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
Hong Kong Pleco
- Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
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Gavin
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- Daragh_Owens (Daragh Owens)
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They look very similar to the Vietnam Hillstream Loach, Sewellia lineolata, which I have kept.
All the hillstream loaches require very high oxygen levels and prefer cooler water. The B kweichowensis appears to be hardier than S lineolata, reflected by the high price of the latter. They usually ship them one to a bag due to high oxygen requirements and that adds greatly to their cost.
I eventually lost all my S lineolata as I could not keep the water cool enough for them in the fish room. I have another hillstream loach, much smaller but with a name to make up for that Gastromyzon ctenocephalus! They have survived well. There is a photo here www.irishfishkeepers.com/cms/component/o...w/catid,27/id,30973/
As you will not be able to lower your temp due to other tank occupants I suggest you provide as much water agitation as possible, maybe with a filter return pointing at the glass or a flat stone where he can hang out and pretend he is at home

Daragh
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lovely fish and a pleasure to watch i could spend hours in front of my friends tank watching them.
i don't have any myself because my current cold set up just abouts suites white cloud Mt's minnows.
as Daragh stated the most important thing is movement and temp. one of the main reason for losses i have heard is they will try to be so much in moving water that they managed to get in to the impeller housing.
this my friend has added an up lift pipe with an air stone the bottom has a sponge which allow water to move free through it and the loches can happily move around it with out being damaged plus the extra water movement and surface agitation
Mickey
Mickey Wallace & Cath Woods
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- Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
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I turned the temp down last night alright to about 25c, presently its about 26c, but I hope to knock it down another degree,I have the internal filter facing the glass which provides plenty of movement and indeed he hangs out there abit too! Along with my Wood / Singapore shrimp who hang on the underside of the glass overhang,they filter away all day there sometimes! He's an interesting addition alright, I was never gone on plecs,unfortunately alot of the ones I saw when I first started keeping tropicals consisted of tank with one or two dead fish and indeed the plecs were like vultures on them! lol.
Still I guess I need to sample them and indeed he may keep my glass clean also! Of course its not technically pleco either so will be interesting to see how it goes. He's fine this morning anyhow so will do a water change on Monday as Im off to watch Cork beat Kerry for the second time this year now! Nice long spin ahead for me,leave at 7:45am and get home around 11pm! Something tells me though that Kerry may nip it! Come on the Rebels!
Gavin
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- Daragh_Owens (Daragh Owens)
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There is a feature on them and other loaches in Septembers PFK. I don't agree with the temps stated for the Vietnamese Hillstream Loach, neither would a coupl eof other keepers I have spoken to, but apart from that, good photos and some info.
Daragh
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- Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
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Its going good so far. My temp is still at about 25c / 26c, It doesnt seem to be a problem for it but then again I run my temp higher than most I guess. The hong kong pleco disappears for alot of the time but every now and then you get to see it around the glass,up and down etc...
Also it goes hiding under one of my rocks in the tank! Its tail is a very nice colour,hard to get a pic of it but Ill see what I can do when I see it out next.
Gavin
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