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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

Best ram combo?

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21 Feb 2010 19:58 #1 by Penny (Aedh Byrne)
Hi, I got a trio of blue rams a few days ago, thinking they were a male + 2 females, but turned out to be 2 males and a female. The males have been sparring quite a bit, and i'm worried they will hurt each other or the female. What is the best thing to do... give back 1 male, or get 1 or 2 more females? Would 2 harems be a bit much for an 180 litre tank? And if I do give back 1 male, should I get another female?

There is also a cockatoo cichlid in the tank but he ignores the rams and they ignore him, do you think that would change if the rams start breeding behaviour?

Also, I don't particularly want to breed rams, (they were a bit of an impulse buy tbh, were particularly gorgeous ones) and I have read that they are only aggressive during breeding so if I don't encourage breeding will they stay pretty peaceful? (I mean don't put any flat rocks etc in for breeding sites)

Thanks for any advice!

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21 Feb 2010 20:39 #2 by Xeon (ioan micu)
Replied by Xeon (ioan micu) on topic Re:Best ram combo?
Best whould be to keep only one pair.

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21 Feb 2010 22:36 #3 by JohnH (John)
Replied by JohnH (John) on topic Re:Best ram combo?
Sound advice from Xeon, I find most Dwarf Cichlids - especially South American ones - to be best in pairs, especially when kept in smaller tanks. You could just about try another female in your tank and try to organise rocks etc so that each pair's territory is at either end, with generous planting in between but really you would be better off bringing the extra male back and part-exchanging it for something like some Pencil Fish to act as 'dithers'.
I know you have said you don't want them to breed but I'm afraid that these are Cichlids, after all. When they decide the time is right there isn't much you will be able to do to discourage them! The problem often comes when owners decide to breed them but they aren't ready to!

A male Ram can, for its size, be quite a formidable force to be reckoned with so if they start the breeding process you will have to then keep an eye on the Cacatuoides as they will do their utmost to protect their offspring (I include eggs here) and the Apisto mightn't take too kindly then to being 'bossed' around. Of course I might end up being wrong, but I'm supposing your fish follow the 'usual' pattern.

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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23 Feb 2010 16:16 #4 by Penny (Aedh Byrne)
Hi, thanks for the advice :) I replanted a bit to divide the tank more in half so line of sight is mostly broken, and the bigger male seems to have claimed the left side, and the smaller guy the right. The female has been drifting between territories unhassled, though she's mainly spending time with the bigger male.

I will probably return one of the males, but I might just see if the peace lasts, the smaller one was the aggressor but he seems to be respecting the invisible line in the sand for now. If I see any aggression more than a sideways display I will definitely take 1 out. :)

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