
12 Apr 2016 09:34 #6 by FR85 (Gavin O'Sullivan)
I fairly rattled them alright. I thought I posted the readings up here, they may still be waiting for approval.
PH 7.2, Amonia 0, Nitrite 0 and Nitrate about 30.

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
12 Apr 2016 15:13 #7 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
NitrAtes are a bit on the high side....20 or below is what you should be aiming for....10 or less is ideal.....How often and how much water do you change on the tank?

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
12 Apr 2016 15:46 #8 by FR85 (Gavin O'Sullivan)
I try and do 20-25% every week to week and a half time depending and then once a month or so I do a gravel clean using another external filter I have.....

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
12 Apr 2016 17:30 - 12 Apr 2016 17:30 #9 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
How big is the tank? What other inhabitants are in it and whats your feeding regime?
Last edit: 12 Apr 2016 17:30 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered).

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
12 Apr 2016 17:53 #10 by FR85 (Gavin O'Sullivan)
It's a Jewel Rio 240 with an Eheim 2236 and a JBL e900 running together along with an air pump.

I have an Oranda, two Dojo Loaches and a Plec and I'd feed frozen bloods and JBL flakes on alternating days once a day normally in the evenings.

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
13 Apr 2016 04:08 #11 by paulv (paul vickers)
Try doing a gravel vac once a week, move and stones and ornaments and clean under them.

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
13 Apr 2016 06:59 #12 by FR85 (Gavin O'Sullivan)
Thanks paul, I'll do that tonight and take another reading tomorrow night

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
13 Apr 2016 09:20 #13 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
Your feeding regime and stocking levels seem fine...In fact you could probably add more fish if you wanted...(Depending on how big your Pleco is)

Its just my opinion but I would increase the level of water your changing and do it weekly...(No skipping)

50% weekly is my personal regime and works really well for me....All my tanks are a little overstocked and I never see NitrAtes above 10....Its down to the WEEKLY water changes, sensible feeding and also lots of live plants....

If you do decide to increase your water change level build it up gradually over a period of say 4 weeks...Just in case you shock the fish...

This will definitely lower your NitrAtes and your fish will love you for it because their water will be cleaner...

Larger water changes help fish recover from illness better as well...

What people seem to forget when changing water is that your not just diluting NitrAtes but you are also replacing essential minerals which have been used up....

My motto!

Fresh Water Fish LOVE Fresh Water!

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
13 Apr 2016 09:26 #14 by FR85 (Gavin O'Sullivan)
Will do, I used to do it religiously every Sunday but this is getting to be my busy time in work, I'll just have to get back into the routine

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
13 Apr 2016 09:33 - 13 Apr 2016 09:37 #15 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
Your not still using the old school bucket after bucket system are ya by any chance?

Take a look at this!!!

With a bit of ingenuity you can actually make your own for a few euros...



Just remember to dose dechlorinator for the WHOLE tank volume before you refill it....

With a system similar to this I can change the water on 7 tanks in 2 and a half hours (biggest being a 240 litre)...Sit back relax and have a beer or a coffee while your water changes itself ;)
Last edit: 13 Apr 2016 09:37 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered).

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
13 Apr 2016 09:41 #16 by FR85 (Gavin O'Sullivan)
Oh I'm still breaking my back the old way!! I do like the look of that but at the same time where the tank is I'd be dragging hoses all over the house and I'd say she'd flip her lid......they only have so much patience!

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
13 Apr 2016 10:03 #17 by robert (robert carter)
I use to use buckets to empty the tank and a watering can to refill, a real pain , so made up simple u shape pvc unit cut to the right length with a sponge on the end ,so nothing gets sucked up other end connected to 8metres or hose to reach the back door ,syphon out the water ,tube in the tank only goes down half way ,so 50% water change syphon stops then connect onto kitchen tap to refill ,job done 30 mins and no spilt water on the floor, and no back pain ,cost me around 20 euro . I also got the idea from one of the lads here on the forum

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
13 Apr 2016 11:11 #18 by jp85 (jamie parry)
I have that JBL piping and its brilliant, only problem i have is since i moved, all the taps have a square end on them so can no longer use it so back to the old way until i figure something out :hammer:

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
16 Apr 2016 20:43 #19 by robert (robert carter)
Yes I had the same problem with the kithen tap ,when the new kitchen when in a couple of years ago one of those stupid modern taps went it , anyway I recently changed it to a round tap so I can use the hose to fill the tanks . Taps off eBay 30 euro delivered and half an hour to fit

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
18 Apr 2016 21:42 #20 by FR85 (Gavin O'Sullivan)
So I did a full gravel clean and 10% waterchange over the last few nights (trying not to over do it as suggested to not shock fish) all readings seem to be the same so I assume it's gonna take time. Nitrates may have come down a bit, maybe 15-20.....
Thoughts?

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
20 Apr 2016 07:46 #21 by paulv (paul vickers)
10% water change won't really change much, but the weekly gravel vac will be a big help. I do a weekly 30% water change and always use declorinater.

Please Log in to join the conversation.

Time to create page: 0.072 seconds
Powered by Kunena Forum