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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

syno and pleco

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16 Mar 2009 21:26 #1 by peter (peter campbell)
hi
im just wodering if theres anything i can do so i get to see my synos and rusty pleco more often.
i only see these at night(even if i put food in the tank) and once they see me they hide.
my synos and beautiful and id love to see them more often as it seems a bit of a waste

how do use get pics of them?

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17 Mar 2009 00:45 #2 by platty252 (Darren Dalton)
They are both nocturnal so they dont like to come out while the lights are on.
One trick is to give them loads of hiding places. This makes them feel more secure and they will come out more often.

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17 Mar 2009 11:36 #3 by Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
I know what you mean by it being abit of a waste at times to have a fish that you can't always see. I suppose we are trying to replicate the fish's environment, and in this case they are both nocturnal. Plenty of places for them to hide will help the cause but I guess its normal not to see them too often. I have shrimp in my tanks that I havent seen in ages,I dont even know they are they unless I do a large clean out of the tank and come across them, same for a L number that hides abit too. Darragh has some Zebra pleco's, expensive guys,but he rarely gets to see them alot either! I suppose in one sense you could argue whats the point in keeping the fish if you cant see them,but I prefer to try to create a natural habitat for the fish, and if they prefer to stay hidden as per nature intended then you have succeeded in setting the tank up correctly! Hope this makes sense!

Gavin

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17 Mar 2009 13:00 #4 by serratus (Drew Latimer)
Some plecs will come out for tablet food/catfish pellets/cucumber etc.....

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17 Mar 2009 19:30 #5 by cardinal (Lar Savage)
Hi Peter
How about setting up some sort of Moonlight lighting system in your tank,maybe they will venture out if the lights are not as bright as normal.
Lar

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17 Mar 2009 20:12 #6 by peter (peter campbell)
il have a moonlight system but havent set it up yet!
its a strip of LEDs but im not sure how to secure it to the hood.
any ideas?

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18 Mar 2009 16:47 #7 by duzzy1 (Martin Kennedy)
i have the same thing and just stuck it in place with a blob or two of silicone sealant

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18 Mar 2009 17:20 #8 by cardinal (Lar Savage)
Peter / Duzzy
How big are the your strips of leds...? I have got some strips which i can daisy chain together but each strip is 1 Mtr long so not sure how many to set up,I haven't even put power onto them yet so i'm not even sure how bright they are yet.

Lar

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18 Mar 2009 17:58 #9 by peter (peter campbell)
about 10inches.
i have 2 sets,one has 2 10" strips and the other has 3 10" strips.there bright so i might just turn them on their sides and cable tie them to the hood!

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18 Mar 2009 18:59 #10 by duzzy1 (Martin Kennedy)
cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&it...=ADME:B:EOIBSA:IE:11

they're the ones i bought .

one regret .... i should have gotten 2 of them

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02 Apr 2009 01:07 - 02 Apr 2009 01:09 #11 by Trimax (Trimax)
Replied by Trimax (Trimax) on topic Re:syno and pleco
I have found that using dimmer lighting, more specifically "original tropical" tubes by arcadia are the only way to go when want to illuminate your tank but not make your fish feel exposed, This in conjunction with a dark substrate is a must for optimal viewing of fish in a relaxed natural state of mind. I have kept many syno's with pleco's in this set up and they we're nearly always on show.

I don't like the way most people seem to keep bright tanks (not saying you do!) , I think it's a huge mistake unless the fish or plants specifically need strong lighting. Have a look at some high end aquariums from pro/expert fish keepers and you will see dim lighting, dark substrate. ( Applies to freshwater only)
Last edit: 02 Apr 2009 01:09 by Trimax (Trimax).

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