Competition Entries Introduction

A short intro to the Competition Entries.

This was a great competition and I was pleasantly surprised by the high standards of the entries. I hope everyone enjoyed reading Johnh and Cardmins articles and I would now like to give a short introduction to the rest of our equally excellent entries. So in no particular order.

Banishing the Tropheus Stigma by Chris Murphy

A well written account of personal experiences re. the keeping and breeding of a highly specialised group of Cichlids. Excellent illustrations and a good read.

The Isolation tank by Micky Wallace
www.irishfishkeepers.com/cms/content/view/46/30/
Great info from Micky on a very important aid in our battle to keep our fish in good health. He covers all the major points and gives good options.

Neolamprologus Crassus by Tom Brecknell
www.irishfishkeepers.com/cms/content/view/48/30/
A nice and informative account of the keeping and breeding of a beautiful and rarely imported Tanganyikan dwarf cichlid. To my knowledge the only irish record of the successful spawning and raising of this species.

The Octavo-Lateralis System By Valerie
www.irishfishkeepers.com/cms/content/view/51/30/
This technical article is well researched and illustrated and makes fascinating reading. It is amazing how complex and well adapted to their natural environment our little pet fish really are.

Dye and Die by P O’Brien
www.irishfishkeepers.com/cms/content/view/56/85/
A very interesting and topical article that explains well the horrors of the dyed fish trade After reading this we can have no doubt about where we should stand on this pressing issue.

Corydoras Zygatus by Tom Brecknell
www.irishfishkeepers.com/cms/content/view/53/30/
Another nice short contribution from Tom on keeping and breeding an often misidentified Corydoras. Good tips for anyone interested in breeding most Corys.

My Tank by Matt
www.irishfishkeepers.com/cms/content/view/52/82/
This is Matt’s account of the ups and downs when setting up a first tank. Well explained and illustrated it could save readers a lot of hassle when planning their first tank

Archocentrus Nigrofasciatum (Convict) by Adriano
www.irishfishkeepers.com/cms/content/view/50/30/
Adriano’s account of the keeping and spawning of an old favourite of mine gives good advice and tips for anyone wishing to work with these beauties.

Building my Fish-house by Tom Brecknell
www.irishfishkeepers.com/cms/content/view/49/30/
This article is a must for anyone considering the construction of a fish-house. Good step by step instructions and advice on choices and possible pitfalls. Tom has had several fish-houses and has learned and improved with each one.

Fish Disease Prevention by Chris Kirwan
www.irishfishkeepers.com/cms/content/view/47/30/
This is a cracking article with loads of great information and advice. Although necessarily somewhat technical it is easy to read and accurate. I would recommend
this as essential reading.

Thanks to all who participated

Derek

Derek and Phil,

Thank you SO MUCH for the time spent reading and evaluating these articles. I am looking forward to reading these too.
Thanks again.
Valerie

im just looking forward to learning more from the wealth of info i know is here (and listening to comments of my mistakes!!!)

Thanks Derek for the synopsis on all the articles and like most others I am looking forward to a good read, and thanks again for the time and patience from yourself and Phil.

Just posting to keep this topical. too many people put in too much work to let this thread disappear.

Hows the organic post you are working on Derek, coming along.

hi sean
i intend to write up my findings re organic soon, i am still using it and find it useful. did you read the articles and what did you think of them.
have you any copies of your c....y little newsletter that was in competition with our brilliant bray and itfs one.
i still have one of ours from 1987, which i will try to send to you sometime.
derek

derek wrote:

hi sean
i intend to write up my findings re organic soon, i am still using it and find it useful. did you read the articles and what did you think of them.
have you any copies of your c....y little newsletter that was in competition with our brilliant bray and itfs one.
i still have one of ours from 1987, which i will try to send to you sometime.
derek

I have not read them yet, but plan to print them out and make comments, I am still waiting for my payments before I write kind words about them. PM of my accoutn thas been sent to all:P

---

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Sent: 24 February 2008 16:48
Bank of Ireland

Herewith we inform you that we have received instructions to order the following transfer, the details of which are below:

Transaction identifier: 0600 24/02/2008 174762302 3092 Reference number: 805536578144 Instructing party:
JohnH

Beneficiary: D. Doyle.
Credit account: 0041 0054 26 0021039446
Amount: 240 EUR
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Payment description: Admin services

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20:45

Thanks Sean for bringing this to my attention, however as the \"donatation\" was greater than the prize and sent after the results were announced, it must have been an appreciation gift and not a bribe

so far ive read a couple of the articles :

chrism's article on tropheus....brilliant chris well done. makes me wish my 3 foot was a 4 foot! excellent account and tips, they truly are a cracking fish, i can see why you are so fond of them. thanks for taking the time and sharing your experiences.

toms article on Neolamprologus Crassus, again great article tom on a beautiful fish. its funny/interesting that you had a spreadsheet ! and also interesting that you kept your ph so high. I suppose they might have been wild so you tried to match the ph of the lake(?) anyway great detail in there and well done i successfully breeding them. god i'd love a few more tanks!!

mickeys article on an isolation tank. very good mickey. i hope that it will convince a few newcomers or \"old hands\" to make the small investment in one. unfortunately i think very few people actually get one until they've had a few disasters (with the exception of seany!). more power to ya mickey!

i look forward to reading the rest of them.
good stuff everyone

derek wrote:

hi sean
i intend to write up my findings re organic soon, i am still using it and find it useful. did you read the articles and what did you think of them.

I could have a detailed critical summary of the articles by Friday, but wont I get in to trouble with the admin if you upload a sort of Top gear cynical test drive results of the good, the bad and copy and paste.

By the way for the record, I made up the bank transfer thing, using a real bank transfer email, and then change a few things.

fr jack wrote

By the way for the record, I made up the bank transfer thing, using a real bank transfer email, and then change a few things.

i think we all knew that sean.
fr jack wrote

I could have a detailed critical summary of the articles by Friday, but wont I get in to trouble with the admin if you upload a sort of Top gear cynical test drive results of the good, the bad and copy and paste

I look forward to hearing your comments on the articles sean, but think it best if you only posted the positive reviews. dont forget to vote.
derek