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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

trouble in the mouth

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14 Feb 2010 17:15 #31 by duzzy1 (Martin Kennedy)
sorry to hear derek but good job on the surgery ...... i hate loosin fish myself , but touch wood have never had anything quite that strange happen me yet .

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14 Feb 2010 17:20 #32 by PAULHARTE25 (PAUL HARTE)
a sad but fair ending,good try derek

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14 Feb 2010 17:37 #33 by Frontosa (Tim kruger)
Well done Derek.Nothing else could be done.Got nervous reading this thread the last couple of days and stripped my yellow lab today.8 Syno babies around 7mm all healthy.Its always amazing that they all fit in there.
Regards,Tim

Midlands - in the heart of Ireland.

Keeping and breeding : Frontosa Blue Zaires , Synodontis Petricola , Tropheus Red Rainbow (Kasanga) , Tropheus Moliro . Regulary fry for sale.
Community tank with P.Kribensis and different livebearers.

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14 Feb 2010 19:19 #34 by dubfish (Alan Martin)
Very well detailed Derek,and fair play for your efforts on such an awkward situation.

Well done Tim,I'm sure Tom would love a few of them synos considering his loss.

Regards Alan..

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14 Feb 2010 19:24 #35 by Daragh_Owens (Daragh Owens)
Sorry to hear that outcome, but you did your best and I don't see how it could be any different taking in account what you found.


Daragh

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14 Feb 2010 19:31 #36 by Ma (mm mm)
Replied by Ma (mm mm) on topic Re:trouble in the mouth
Sorry for your losses mate. It is commendable the effort you made to save them both. Sorry I couldn't be of any help.



Mark

Location D.11

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14 Feb 2010 20:25 #37 by Tom (Tom Brecknell)
dubfish wrote:

Very well detailed Derek,and fair play for your efforts on such an awkward situation.

Well done Tim,I'm sure Tom would love a few of them synos considering his loss.


Well done Tim, that's great news, you have more than me now, I have 3 Multi Fry about 10mm I removed from the main tank, so I don't know who brooded the fry.........Tom.

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14 Feb 2010 23:41 #38 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re:trouble in the mouth
Definitely was worth a shot, nice try.

Kev.

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15 Feb 2010 05:57 #39 by Denis (Denis Goulding)
Unlucky Derek, but a good try and very very interesting thread.
Regards,
Denis

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15 Feb 2010 09:52 #40 by Didihno (Didihno)
Replied by Didihno (Didihno) on topic Re:trouble in the mouth
Hard luck Derek, you did well.
Fascinating thread all round.

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16 Feb 2010 19:40 - 22 Jul 2011 23:04 #41 by derek (Derek Doyle)
thanks for the interest and comments everyone. these are pics of the deceased just after the botched surgery.
you can clearly see the huge size of the squatter compared to the host.
it is strange that the catfish choose a fish like careleus to brood their fry as they have one of the smallest mouths among malawi or tang mouthbrooders.
the young female lab probably tried to hold the fry too long and when she did try to evict him, he had outgrown the mouth opening and was trapped.




30 tanks specialise in african cichlids, angelfish and various catfish
Last edit: 22 Jul 2011 23:04 by derek (Derek Doyle). Reason: pic

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16 Feb 2010 20:38 #42 by JohnH (John)
Looks like the demise of both was inevitable then Derek.
Still, worth the try.

Thanks for sharing the sequence from start to finish.

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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16 Feb 2010 21:31 #43 by derek (Derek Doyle)
i agree john that there was little hope for either, also it surprised me that there was no info on the internet on a situation that must happen from time to time.
i am also curious to know what age the catfish was. if tim and toms normally released babies were 7 to 10 mm at say 3 weeks. this big baby was 30mm long and 6 to 7mm diameter across its swollen looking head.

30 tanks specialise in african cichlids, angelfish and various catfish

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16 Feb 2010 21:51 #44 by JohnH (John)

"...also it surprised me that there was no info on the internet on a situation that must happen from time to time"


Well, there is now! Just as long as 'searchers' can find this thread on Google (not that I'm certain they'll be able to). Perhaps it could help if the thread title were changed to something a little more explanatory? But I don't really know how people gain more prominence for subjects on Google, anyone else?

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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16 Feb 2010 23:53 #45 by Xeon (ioan micu)
Just seen the thread now Derek, well done on your try.

Maybe the lack of info on the internet was the unhappy ending in the previous cases as well...

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17 Feb 2010 00:35 #46 by platty252 (Darren Dalton)
An unfortunate end for both of them. But at least you gave it your best shot.

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18 Feb 2010 11:17 #47 by Tom (Tom Brecknell)
Thanks Derek for all your help, it was a great learning experience and something for the future........Tom.

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21 Feb 2010 16:32 - 22 Jul 2011 23:07 #48 by derek (Derek Doyle)
after discussing this topic with various fishkeepers with specialist knowledge of these cuckoo spawning catfish, i think the safest way to go is to strip the mouthbrooder of eggs/fry at about 14 to 18 days. any later than this would be risky for all. with small mouthed species such as careleus i would strip them at 14 days. the catfish develop at a much faster rate than the cichlids and proceed to eat the cichlid eggs and even fry. if there is only one catfish egg the available captive food source leads to an astonishing growth rate with dire consequences for all unless the small mouthed and inexperienced mother (as in this case) is forcibly stripped of her big headed burden before its too late.

30 tanks specialise in african cichlids, angelfish and various catfish
Last edit: 22 Jul 2011 23:07 by derek (Derek Doyle). Reason: pic problem

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21 Feb 2010 23:25 #49 by Tom (Tom Brecknell)
Thanks Derek,

It’s always great to learn something new and we certainly did this time, you are a wealth of knowledge, can you thank Chris for his the photo’s as it’s not something you are going to see very often.

Tom.B)

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22 Feb 2010 01:36 #50 by platty252 (Darren Dalton)
I'm a little bit surprised they dont feed of the caeruleus eggs if they develop much faster. Or do they?

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22 Feb 2010 22:03 #51 by derek (Derek Doyle)
platty252 wrote:

I'm a little bit surprised they dont feed of the caeruleus eggs if they develop much faster. Or do they?

hi darren
they do feed on the cichlid eggs and fry, and with a captive food supply that means they grow much faster. as far as i know the catfish hatch within 48 hrs and have little or no yolk sac. so they immediately start feeding on the cichlid eggs and later on the cichlid fry.

30 tanks specialise in african cichlids, angelfish and various catfish

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22 Feb 2010 22:12 #52 by platty252 (Darren Dalton)
Nothing like a boost of protein to give them a head start in life.
48 hours. No wonder there is no eggsac. If they developed any quicker they would probably start to eat themselves.

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22 Jul 2011 23:10 #53 by derek (Derek Doyle)
found this old thread while looking for something else. wondering what ian and others think of the strange sequence of events

30 tanks specialise in african cichlids, angelfish and various catfish

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