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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

first hurdle - 1 dead guppie, another on the way

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17 Mar 2009 22:56 #1 by fishiegirl (Tara Segrave)
I began adding fish to my tank about 10 days ago; 4 tetras on Monday, 4 more on Thursday. This Monday I went back for 4 more but wound up with 6 guppies (male) instead as there were no neon tetras available. I have been checking the water daily & did a PWC (10L, 70L tank) on Saturday. Nitrates have stayed between 5-10 since I began adding fish. Ammonia zero.

Tonight I spotted one of the guppies tight against the filter & nudged him with the net - he was still alive, but only just. Another appeared to be dead but when I went to get him with the net he escaped me (mainly upside down).

I don't have a quarantine tank so I just grabbed a ziplok bag from the kitchen & put some water from the tank into it along with the two fish. I'm guessing they're not going to last long.

Just did a quick check on the levels again - all still okay (and yes, I'm shaking the nitrates bottle #2 for a full minute).

Any ideas? One of the guppies has a major chunk out of his tail - I did notice some chasing going on earlier - could the others have bullied him out of it?

The tank inhabitants are:
2 x-ray tetras
5 glowline tetras
1 neon tetra

plus the 6 male guppies

Help!

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17 Mar 2009 23:16 #2 by fishiegirl (Tara Segrave)
And another question - is it normal for guppies to spend a lot of time right at the top of the tank? Their heads are almost touching the surface - is this a bad sign or just the way they are? They are also swimming happily around but I've seen them up there a lot.

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18 Mar 2009 11:22 #3 by mickeywallace (Michael Wallace Cath Woods)
Hi there
your nitrates are way to high! so plenty of water changes. what are your nitrites at?

regular water changes is key for the moment!!! would the fish with tail damage have been caught in the filter????? or fin rot i would treat with ESha 2000 just in case?

guppys will swim at all levels in the tank but tend to stay close to the surface were the food will be:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: always first to the dinner table:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Mickey Wallace & Cath Woods

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18 Mar 2009 13:14 #4 by Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
Also fishie, please do not get a female guppy,the 6 guppy will hound her constantly and she will get v stressed leading to illness and eventual death. Dont get a female please! Its usually 2 females per 1 male guppy as the male guppys have only 1 thing on their mind! As for the problem, well Mickey hit the nail on the head.Also Id get more neon tetras, they prefer to be kept in a shoal,while not true shoaling fish,they prefer safety in numbers and I would suggest you get another 4 or 5 at minimum,you will see them behave alot more naturally also if you do this.

Gavin

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18 Mar 2009 13:30 #5 by fishiegirl (Tara Segrave)
Guppies weren't part of my plan at all, I went back on Monday expecting to get a few more neon tetras but the expected delivery wasn't ready for sale.

I don't plan on getting any female guppies - was told that 6 males would be fine together.

Now I'm confused about the nitrates - it was said to me (several times) that nitrates at 5-10 was perfectly okay. The API booklet says less than 40 is recommended for freshwater aquariums so what's wrong with 5-10???
:unsure:

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18 Mar 2009 13:39 #6 by nonie (leonie troy)
Hi fishiegirl, you are right below 40 is recommended. When the tank has been cycled there will ALWAYS be nitrates. I think ESHA 2000 is the best way to treat the tank. It is a broad spectrum medication so if there is anything there it will treat them.

As for the 6 male gupies they may get a bit aggressive from lack of female company so keep an eye on them.

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18 Mar 2009 13:46 #7 by fishiegirl (Tara Segrave)
Nitrites remain zero
pH 7.6
temp 25.5
ammonia zero
nitrates between 5-10

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18 Mar 2009 20:15 #8 by karlo (karlo kennedy)
how about bringing in 4 of the male guppies to a fish shop and asking them to change them for some females, get more neons and leave it at that for now, let them cycle the tank for a few weeks :) keep doing a partial water change too. You could also get a ornament or plant (real or fake) for hiding places.

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