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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

ahli aka freyeri

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09 Feb 2011 21:54 #1 by derek (Derek Doyle)
this is pics of the biggest s. freyeri that i've ever seen. it is the iceberg variety and has great colour and shape. he is a good eight inches and is bursting with good health. he is from wild caught parents and is about 4/5 years old. i recently got him back from bernard who had him for over 4 years till he became too hot to handle in a relatively small tank. i will try to add a video of him later.




30 tanks specialise in african cichlids, angelfish and various catfish

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09 Feb 2011 22:05 #2 by dubfish (Alan Martin)
Beautiful fish,never seen that variant before,Bernard looked after him very well.

Regards Alan..

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09 Feb 2011 22:14 #3 by derek (Derek Doyle)
he sure did alan. this fellows parents came from a wild fish importer from newcastle about 7/8 years ago. it was much easier to get really good fish then before the greedy celtic tiger kicked in.
maybe its time for us all to try get back to the higher standards.

30 tanks specialise in african cichlids, angelfish and various catfish

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09 Feb 2011 22:23 #4 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)

it was much easier to get really good fish then before the greedy celtic tiger kicked in. maybe its time for us all to try get back to the higher standards.


totally agree with you on this derek, but then again you always seem to get stunning fish, probably because you have the skills to identify good fish from a young age, and more importantly because of the care, dedication, and patience you have in selecting your stock and raising them. unlike some of us who (i include myself in this statement) make impulse buys

Fishkeeping the Only way to get wet and wild

currently 25 tanks, and breeding is the aim of everything i keep
location:Limerick

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09 Feb 2011 22:39 #5 by derek (Derek Doyle)
actually i think its lads like yourself that are the future for irish fishkeeping and higher standards.
your energy and enthuasism in seeking out good stock is becoming legendary and reminds me of the good old days.

ps those similis shelldwellers you gave me are beauts and have lovely clean lines. they are now raising young.

30 tanks specialise in african cichlids, angelfish and various catfish

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09 Feb 2011 22:43 #6 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
superb, delighted they are breeding for you, the wild parents are still producing away down here as well so all good

Fishkeeping the Only way to get wet and wild

currently 25 tanks, and breeding is the aim of everything i keep
location:Limerick

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10 Feb 2011 00:48 #7 by mickdeja (Mick Whelan)
Stunning colour on these. Thanks for sharin Derek.

Mick...:)

Follow me up to Carlow

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10 Feb 2011 09:00 #8 by 2poc (2poc)
Replied by 2poc (2poc) on topic Re: ahli aka freyeri
Great looking fish Derek. Dimitri brought a similar sized fish to the last ITFS show, it was in the fishantics display tank. Apparently it was 7 or 8 years old. Fantastic colour too.

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10 Feb 2011 12:15 #9 by Bella (Avril Lane)
He's a handsome dude alright...would really like to see a video of him in action.

Killenard, Laois

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10 Feb 2011 23:19 #10 by Tom (Tom Brecknell)
He’s a great looking fish, thanks for sharing Derek...................................................

One of the biggest problems in this country is that people are always looking for something for nothing, when people are offered good fish (Wild, F1 etc) at good prices, they always say “that’s too expensive” and go down and get some good quality hybrids. You might be offered a top quality fish (Wild) at €20 and a Hybrid at €15, which do you buy????????????????

This is my experience of the Irish way, if you want quality you just have to pay for it.................Tom.

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11 Feb 2011 13:41 #11 by pierce (Pierce)

Derek not unlike the one I got off you.

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11 Feb 2011 13:43 #12 by derek (Derek Doyle)
interesting point tom. in my experience there are still individuals who try to get the best fish and are willing to pay the little extra. and good fish can still be sourced at reasonable prices. having said that 20 years ago the selection was much more limited but the quality was much higher. shops such as the trop shop and grosvenor were much more hobby orientated and profit was important but not all embracing.
but with the demise of the celtic tiger, standards and value are slowly improving and the rush to marine fishkeeping is lessening. it is also noticable that some more of the better fishkeepers are starting up fish houses which will also help push stardards up.
i feel sure that if the better shops are supported they will source better and better fish to the ultimate benefit of all.
this is a good topic and worth stretching out.

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11 Feb 2011 13:58 #13 by derek (Derek Doyle)


Derek not unlike the one I got off you.


he looks in great condition pierce, great ventrals.
colour, form, finnage and condition and deportment all very good and he will get even better as he grows. try to get an unrelated good quality female and breed from him and the offspring will be excellent,

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11 Feb 2011 14:32 #14 by Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
Very impressive fish,very impressed.
Problem with alot of shops now is that they rely on the bread and butter impulse buys that people make.That is why the standards have slipped,cheaper fish leads to cheaper standards and quality.
People may say that we are still willing to pay a proper price for the right fish,but in Cork at least,there simply isnt the "right fish" coming onto the market there.
But you will pick up the bread and butter fish all day long that are raised in a cocktail of antibiotics etc.

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11 Feb 2011 16:39 #15 by 2poc (2poc)
Replied by 2poc (2poc) on topic Re: ahli aka freyeri


Derek not unlike the one I got off you.


he looks in great condition pierce, great ventrals.
colour, form, finnage and condition and deportment all very good and he will get even better as he grows. try to get an unrelated good quality female and breed from him and the offspring will be excellent,


I think I have two of this one's brothers which look equally impressive ;)

Derek - I always thought the iceberg variety was line bred. Didn't realise they were naturally ocurring ?

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11 Feb 2011 16:46 #16 by derek (Derek Doyle)
fishowner, some very good points and i would largely agree. equally i have sympathy with the shops as i know of cases where people have ordered expensive and difficult to source fish, (misled by pictures from a book or the internet)and when the fish arrive they refuse to take them as they are disapointed with the real thing which will generally be juveniles and not the show specimens they expected. when this happens the shop is stuck with expensive and maybe delicate fish which are hard to sell to the less discerning customers. so next time they are reluctant to go the extra mile in sourcing these special species.

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11 Feb 2011 17:09 #17 by derek (Derek Doyle)
hi patrick, as far as i remember the original iceberg was a naturally occuring freyeri variant with a silvery hue on the blue. this was later further enhanced by linebreeding to increase the silvery hue as typically seen in current normally available iceberg stock.
the specimen as illustrated has only a mild silvery sheen and came from stock from a very reliable source and strictly speaking is not an iceberg as we are used to. i later bred from the original with unrelated but lesser unknown pedigree to deepen the blue and increase the red colour in the fins.
good point though and good to see someone on the ball.

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