May 17 - 2009 ITFS Fish Show

As platty said it is one fish per tank unless the class states otherwise. Yes there is a section for cold water fish so your goldfish will be welcome (but not if you are going to show it as dinner.....Ian ) but you could bring some of those lovely frogs along for me to add to my tank if you like...ha ha)

Last time there was a wide variety of cold water species. there was a native eel, white cloud mountain minnows, goldfish, a rather large catfish and a good selection of hill stream loach.

I was a total beginner at the last show and I had never benched a fish before or ever really seen what goes into benching a fish. From experience this time I will catch the fish I want to show a couple of days in advance so their colours come back up (netting them can be stressful for both you and them).

I wont feed them the day before or when they are at the show. This way there will be little waste to foul the water.

I will bring as much of their own water as I can carry and fill the tanks in the hall with this water. Water is provided at the show but you really should bring as much of the fishs tank water as possible so even if you have to mix the water it is not a total shock to the fish.

I think last time I entered about 12 fish. there was also an under 12s section which included tropical and cold water. This time I will be more particular about the fish I enter just from the point of view of setting the tanks up

there are no filters and no lights allowed during judging. If you are concerned for your fish you can indeed put a filter in but you will have to take it out again when the judges are doing their judging. What we did last time was to run air line up and down the benches and we dropped an airstone into every tank.

I hope that helps a bit. the best I can say to you is give it a go its great fun and every fish that came to the last show made it home again.

nessa

just wondering is there going to be a marine section

Hi John. No there will be no Marines in the competition end of things. There may be some just for show on the day.
As far as i am aware we have no judges qualified to judge marines.

well whos benching fish and what type

Hi convict. I can only speak for myself and i will probably show some catfish/plecos, loaches, killifish, rasboras and maybe some tetra and danios. I just haven't decided which ones yet.

Will you be showing any fish yourself? You should it's a bit of fun on the day.

I plan to bring some cats and maybe something else. Problem is 90% of my fish are in the same class

Daragh

yeah i will bench some,im not sure yet what yet maybe a very large male jack dempsey,cutteri cichlid along those lines

AAAh frogs...I have just finished putting decking down in the back garden and I have decked around the 3 foot tank that has my tadpoles in it. It is beside a rockery so I am training the plants in the tank to grow up and over the little wall at the back so the frogs can get in and out more easily. I know its sad.....

I would love some spawn or tadpoles...not fussy which. Some of the spawn I had from last year hatched into tadpoles but only half of those changed into frogs. When I was in Hayling I spoke with others there who have ponds and they said the same happened with their spawn. Nature obviously knew there was snow coming cause it held something back. Anyway mine are starting to stir again. If you are coming to Dublin let me know and I will gladly meet you.

Thanks for thinking of me.

Nessa

was thinking if i can make it up ... that i'll bench one if not more of my keyhole cichlids , and possibly my unidentified plec

I am very pleased that the itfs are holding a show this year and i expect there will be a large entry and a great interest from the fishkeeping public and the trade. The show 2 years ago was a big success and based on the feedback, i expect this years show to be even bigger and better.
The judging of fish is straightforward and designed to ensure the best fish usually wins. Points are awarded for size, body (shape etc.) finnage, colour, and condition/deportment. So for example a 2 inch corydoras with correct shape, clean colour, barbels and fins, and sitting nicely on the bottom of his clean tank will score well. Corydoras usually make good show fish as they are very calm and laid back. At the last show there were some really nice corys and if memory serves they all pointed very high.

best fish in show last time was a nice discus which just edged it over a really large clown loach.
If anybody has any questions about benching or the judging process just ask.
Derek

Benching Fish for The Show

So you are thinking of benching a fish for The Show 17th May, or maybe you’re not, but hopefully this post will encourage you to. If you have not benched a fish before, it is very simple and less stressful on the fish than the owner!

First thing to decide is which fish to bring, you should try and bring fish that are good examples of their species and are full grown or nearly fully grown. Be nice to them in the weeks up to the show, plenty of good food, regular water changes, so they will be on top form by the time of the show. Do not feed them for at least 24 or better still 48 hours before the show so that they will not pollute their tanks. Sick, injured or gravid females will not be accepted for the safety of your fish and others in the show.

Tanks are supplied, the fish are displayed one fish to a tank and a suitably sized tank will be provided. Tanks very from about 6” x 5” x 4” up 36”. If you need larger please contact Show Secretary in advance – details below. The exception to one fish to a tank is for breeding groups, where six juveniles are displayed or for pairs. The tanks are bare bottomed and have no heaters or filters. Heat is provided by heating the hall and they are aerated overnight. The fish are constantly observed over night to ensure they are not in any difficulty etc. At the 2007 show no fish died.

Benching. Fish should be brought along the day before, between 5.30pm and 9.30pm. Ideally you should bring as much water as you can to keep your fish in water conditions it is used to. Heated pre-treated water will be available to top up tanks as required. There will be water at pH 7.0 and 8.0 to suit different fish. If you know the Latin name of your fish, bring it along, it speeds up the entry process. If you don’t have a full proper name the show officials should be able to identify it, but it helps if you know! If you are travelling from outside Dublin arrangements can be made to take the fish in Sunday morning early, however this MUST be arranged in advance with Show Secretary. De-benching, no fish can be de-benched until the show closes at 6pm on the Sunday evening.

Judging. Judging starts early Sunday morning and continues up to the time the show opens to the public at 2pm. Presentation of prizes is around 4pm. Previous posts have given details of how a fish is judged and the points system used.

Volunteering. Without volunteers there could be no show, there will be lots of things to do in the weeks before the show, on the Saturday and on the Sunday, so if you would like to volunteer and lend a hand contact the show secretary for information. Help is particularly required Saturday morning to collect the tanks and set them up in the hall and again on Sunday night to empty the tanks, remove the staging and clean the hall.

Show Secretary: Darren Dalton 086-1737853
Asst Show Sec: Daragh Owens 087-6376543

Practise time!

At the ITFS meeting April 14th there will be a table show. An ideal oppurtunity to come along and bench a fish in a relaxed environment or just to see how it is done.

Further details nearer the meeting date.

Daragh

I did not cover transporting the fish is the earlier post.

Try catching the fish as stresslessly (is that a word) as possible, you don't want the fish stressed out of their minds before you leave the house. If you don't have a spare tank that you could move them to the day before, maybe removed some of the decorations or plants on the Friday. It will make catching them easier on Saturday. Make sure you have enough bags in advance, your LFS should be able to supply a few if you're stuck or contact show secretary. A bucket with a lid will do too, it is better for larger fish than a bag. Make sure it is clean and suitable for fish!

Try and bring as much of your own water as possible, again use a clean bucket or you could use fish bags. Wrap the bags in newspaper to keep the fish warm. Wrap buckets etc in a blanket during transport.

Although water is provided at the show or at the ITFS Table Show on April 14th, it is better for the fish to have it's own water. It will be more relaxed, less stressed and show better.

Any questions at all, post here or use contact details above.

So has anyone else decided what they will be bringing???



Daragh

hi daragh

i will bring along a shiner for the table show. I have my own tank. just have to try to cath the little rocket now...

I want to enter my crenicichla geayi but it changes colour throughout the day from brilliant red/yellow markings to grey. It's 6-7 inches , they grow to 8 is this big enough to enter? Would love to enter my Green Terror but he's probably not big enough . At what size could I enter a male GT?

Could I enter an ornate bichir polypterus ornatipinis?

Come on i'm itching to enter something !I'm so excited i've never been to a fish show!

You can enter a fish at any (reasonable) size, it does not matter that it is half grown or fully grown, however points for size which make up 20% of the total points will be deducted for fish short of the standard size.

Regarding the fishes colour, some fish show well others don't. If your fish is dull on the day it won't score top points in that section, but that will be the same for teh majority of fish moved to a small tank with little time to settle it.

The vast majority of fish can be accomadated, if the need a tank larger than 24x12x12 inches, 60x30x30 cms it would be nice to know in advance - let the Show Secretary know in adavance so there will be a suitable tank availalbe.


Daragh

Thanks Daragh! I'm gonna enter my fav fish for the hell of it, I don't expect to win but it will be a good experience, and give me an idea of how it works for the next show when I will have a fully grown GT!

Jim

Can you bring the fish on the day as i can't just go up a day early?

Hi Dazaray.
Yes special arrangements can be made for people that just live to far away or cant make it Saturday evening to drop there fish in.
Just send me a PM or phone me. Darren 0861737853
All you have to do is;
1. Know the name of your fish. Preferabily the latin name so we know what class the fish are been placed in.
2. What size the fish are so we can have the correct size tank/tanks ready.
3. Are you bringing enough of your own water? If not let me know so we can have water ready.

You would have to arrive early Sunday morning. Judging starts at 9:00am so you would have to be there at 8:00am or before to give time for the fish to settle.

My guppies will be 7 weeks old then.
Will one of them be worth showing or will they still be too young. I know they will be too young for a breeding team but how about as an individual male or something?

Going mad know was gonna entre a blue ram but there is no way id have time to get there that early grrrrrrrr

But ill be there on the day dough

wolfsberg wrote:

My guppies will be 7 weeks old then.
Will one of them be worth showing or will they still be too young. I know they will be too young for a breeding team but how about as an individual male or something?

To be honest the guppy wont have coloured up in 7 weeks, it takes longer for them to start developing colours.

yeah I think so too. I personally would rather enter a crappy fish that I had reared than a beautiful one I had just bought. I'll just go as a visitor so!... That's just me and my wierdness though!

HI guys

the rules say that you have to have owned the fish for at least 28 days before the show so that you have to have reared them for a certain amount of time before you can show them.

I tend to agree the guppies might not have got all its colours by then but I am not a judge so maybe you could enter them and see how you get on.

See you there on the day

Also its important to remember that its the spirit of entering the competition that matters most I feel. If you want to enter your guppy then enter it. Everyone has different taste. Someone said to me recently why do I have shrimp when you can never see them, same question was asked today at the pet shop when I bought some Kuhli loaches. Im not overly concerned if I dont see them as long as they are healthy and happy in the enviroment I create for them. Some people buy fish for the beauty and ornamental type look, others want to breed them and rare them etc.. Personally I prefer to try to give them the best chance of surviving and thriving in a tank that at least resembles their own habitat. Guppy fry don't colour up early on, but we all know how good they look when they get older!

Gavin

This is all very true! I'll see how the guppies grow, probabaly won't bother though. I'm very excited about being in a room with a shed load of fish though!!!

Don't suppose the lads would reschedule the show til june or july so I can enter a nice breeding team?!

haha doubt it, but if they do tell them re-arrange it for Cork!!!

alkiely benching is on the Saturday evening. So why dont you bring your Ram then. If you cant make it Saturday evening maybe someone can bring it for you.
People bringing fish the morning of the show is by prior arrangement only and the fish need to be benched before judging starts.

wolfsberg why dont you bring one of the adult Guppys.
You could also enter your small planted tank in to the decorated aquarium section.
www.irishfishkeepers.com/cms/component/o...w/catid,39/id,48926/

Thanks a mill Platy252 cause i live in Drogheda and wouldn't be able to make it up there on Saturday evening ..