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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

Something to worry about or not?

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03 Feb 2014 09:57 #1 by Jasonb (Jason Browne)
Hi there...

I've got 5 Sterbas Corys, 8 Rummynose Tetras and 11 Harlequin Rasboras in my Rio 180L. I've had the Corys the longest (nearly 3 months) and they've always been fine, swimming around the place and nosing through the substrate. The Tetras are there about 2 months and the Rasboras about 3 weeks.

In the last week or so the Corys have become very shy. They're always hiding under rocks or leaves and aren't moving around much at all. I don't see them going through the substrate either. I haven't really had time to sit and watch them with the lights off, but a quick glance this morning showed a couple of them out in the open, but just 'sitting' on the bottom. When the lights are on (5 hours a day) they're always under rocks / plants. They look ok, maybe a little 'paler' than before, but I'm not sure.

Is this something to worry about? It only strikes me as odd because they used to move around a lot more. I don't know if it's related or not, but I've moved from one feed in the evening to two a day, and I need to be clever with my feeding to make sure the Rasboras don't get everything, as they go mad once the food goes in.

Any thoughts please? Thanks...

J.

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03 Feb 2014 11:18 #2 by JohnH (John)
Sometimes Corys will go 'into hiding' - and also, coincidentally, become very 'skittish' if ammonia levels have become raised.
You might want to look at this and do a 20% water change to be on the safe side anyway.
Two more 'possibles' are if the flow through your filter has slowed appreciably and also temperature-related, I had this one time where the heater had stopped working without being noticed.
One last suggestion that you might look at is if the pH has altered dramatically - this can happen too.

If all these are OK (do a water-change anyway) it might just be that something has occurred to make the fish less active and it's only a temporary thing before they return to their earlier activity.

Does anyone else have any suggestions for Jason?

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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03 Feb 2014 12:49 #3 by anglecichlid (ciaran hogan)
I hate when people do this but,
I would tend to agree with John on this one,
I think he has covered all the bases,
Although everything you mentioned in your post is pretty much what mine do
They like everything else like to rest now and then!
But just look out for heavy gill movements
If there panting quickly
Then maybe do as John has suggested
A 20% water change won't do them any harm

Anyone with a aquarium can keep fish,
But it takes real skill to be a fish keeper,


And it's spongeBob,
SpongeBob lives in a pineapple under the sea
BLANCHARDSTOWN

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03 Feb 2014 13:24 #4 by Jasonb (Jason Browne)
Thanks for your replies.

Good suggestions to check John; as it happens I was planning to do my weekly water change today anyhow. All my parameters are pretty much the same, 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrites, pH 7.4-7.6, water temp 24.5 degrees. The Nitrates are maybe a little higher than normal (between 5-10ppm instead of just 5ppm) but that's about it, and I'm guessing 5-10ppm isn't anything to worry about.

I did my weekly 33% water change anyhow and got a good look at all 5 Corys and they all look ok, so I'll just see what happens!

On a good note (for a change) I noticed one of my Rasboras upside down in a plant and got rather worried, until I realised that they're trying to spawn! All in all I'd say 2 or 3 pairs are trying, and it was fascinating watching the males dancing around them, the females going under the plant leaves and the males wrapping themselves around them. I've heard successful breeding is difficult with Rasboras, and I'm not even trying to breed them, but I have to say, I'm delighted that they're trying, it must mean that something's right in the tank for them! And a nice change from the usual "upside-down fish = trouble" :)

J.

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03 Feb 2014 13:28 #5 by anglecichlid (ciaran hogan)
That is good news
I'm delighted things are looking up for you :)

Anyone with a aquarium can keep fish,
But it takes real skill to be a fish keeper,


And it's spongeBob,
SpongeBob lives in a pineapple under the sea
BLANCHARDSTOWN

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25 Feb 2014 22:02 #6 by Jasonb (Jason Browne)
Me again...

Just an update.... The Corys are still hiding, I can barely get them to come out from under plants or rocks, and when they do come out they are very skittish and fly back and forth at the back of the tank until they hide again. They all look fine, nice and plump, but they're very unlike the playful fish who used to spend their time digging around the substrate. It's almost like they're hiding from the other fish, but I've never seen any agression, and none of the fish I have are known for aggression either.

Any thoughts / ideas?

Thanks...

J.

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25 Feb 2014 22:44 - 25 Feb 2014 22:45 #7 by Homer (Kevin)
Given that everything water-wise seems ok, what substrate do you have? sharp Substrate can erode the barbles and interfer with their normal rummaging behaviour and given the time frame, it would have happened over this period, just a thought.

Kev.

The Glass is always greener on the other side.


It's NOT "Chee lick", NOT "Chee Chee Licks"!!! Cichlids is pronounced as "Sick Lids"!!!!!
Last edit: 25 Feb 2014 22:45 by Homer (Kevin).

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25 Feb 2014 22:52 #8 by Homer (Kevin)
I would also suggest adding a few more as they are best in larger groups, less antsy.

Kev.

The Glass is always greener on the other side.


It's NOT "Chee lick", NOT "Chee Chee Licks"!!! Cichlids is pronounced as "Sick Lids"!!!!!

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26 Feb 2014 12:50 #9 by Jasonb (Jason Browne)
Thanks Kevin,

It's JBL Manado, which I was told would be fine for them, but when I get home this evening I'll see if I can suss out their barbels and see how they look.

I only ever had 6 Corys, and 1 died a few months ago, so it's been 5 for a good while. If I had to try to link their hiding behaviour with an event, I'd be tempted to link it to me adding 11 Harlequin Rasboras, maybe having those 11 swimming around a lot has caused the Corys to act this way? But I don't see why it would, and I could just be linking the two events together in my own mind.

I don't want to overstock the tank too much (and I still want to get a Pearl Gourami), so if it was a case of adding more Corys, how many more would I be talking about?

Thanks...

J.

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27 Feb 2014 12:22 #10 by Jasonb (Jason Browne)
Well, I've had a look at the Corys and from what I can see their barbels are all fine, at least to my untrained eye. So I don't think that's the problem.

Thanks...

J.

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27 Feb 2014 15:20 #11 by DAFISH (Renaldas)
Hi jasonb, well first of all im not so much experienced in all this fish world so far (but i will) i can give little advice from my own experience, i remember i had temp drop in couple C and fish started to hide ,and all i was able to see is my sand and decorations which is give to me the feeling like i own fish tank without single fish in it lol :whistle: all i did is raised temp to normal 26C again and they all come back to life, try increasing temp by 1C or 2C and see how it goes i hope it helps

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27 Feb 2014 16:06 #12 by Jasonb (Jason Browne)
Thanks for you reply. My Temp has been 25 degrees since I started the tank, so there hasn't been a drop there. In general I can't see any change in tank parameters (apart from adding more plants and fish as time goes on).

From a few forums online this seems to be a fairly common occurrence with Corys. Suggestions include that they're now just more comfortable in the tank and want to lie around, and also that they're getting lots of food so have no need to go looking too much. I do wonder if I've been feeding a bit too much (I used to be quite frugal, but since I've added more fish I've obviously increased the quantity of food and I wonder if I've increased too much), so I might try feeding a little less and see if that encourages them...

J.

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27 Feb 2014 16:21 #13 by DAFISH (Renaldas)
Sounds like a plan, if they are full all times they dont need to move around looking for food and just rest in ther hiding places sounds really possible to me, also i have something simillar with my dempseys, they love to hide in their cave, and they do come around to eat for sure but once done they go into hiding again, also they kinda very sensitive to any movements around ,any ideas why ? The rest is fine only dempseys

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28 Feb 2014 01:11 #14 by wastegate (Joseph Farrell)
Wonder if it is anything to do with lighting being to strong. I know some fish can be sensitive to strong light. Just a thought :blush:

You know you're addicted to fishkeeping when...you spend €200 to accomodate a €5 fish.

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