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
Fish Show.....Good to Meet people at the HSI stand
- igmillichip (ian millichip)
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It was really great to meet up with some members here who I've had good conversations with here but not met (in person) previously.
And, of course, to meet with those who I see only on the odd occasions.
If I didn't have to keep half a brain on making sure no-one opened the tarantula vivs I'd have chatted a lot more.
Justine and I, on the H.S.I. had a great day and thanks everyone for popping over and chatting.
(ps....as Justine is now Chairperson of the H.S.I., then that is a thank-you from the chairperson

Justine also sends many thanks to John Gannon and the ITFS for inviting the H.S.I. to set-up a stand at the show, and was taken-back by the energy and dedication of those who organised and did all the back-breaking heavy work to make the show a great success.
ian
Irish Tropical Fish Society (ITFS) Member.
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- john gannon (John Gannon)
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It's always a pleasure to have yous at the shows the bit of diversity really helps make the show and the kids and most adults really love to see the spiders .(my wife just said NO when I mentioned getting one.
Anyway thanks again for the time and effort that yous at the hsi put into the event ,it really is appreciated.
Thanks
John
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- derek (Derek Doyle)
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30 tanks specialise in african cichlids, angelfish and various catfish
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- igmillichip (ian millichip)
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In fact, the more I study nature and the chemistry of nature the more fascinating and fictional it all becomes.
I would say that the day I proclaim understanding nature will be the day that I admit to knowing nothing.
If I wanted to make the best SciFi book or film possible.....I'd simply write or film nature: 99% of what we know is unbelievable, and then there are the bits we don't know yet.
The tarantulas are an interesting show display.
I know that some people would, understandably, not take too kindly to their presence (and I was chatting to some who don't like spiders).
Justine, who owns most of our spiders (and some bigger monsters than we had at the show), is an arachnophobe herself.
But we have always found youngsters to have a great interest in them.
ian
Irish Tropical Fish Society (ITFS) Member.
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- BlueRam (Sean Crowe)
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The Displays where unreal found the Dark Frog outstanding and spiders scary


Also got some very good shots off the Dart Frogs will have to post them up soon
Who known might have them in the photo Comp
Sean
Sean Crowe
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Location: Navan
Always Remember Surviving Is Not Thriving
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- john gannon (John Gannon)
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I'm sure I read or you told me that the hsi are doing a display in the natural history museum soon can you please let us know the details when there available
Thanks
John
IRISH TROPICAL FISH SOCIETY CLUB MEMBER
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- igmillichip (ian millichip)
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Hi Ian
I'm sure I read or you told me that the hsi are doing a display in the natural history museum soon can you please let us know the details when there available
Thanks
John
We are there this coming Saturday (25th). The start time is a little ambiguous (the NHM have published it as starting at 2pm). But whichever way, it closes at 4pm.
The event at the NHM is part of our requirement to be involved with a national event in National Heritage Week in view of our Chytrid Survey across ireland.
I'm not sure what we will be bringing along as the museum does place a constraint on transporting heavy or bulky tanks.
I'll get some final updates soon.
ian
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- goldy (goldy .)
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It was brilliant to see you at the show at the weekend. You as always are brilliant to come along. The spiders are fascinating but still a bit scary. My kids were in awe of the webs but still a bit scared when they saw the size of the spiders.
As always the frogs are brilliant. I think the show was a success and thanks for being a part of it. The diversity this year was great. What a display of fish. Some of them I had never seen before myself.
As an added bonus my albino frogs decided to get it on....and I came home with a bucket full of eggs so the next generatin are on the way.
Thanks again for being a big part of the show. See you soon.
Nessa
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- igmillichip (ian millichip)
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Some members on reptile forums are really pleased to see that we have a good link going with the 'fish-keepers' (and it so happens that all person who have been Chairperson of the H.S.I. are also club members in the ITFS and are also mainly fish-keepers themselves).
Anyway, i've posted a new thread on the coming date we have with the Natural History Museum.
www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...he-nhm-25-aug#129845
the time slot is not as long as we had earlier this year (which was all day....and a very hectic all day it was as well).
As many of us in the H.S.I. see things, our present day youngsters are the future: and for that we always have loads of time to spend answering questions and listening to what our youngsters have to say or ask.
ian
Irish Tropical Fish Society (ITFS) Member.
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