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
Going on holidays, feeding required?
- McQuaid (Mark McQuaid)
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Im off to the US next week for 12 days, anyone have any special tricks or anything for keeping the fish alive when away? i know i leave my tropical tank for a long weekend and its always fine, but how are the marines and coral for this? should i try organise someone to call by and feed them? and also, if anyone knows, will the tropical be ok for that length too?
Cheers
240 litre mixture of cichlids
55 litre marine tank currently holding a few coral and clean up crew
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- Melander (Andreas Melander)
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Just make sure to make sure the person knows how much to feed, preferably in writing too as non fishkeepers tend to feed more than needed in my experience and then there's a problem (has happend to me and I should have been clearer).
A good idea is to make up little portions for each feed in small containers so that the they can't get it wrong.
Don't know anything about marines, sry.
Andreas
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- davey_c (dave clarke)
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As said overfeeding can be a serious problem and I got a phone call a few weeks back from my sister because her fella was minding his parents fish and the started dropping like flies... yep he was overfeeding!!
Some put food rations in pill boxes and only feed every couple of days so the minder can't go wrong.
Interested myself in hearing from the salty side

Below tank is for sale
my plywood tank build.
www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...k-build-diary#137768
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- Bohrio (Alex Rodriguez)
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Overfeeding can definitively be a problem. Dont get an automated feeder either, I have just come back todayfrom my 1 week holiday to find all my fish were dead because the automated feeder pour all the food at once.
Only 1 coral left and I am not sure if is going to make it. Its so depressing...

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- McQuaid (Mark McQuaid)
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What do we think about the corals, will they be ok or should I some how organise to get them fed too, as its a little bit more complicated with them with the drips etc
Cheers again guys, and so sorry to hear about your loss, don't give up, just learn from it
240 litre mixture of cichlids
55 litre marine tank currently holding a few coral and clean up crew
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- jeff (Jeff Scully)
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Where the tongue slips, it speaks the truth.
A life making mistakes is not only more honourable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing at all.
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- McQuaid (Mark McQuaid)
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Well, I got back yesterday eve, all good with feeding etc except I appear to be missing a bangaii cardinal???
Had 2 of em in there along with my 2 clowns, a pyjama cardinal and a 6 line wrasse, also my cleanup crew, thought maybe he was just hiding, but have had a good look today and still no sign of him?? Obv I had a clown jump before so searched floor and the false back where the filter and pump etc are but nothing, can't see him anywhere
Anyone any ideas??
240 litre mixture of cichlids
55 litre marine tank currently holding a few coral and clean up crew
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- jeff (Jeff Scully)
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Where the tongue slips, it speaks the truth.
A life making mistakes is not only more honourable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing at all.
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- McQuaid (Mark McQuaid)
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Cheers
240 litre mixture of cichlids
55 litre marine tank currently holding a few coral and clean up crew
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- jeff (Jeff Scully)
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Where the tongue slips, it speaks the truth.
A life making mistakes is not only more honourable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing at all.
Please Log in to join the conversation.