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
Price Ripoff
- pearsonross (Ross Pearson)
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- Didihno (Didihno)
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Still you bought the right one, so huzzah!
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- pearsonross (Ross Pearson)
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- ChrisM (ChrisM)
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But there are a few shops that sell tanks cheaper than the rest..
www.petshoponline.ie
Petstop Blanchardstown
Kinsealy Pet Store (tanks cost price while sale lasts!)
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- TomNolan (Tommy Nolan)
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- pearsonross (Ross Pearson)
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- Pablo (Pablo -)
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- NCDub (N Curran)
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Only started in fish keeping recently, but am amazed at some of the price variations between the shops. Think the real lesson is that everyone really needs to shop around before making any big purchses. In a way it would help everyone if this happened, if people vote with their feet and avoided the more expensive shops, it might force them to lower prices or loose all their business.
NC
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- scorphonic (Kieran Crosbie Staunton)
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I know this will not be a surprise but i find Wackers Pet Shop on Parnell street to be one of the most expensive shops I know. They have good deals on fish but their tank prices and fish consumables are a complete rip off. I went in looking for some Aquaplus and a tiny tiny bottle was 5 euro!!! HUH? So i went online and bought a 3 liter bottle for 30 euro. So much for shopping in local shops.
Also I swear by Petshoponline...THEY ARE FANTASTIC!!! The best prices around for tanks (half the price of many of the shops!) and tank ornaments.
If your looking for good equipment look no further than Zooplus.ie
So my three stores are: Aquatic Village without a doubt, petshoponline and zooplus.ie
But shops are very expensive so you really have to shop around!
(I cant comment on what the situation is in the new shop that Wackers opened on the long mile road...it is probalby amazing!

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- serratus (Drew Latimer)
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- hh5 (hh5)
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Don't even get me started on Eheim filters. Here are a few examples of what is available:
Eheim 2324 (Thermo) 144.95+39.95 p@p
Eheim 2224 (3 year warranty) 88.90+15 p&p
Eheim professional II including original Eheim set of filter material 179+15p&P.
I could go on. If you are looking for any particular modell let me know and I see what I can come up with
All these come from ordinary shops and not garage operations as Drew calls them. If the shops don't tip us off, somebody else does
Holger
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- serratus (Drew Latimer)
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- hh5 (hh5)
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'everything in Ireland is more expensive'true but only because people are putting up with it. Once people will start voting with their wallet it might not be. Granted the fishkeeping population on the continent is bigger but a manufacturer like Eheim does not produce a different filter for the Irish market than for the German one. The only difference is the plug and that surely does not explain the difference in price. So that argument is a bit dodgy to say the least. Moreover, there are considerably more petshops per capita back on the continent. The way I look at it is that the competition is bigger and not the market smaller. Rather the opposite, less customers per shop.
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- darragh (Darragh Sherwin)
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While most dry goods maybe cheaper on the continent, it also means if the equipment breaks down you have to spend it back to the continent.
If I was buying a big filter, I'd prefer to buy it locally, so if it does fail, I can always bring it back the same or next day to the place of purchase and get it replaced.
If I bought it off a mail order company or from the continent, it could be several days without a filter for tank waiting for a replacement.
The volumes Irish retailers are buying, probably doesn't compare to what continental retailers are buying and maybe irish retailers are not getting as a big a discount from the manufacturers and suppliers when it comes to bulk discounts.
We also have a 21% VAT on goods which is probably higher than sale tax in Germany or France.
Also there is the cost of transporting the goods here which probably all in all makes it for at least 50% of difference between prices in irish retailers and retailers on the continent.
Darragh
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- darragh (Darragh Sherwin)
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It's been moved now
Darragh
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- ChrisM (ChrisM)
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There is no such thing as a free lunch.You get these goods cheaper for a damn good reason.If you run into problems you are screwed.
It is a double edged sword here in Ireland,it feels like we are being ripped off and we are,but not by the people we think are doing it.In business terms we are a small fry really when compared to England (London,Manchester),Germany (Berlin, Munich) and America.
Retailers get stuff in such small scale they dont get cheaper rates from the manufacturers.By the time local retailers add on their fees it is freak out time!All in all it is a risk to buy online but nothing great comes without great risk?
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- hh5 (hh5)
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Just goes to show. At the prices you pay in Ireland you can almost afford to order two filters from abroad and have a spare....
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- Didihno (Didihno)
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Personally I refuse to buy hardware in an LFS, by the same token I refuse to buy livestock anywhere BUT an LFS.
Sure the fish can be got cheaper online, but I prefer to see the animals I'm buying.
I reckon as long as I keep buying fish/food in LFS's I'm doing my bit to keep them going.
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- scorphonic (Kieran Crosbie Staunton)
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When i want to buy something for my motorbike, i'll go to the largest bike shop in ireland which is in dublin, try on the clothes/look at the products and then I'll buy online knowing the exact size to order. I'll do the very same when it comes to equipment. Consider this: I bought an external filter online for 80 euro, here in ireland its 160. Why on earth would i want to pay double the price??
Heaters are another thing, you buy them online at such a good price. But I'll never buy fish online, i'll only ever buy them in Aquatic Village as I've had seriously bad experiences with fish bought in other stores!
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- nonie (leonie troy)
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- sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
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Seamus
Fishkeeping the Only way to get wet and wild
currently 25 tanks, and breeding is the aim of everything i keep
location:Limerick
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- KenS (Ken Simpson)
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We're possibly being ripped in the minority of cases, but I can't agree that it's the norm.
Regards,
Ken.
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- BJHillson (Brett Hillson)
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- BJHillson (Brett Hillson)
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