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

Building a conservation area

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paul (paul)
Topic Author
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28 Mar 2011 13:13 #1 by paul (paul)

Building a conservation area was created by paul (paul)

Hi all
I will be buiding a small child friendly observation conservation area in my garden the area is seven feet square area in the corner partial shaded but can go up to ten feet if needed.

All help and suggestions very welcome

My plan so fare is to dig an L shape hollow this will act as the pond or wet area if you will app two feet wide and each lenght will six feet long not sure on depth or if i should have differant depths.
Behind this but only on one side i was planning to do a marsh about a foot wide and same lenght,on the other side putting in a mound of earth and a rockery for plants.

should i put in a water feature
should i use a filter pump
do i use tap water should it be conditioned first
what plants should i use best place to find plants
what fish or no fish
i want to attracted wild life

Have not got a clue what i am doing so please feel free to say my plan is rubbish and give me suggestions

This is a very serious project for me and i do have a guy calling to me week after next who works in conservation to give me advise also

Regards

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Gavin (Gavin)
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28 Mar 2011 14:07 #2 by Gavin (Gavin)

Replied by Gavin (Gavin) on topic Re: Building a conservation area

just a few ideas...
yup a filter with a u.v steriliser is a must.Water can be conditioned first using a pond dechlorinator,if you want to attract wild aquatic life you will have to have some kind of "corridor" so it can get to the area(easy if you live in the countryside..hard if you dont)For plants its best to go to a garden center and pick up some marginals and true aquatic pond plants,taking plants and animals from the wild is a big no no.On size, the bigger the better,obviously child friendly means you need to supervise or put some kind of barrier as ponds can be dangerous for very small kids,different levels are a good idea,as for fish you are limited to cold water varieties of gold fsih carp etc..I've supervised a build in celbridge where fish co exisited with wild frogs,(even bred and had spawn all over the place..great for kids to see the life cycle from start to finish) all sorts of insects,voles and tons of birds.Hope this helps.If you have any other questions just ask.

dont make me come over there.

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derek (Derek Doyle)
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28 Mar 2011 14:52 #3 by derek (Derek Doyle)

Replied by derek (Derek Doyle) on topic Re: Building a conservation area

hi paul, for child safety and for that small area, more marsh and less pond is best. a narrow shallow stream with a dry gravel area with ground cover plants to front and marsh at the back with reeds, small willows etc would be great habitat for different wildlife. filter not needed as plants would serve this purpose and for safety and conservation reasons avoid anything requiring electricity. tap water will be fine or you could let it fill naturally with rain water, (plenty forecast) and the only suitable fish would be sticklebacks. frogs, newts and other aquatic wildlife will naturally colonise your habitat in time and as advised by gav a natural wildlife coridoor is very helpful to this end. also prevent the use of pesticides or wedkillers anywhere near your habitat.
best of luck with this very worthwhile venture.

30 tanks specialise in african cichlids, angelfish and various catfish

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paul (paul)
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Visitor

28 Mar 2011 19:44 #4 by paul (paul)

Replied by paul (paul) on topic Re: Building a conservation area

Thanks for the advise guys really appreciate it

Derek said:
For child safety and for that small area, more marsh and less pond is best. a narrow shallow stream with a dry gravel area with ground cover

How would you create like a little stream affect which sound grate

Gavin said:
fish co existed with wild frogs,(even bred and had spawn all over the place. great for kids to see the life cycle from start to finish) all sorts of insects, voles and tons of birds

This is what we want species of fish not to concerned about although i love the idea of sticklebacks i have not seen these in years where would you find them last time i saw them was in old canal at the back of an allotment.

Unfortunately a wildlife corridor might not have the desired affect as live in a relatively built up area
And why would taking wildlife from the wild be a big NO NO if it’s being placed in conservation.

Thanks for the replies and please feel free to make loads more suggestion.

Its for my wife’s Montessori School so its suppose to be for the kids well at least that was my reasoning behind the idea.

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28 Mar 2011 20:10 #5 by igmillichip (ian millichip)

Replied by igmillichip (ian millichip) on topic Re: Building a conservation area

Even in a built-up area, if there is a way in and out of the area then frogs may arrive and spawn.
This is something to encourage...... but you can't just carry them from one place to another: there is a law in place.

To disturb native frogs or their breeding ground requires a license from the NPWS (if this is in ROI).

You'd need to have an area of the pond with varying depths to encourage frogs to spawn safely...and have an side that slopes into the water.

Having a few shrubs around may also encourage safe migration of frogs.

Around the area you could plant various plants to attract butterflies and other insects.

It is a great idea.

ian

Irish Tropical Fish Society (ITFS) Member.

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Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)

Building a conservation area