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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

Shell-dwellers Information

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19 Jan 2008 19:39 #1 by steven (steven)
Just looking for some help, i'm considering setting up a shelldweller tank i'm completly new to them and do not know alot about them other than the small bit of info i have picked up on the forum. What i'm looking for is type to keep, how to breed, what type of shells are used, Water quality and requirments.

Tank will be a rio 125litre.
Original internal pump.
Standard juwel heater.

What else will i need to get setup

Treat every day like your last, some day it will be??

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19 Jan 2008 21:35 #2 by serratus (Drew Latimer)
Hi Steven, there are a few species available, ocellatus, multifasciatus and brevis being the most often seen.
Water quality needs to be kept good, Tangs. are not as robust as Malawis, so i would suggest an external filter, too keep things right. Water needs to be hard and alkaline, well oxygenated, nitrates kept low, temp. @24C. Base i would use coral sand and ocean or tufa rock for decor, you could add plants, vallis looks well as does java fern or anubias. You could use edible snail shells, apple snail shell or even neothauma tanganicense (tanganyikan shells) if you can get them, someone on the forum might be able to get them.

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20 Jan 2008 13:31 #3 by arabesque (Mick Veale)
see the article on occelatus by fran veale... in the articles section.

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20 Jan 2008 22:58 #4 by steven (steven)
Cheers guys for the info what in your opinion is the most simple breed to start with and Drew do you sell shells if not where can they be got.

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21 Jan 2008 00:03 #5 by lampeye (lampeye)
i have shells if you want some steven. they are all relatively easy to breed. multis prob more so .

lampeye

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21 Jan 2008 12:50 #6 by Acara (Dave Walters)
I setup a rekord60 in about aug/sept,and put 6 multis and a rusty plec in it.I was extremely lazy for the 1st couple of months,fed them erratically,no water changes(2mths)an dont ever test the water.I started feeding them a lot better,and doing regular water changes,but still have not even so much as lifted the lid off the filter,or tested the water,but I have 2 of the pairs happily looking after a good few fry.So far I have done nothing for the fry except to target feed them a couple of times a day with frozen baby brine shrimp and crushed flake.The adults have shown no interest in trying to eat the fry.
I intend doing a full water test this week,just out of curiosity.
I have shells in there from Lampeye,and they are perfect,and look very nice.
They really are easy to look after,although I really do reccommend you put in more effort than I did in the start.

Dave

always on the lookout for interesting corys.pm me if you know off any!

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21 Jan 2008 13:03 #7 by mickeywallace (Michael Wallace Cath Woods)
Dave you are so bold!!! write out 20 times \"I must check my water at least once a month\"

Mickey Wallace & Cath Woods

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21 Jan 2008 18:39 - 21 Jan 2008 18:42 #8 by steven (steven)
Cheers for all the info, Lampeye shells would be fantastic if you had a few to spare, i have everything else coral sand and spare external some tufa rock from my Malawi tank. Will start with some multis, how many can i put in a 125 comfortably. And can you tell me exactly how they establish a \"colony\".

Drew do you have any decent size multis?

Dave do you have any issues with the rusty plec aggression or anything.....i'm thinkng of maybe sticking a couple of bristlenose in to keep the tank clean.

Treat every day like your last, some day it will be??
Last edit: 21 Jan 2008 18:42 by steven (steven).

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21 Jan 2008 18:55 #9 by Acara (Dave Walters)
I have 6 in a rekord60,I guess its the same base size as a 24x12inch tank,probably holding,in realistic terms,about 50l of water.I put the shells in a line down the (lengthways)centre,and they did the rest thenselves,moved them into 3 clusters.They form large hollows around the shells and build ridges of sand between each cluster.I appear to have been lucky and got 3 pairs,they keep to their own areas,but I havn't seen any aggression between pairs.The rusty plec www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=43 keeps to himself,and I have never had any probs,he slaughters cucumber.Got him in AV for about 25e I think.He will outgrow the small tank,but fine in meantime.
It is amusing and amazing to look at the tank each day during the first few weeks whilst they arrange it to their liking,they can easily move the shells many times their own size,and move around a lot of substrate.
Great characters,but I would be interested if their was anything else I could keep in the upper levels,that wouldn't disturb the fry.

Dave

always on the lookout for interesting corys.pm me if you know off any!

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22 Jan 2008 17:06 #10 by steven (steven)
I read Fran Veale's article fair play to him an excellent read, tank is setup ready to rock just need some shells and some decent multis.

Treat every day like your last, some day it will be??

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22 Jan 2008 20:12 #11 by lampeye (lampeye)
where are you workin at the moment steven? if you are in the city centre i can give them to you there. send me a pm
fran

lampeye

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