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
devastating
- gardoyle27 (Gareth Doyle)
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- convict84 (sean farrell)
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- JohnH (John)
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Hopefully you might just find some of your fish not totally dead, but in an almost 'state of suspended animation' - this happened to me a couple of times after power cuts during the Miners' Strike in England and I was able to rescue some fish.
I sincerely hope you will be able to find some which aren't beyond redemption.
John
Location:
N. Tipp
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.
ITFS member.
It's a long way to Tipperary.
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- gardoyle27 (Gareth Doyle)
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8 tropheus all adult so 3 inch
2 lelupi 3 inch
a large plec 8-9 inch
a small sydonis 1 inch
3 lamprologus ocellatus 2 male one female.
what a downer to a crap january
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- gardoyle27 (Gareth Doyle)
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Oh dear, that's dreadful news, but you don't want to be told that - you know it yourself, so apologies for stating the obvious!
Hopefully you might just find some of your fish not totally dead, but in an almost 'state of suspended animation' - this happened to me a couple of times after power cuts during the Miners' Strike in England and I was able to rescue some fish.
I sincerely hope you will be able to find some which aren't beyond redemption.
John
hey john thanks for the oforting words. stayed at home and came into work late so i could search through unfortunatley not a surviver in sight!!!!
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- mossy (gavin blanchfield)
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sorry just seen your thread with your crap news
nothing as bad as pulling dead fish from a tank
same happened to my uncles 8ft tank 2 weeks ago
he had a power cut and the thermo filter knocked off
he rang me in a bit of a state but when i got there he had lost 16 big cichlids
managed to save about 15 others.heart breaking putting them into a bag as he had them for about 10 years.
i rember seen your fish a while back and they were realy looking great,the same as my uncles which makes it harder to replace them
the downside of fishkeeping alot of us have seen but we carry on
rgds
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- Rolly (Ruaidri Hegarty)
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- gerryberry (Jeff Daly)
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just a taught if and when you decide to set back up, it might be benefitical if you wire in an alarm or buzzer circuit or a flashing light circuit to notify you if the power to your shed is gone.
Hope you can get a new stock soon
Jeff
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- dubfish (Alan Martin)
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Regards Alan..
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- scubadim (scubadim)
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Hope February brings better things your way!
Dimitri
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- padraigr (Padraig Rooney)
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Not a lot i can add to the comments already made except I know how you feel I was that soldier a few months back when I lost 5 1 night hope all works out & you set up again soon.
Padraigr






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- Viperbot (Jason Hughes)
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Jay
Location: Finglas, North Dublin.
Life
may not be the party we hoped for, but while we
are here we might as well dance.
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- stretnik (stretnik)
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I agree with the idea of some sort of alarm or heater battery back-up system.
Kev.
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- JohnH (John)
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"...stayed at home and came into work late so i could search through unfortunatley not a surviver in sight!!!!"
What a downer!!!
I'm sorry that I have nothing to offer in the way of replacement other than some juvenile Ps Saulosi to help ease your losses - surely there are members who can help Gar with some replacements?
If a] Gar would like some fish to replace the sad losses and b] anyone has anything to offer him please reply here, or send him a PM.
John
Location:
N. Tipp
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.
ITFS member.
It's a long way to Tipperary.
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- convict84 (sean farrell)
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- Viperbot (Jason Hughes)
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Jay
Location: Finglas, North Dublin.
Life
may not be the party we hoped for, but while we
are here we might as well dance.
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- gardoyle27 (Gareth Doyle)
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thanks for all the kind words and offers, i just finished taking the tank down, it seems the problem was the pump.it's burned out! i think it is what blew the fuse. anyway i'm not 100% sure yet but i think this tank may be going up for sale in the next few days. gonna have a sleep on it and see how i feel, the marine tank will have to keep me goin for the future
thanks again folks
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- sincgar (Feargal Costello)
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If you need coral sand i have a bucket of same you can have. one cheap power option would be a small torch avail from hw or argos that flashes when the power goes off. If you add it to your powerblock it might alert you to something wrong outside
Feargal
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- 2poc (2poc)
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Have a few juvenile black Acei that you're welcome to if you want to get started again.
Cheers,
Patrick
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- gardoyle27 (Gareth Doyle)
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however i have decided to sell this set up and just keep the one set up i have in the sitting room with the marines. so not giving up altogether but am holding off for the forseeable future on a second set up.
thanks
Gareth
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- Markku (Markku)
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I doubt it will be long before you have some great new ideas for setting it up again from scratch once the red mist clears, clean palette.
Some Cory cats here if you want, again as above nothing like you lost.
Lastly, there are always people looking to rehome larger fish that have got too big ect, you should set it up and be determined to stock it for almost free, though it may take a little more time. At least it will be a bit easier on your pocket.
Good luck mate
Mark
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- irishfirepics (Dennis Prior)
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if ye fancy something different take a look at this. might be something new to try
reefbuilders.com/2009/10/02/breed-bangaii-cardinals/
interesting to try. might get the itch for a second tank going again, who knows maybe even a 3rd or 4th tank


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- fishmad1234 (Craig Coyle)
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at the end of the day it becomes nite
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- gardoyle27 (Gareth Doyle)
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- fishmad1234 (Craig Coyle)
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at the end of the day it becomes nite
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