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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

Good fish for a community 145L tank

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07 Oct 2013 19:40 #1 by Jasonb (Jason Browne)
Hi there,

As most of you know from this forum, I'm starting my first tank, which currently has 145L of water in it and is in the middle (well the early stages) of getting the filter up and running.

I'd like some advice about what fish to stock. The ones I know I'd love would be some Sterbas Corys, and I'm planning to put 6-8 of them in.

I'm also thinking of some Tetras, maybe 10 Rummynose or Glow Light, I'm not certain. Would the Rummynose or Glow lights be ok with the Sterbas?

After that I'm not too sure. Maybe another small school of something else, or maybe a couple of something bigger.

Any suggestions?

Thanks...

J.

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07 Oct 2013 19:50 #2 by Jasonb (Jason Browne)
Sorry, I should probably have said, the tank is about 1/3 planted (Vallis and Cryptos), has a fine gravel substrate and has some 'fake' rock and wood in it, and I'll also be adding some real wood soon.

A video of it can be seen here:

s1213.photobucket.com/user/jasonb13/medi...zps5e553a46.mp4.html

Thanks!

J.

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07 Oct 2013 20:24 #3 by paulv (paul vickers)
From what you have picked already you will have a lovely simple plsnted tank. May I sugest 6/8 harlequins rasboras, they will love your planted substrate. Dont forget when your looking at fish in the shop tsnks that most fish are less than half their mature size, so allow room in your tank for your fish to grow up. Enjoy your new experience.

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07 Oct 2013 21:29 #4 by Jasonb (Jason Browne)
Thanks for your suggestion. The Harlequin Rasboras are nice actually, I hadn't seen them before. I know it can be tough asking for suggestions, as so much of it is personal preference, but it's good to get suggestions for what community fish go well together.

J.

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07 Oct 2013 21:50 #5 by wylam (Stuart Sexton)
Hi Jason,

I always go with my template of , bottom feeders- cory's / loaches
mid tank (dither fish) tetra's/ cardinal/rummie/glow light/penguin.
top tank, hatchet fish
Feature fish, KRIBENSIS!!! ofc what else.

The cory's are a bullet proof fish , very tough and easy to keep for someone new to the hobby.
The mid tank fish can be a bit harder to keep, things can go south very quickly with these guys, i found rummies to be quite delicate , NTD or neon tetra disease can appear over night and you'll have a hard time getting rid of it.
The most common top dweller would probably be hatchet fish very nice looking fish, be careful as they might jump out of the tank.
As for your feature fish there are many you can pick from , some are easier to keep than others and just for sheer entertainment i keep Kribs.

I would not advise keeping hatchets with kribs(i had a bad experience with that combo one time)

Stuart.

Multi tasking: Screwing up more than one thing at a time.

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07 Oct 2013 22:32 #6 by louis (David Knowles)
As you say its all about preference. What I go with is pit bull Pleco,sidthmunki, sterbais for the bottom. Neon,cardinal,rummy tetras. Thread fin rainbow, kribensis, dwarf gourami & empire goby

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08 Oct 2013 00:58 #7 by JohnH (John)
They wouldn't win any prizes in a Beauty Pageant (unless others of the species were doing the judging) but the humble Otocinclus are great workers and will keep you well entertained with their antics, but from experience these aren't fish to add to even a fairly new set-up, the tank needs a while to mature to be to their best liking.
Perhaps something to be considered after the initial stocking?
One other thing, they really seem to do best when in a larger quantity, seven or eight (or even more).

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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08 Oct 2013 02:48 #8 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
Rummy Noses and Sterbais are an excellent combination.....But something to be careful with as regards Corys though is their Barbels..Rough or sharpish gravel can wear their barbels down and make them ill...They much prefer a fine sand substrate as they like to sift through it with their barbels in search of food...........Corys in my opinion are the most peaceful fish you can get...They never bother anybody else and for the most part are left alone by others.......Amazing varieties too...

The way people usually work it is a Bottom dweller (Corries maybe) Mid dweller (Tetras maybe) and Top dweller (Hatchets maybe) and then a showfish like an Angel or Dwarf Cichlid..In your tank you could keep a single Angle or a couple of Dwarf Cichlids....

If your looking for an interesting top dweller thats a little different I would suggest Splash Tetras....They are amazing fish often overlooked in the fish shop because they dont look so colourful...

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08 Oct 2013 08:44 #9 by Jasonb (Jason Browne)
Some great suggestions there, thanks! I'm not actually a fan of the Hatchet fish, sorry! :) But there are a few other suggestions there for me to look at. It's good to know that some bottom dwellers, some mid dwellers, some top dwellers and then a 'show' fish is a good way to go.

Thanks...

J.

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08 Oct 2013 09:20 #10 by davey_c (dave clarke)
True there are some good suggestions there although I wouldn't bother with surface fish unless your tank doesn't have a lid otherwise you won't know their there. Ye won't see them with the lid in the way where it comes down the sides.
Choose your community fish wise because some shops are stocking mass produced shite that when something goes wrong makes ye think it was your fault when it may not be.
Anyways best of luck B)

Below tank is for sale

my plywood tank build.

www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...k-build-diary#137768

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08 Oct 2013 12:42 #11 by Jasonb (Jason Browne)
That's a good point about the top level fish Davey. As it happens, from what I've read the Harlequin Rasboras seem to be a mid/top level fish, so they'd take care of the upper level of the Aquarium without only being 'stuck' up at the top.

The Kribensis looks lovely I have to say as well!

So, as an example, how does this sound:

8 Sterbas Corys (the gravel is very fine and I asked in SH if it was ok for the Sterbas).
10 Rummynose Tetras
8 Harlequin Rasboras
2 Kribensis

Does that sound like a lot of stock for my tank? Obviously, I could go with only 1 Kribensis (would it be ok on its own, or does it prefer company?) and I could reduce the Corys / Rasboras to 6 and the Tetras to 6 or 8 if needed. That way I'd still have the schooling fish in groups of at least 6.

Thanks...

J.

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08 Oct 2013 13:59 #12 by wylam (Stuart Sexton)
I wouldn't put so many corys in there, not for stocking reasons but for a bit of variety, i would put 5 corys in and then 2-3 of another bottom dweller, just to give you something different to look at.

As for the krib's , you will need to either buy a pair of them or make a pair your self , which can be quite tricky for a beginner , if you are dead set on getting krib's then i would stock the tank first and let all the other fish settle in and after awhile try and pair up some kribs. remember to gradually stock the tank until the filter is fully matured and can take the load.

Stuart.

Multi tasking: Screwing up more than one thing at a time.

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08 Oct 2013 14:47 #13 by christyg (Chris Geraghty)
I agree on the Kribs, beautiful fish, however, if they start breeding you could find yourself overrun with little Kribs.

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08 Oct 2013 15:17 #14 by Jasonb (Jason Browne)
Good advice re the Kribs, would it be ok to get two males or two females, I'm not even thinking at looking at breeding yet!

Could you make some suggestions about another bottom dweller that would be happy with just 2-3 of them in the tank?

My plan would be to get one species first (either Corys, Tetras or Rasboras, don't know which yet) and get them up and running, and then the next species after a while, and then the next after a while again! Is there any preference in which ones I get first (leaving the Kribs until last of course...)

J.

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08 Oct 2013 15:37 #15 by christyg (Chris Geraghty)
Two male kribs could cause problems, females can be cranky too (sounds familiar :whistle: ). There are lots of different corys if you're looking for variety on the bottom.

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08 Oct 2013 15:43 #16 by wylam (Stuart Sexton)
I wouldnt put two same sex Kribs in a tank of that size as one of them would get bullied, it would be better to just put one male in and let him settle in, he will take control of probably 1 third of the tank , he will chase the other fish around a bit and act like the big man but the tank is big enough and there are going to be enough fish there so that he wont be doing any real harm.

As for which type of fish to add first? it's up to your self , i don't think there is any real advantage in adding cory's before you add tetra's or vice versa. But add the fish slowly over a couple of weeks to let the bacteria in your filter get accustom to the heavier bio load.

Stuart.

Multi tasking: Screwing up more than one thing at a time.

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08 Oct 2013 18:39 #17 by Jasonb (Jason Browne)
Cool, I might just stick to one Krib then, sounds easier! So I can go with Corys, Rummynose Tetras, Harlequin Rasboras and a Krib. And apart from adding the Krib last, I'll just add the other three groups in whatever order works for me. I'd probably be looking at a week or two between adding each group of fish...

As always, thanks for all the help and advice...

J.

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08 Oct 2013 19:01 #18 by davey_c (dave clarke)
At the end of the day pal its your tank to look at so put in it what you fancy but personally I wouldn't see the point in putting 1 krib into it (in saying that I was never a fan of them) but instead you could add a pair of apistogramma or another dwarf cichlid that would look far nicer yet whether they breed or not may never get fry. A single male krib might harass smaller fish too much if he has nothing else to keep him busy!

Have you tested you ph to see what would be suitable fish wise?

Below tank is for sale

my plywood tank build.

www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...k-build-diary#137768

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08 Oct 2013 19:33 #19 by Jasonb (Jason Browne)
Reading online, some sites do suggest that Kribs are happier when they're not alone and at least in a pair. My worry about having a male and female is that they'd breed and I wouldn't know how to handle it, it seems like a whole new aspect to learn, I'd like to just enjoy watching the fish first! :) If I have a male / female, what's the chances of them breeding? If they don't have a cave (for example), would that discourage them?

I'm keeping an eye on the tank pH, it's currently 8 but that's with Ammonia added to help with the filter. And I also plan to add some real wood in the next week. So all going well, I'm hoping the pH will drop a bit, I'll keep an eye on it.

J.

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08 Oct 2013 23:32 #20 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
Your PH is on the high side...More suited to African Cichlids..Maybe something in the tank is raising the PH (Rock or Substrate maybe)Somebody correct me if im wrong but i doubt that the Ammonia your adding is raising your PH....You may just have very hard water....

To be sure test your tap water PH.......To get a true tap water PH reading fill a bowl with your tap water and let it sit for 24 hours...Then test! This gives all the gases in the water time to dissipate and hence results in a true PH reading.....

Kribs will dig pits under decor to breed if there isnt a cave available...More than likely if you keep a male and female together they will breed and yes they will protect the young with whatever means possible...Keeping either a single male or female is quite acceptable.....

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09 Oct 2013 08:14 #21 by Jasonb (Jason Browne)
Thanks for the reply...

I did test tap pH and got 7.8, but I didn't leave it for 24 hours, so I'll start that process this evening, thanks...

Still can't decide whether to go with one or two Kribs, but I have plenty of time to figure it out...

J.

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09 Oct 2013 08:48 #22 by paulv (paul vickers)
Fun fish for bottom feeders are the loach family like polka dots, yoyo and every bodies fav the clown loach, all super fish to clean up any left over food.

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