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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

Shellies on a tiny scale.

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28 Sep 2010 22:22 - 28 Sep 2010 22:30 #1 by stretnik (stretnik)
Shellies on a tiny scale. was created by stretnik (stretnik)
I have managed to keep these for 2 months now, give or take a week, there are Ten, in a Betta Acrylic Tank with Silica Sand and Escargot shells, natural indirect Daylight and micro granules as food with a shrimp food granule for Vegetable/Algae supplement.



Best viewed in HD

Kev.
Last edit: 28 Sep 2010 22:30 by stretnik (stretnik).

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28 Sep 2010 23:02 #2 by platty252 (Darren Dalton)
Great vid Kev. Very clear.
Thats the most original use for one of those tanks ive seen yet.

The similis seem to be doing the rounds at the moment.

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28 Sep 2010 23:09 #3 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re:Shellies on a tiny scale.
Thanks Paddy,

I think they are perfect for non planted setups, Sand etc.

Glad what you pm'd me about worked out.

Kev

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28 Sep 2010 23:52 #4 by Viperbot (Jason Hughes)
Kev your camera is fantastic. The shellies are looking great ;) .

Jay

Location: Finglas, North Dublin.

Life
may not be the party we hoped for, but while we
are here we might as well dance.

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29 Sep 2010 07:40 #5 by mickdeja (Mick Whelan)
Hi def vid lookin sweet Kev. Thanks for sharin man.

Mick.......:)

Follow me up to Carlow

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29 Sep 2010 12:11 #6 by Xaribdis (Lorcan O' Brien)
That's a really clear vid there. Just wondering what the aggression is like in such a small setup? I have a few Lamprologus ocellatus in a 50L tank. There were 4, but one of the females was bullied to death by the other two. Just moving them up to a 96L today so I can hopefully add a few more, but wondering how you keep their territorial aggression in check in such a small space?
Thanks, L.

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29 Sep 2010 12:40 - 29 Sep 2010 17:59 #7 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re:Shellies on a tiny scale.
I love Occies but have to say they are bloody feisty but they are my absolute favourites. They used bite my index finger and stay there when they had fry, My belief is to have WAY more Shells than necessary and to have more Females than males. Neolamprologus multifasciatus are very easy going and I think, if my memory serves me right, they will take part in the care of all fry whether it's theirs or not.

Occies are little bull dogs and need monitoring, just a side note, I found them to be really dependant on high levels of oxygen, I know because an ailine with an airstone flipped out of a small two footer and in a couple of hours they were all dead on the floor of the Tank as there was no extra water movement other than that, there were 12 in total.
The water perams were perfect, I was disgusted I hadn't clipped it into place.
Last edit: 29 Sep 2010 17:59 by stretnik (stretnik).

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29 Sep 2010 14:22 #8 by Xaribdis (Lorcan O' Brien)
Well, I had about 7 shells in the tank, but the male took 3 of them and two of the females took another two each. The poor gal was left to hide under some Coral rock, but even there I think she was bullied mercilessly. Before I got a chance to bring her back or get more shells she gave up the ghost.
Interesting about the oxygen levels though- when I first set up the tank I noticed all the fish were a bit listless. With the water params perfect, I decided to put in a spray bar to agitate the water in case it was poorly oxygenated. Within a day they had turned from passive pets to little Terriers! Maybe if they get too troublesome I'll push the bar under the water again- try get a Pavlovian response from them to behave! :laugh:
Finally, do you mind if I ask how long it took them to breed? Do they pair off handy enough or was it sheer numbers that got you a pair? What age roughly do they become mature?

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29 Sep 2010 16:23 #9 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re:Shellies on a tiny scale.
They breed readily if the water is crystal clear and no pollutants etc, I can't give you a time frame just to say that when you notice that they begin to fill out in body, breeding should follow quite quickly. Mine were already 18 mths old when I got them. I would imagine at around 8 months they'd be starting to attempt to breed.

Derek off this forum would probably be the best man to ask.

Kev.

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29 Sep 2010 16:56 #10 by Xaribdis (Lorcan O' Brien)
There really shouldn't be any problem with the clarity of the water- I have 4 filters running (including a Tetratec 600 I got today) in it at the moment- want to keep them running, but don't have space/time to set up other tanks.
Want to get a few more now that I have increased the size of their floor space by a good 50%. Maybe two more females to give him a harem of 4. He'll have his work cut out for him trying to keep that many ladies happy at once! Are those just Escargot shells you use?

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29 Sep 2010 17:58 #11 by derek (Derek Doyle)
really good video kev. in the daragh owens class.:cheer:

@ xarabis. there are numerous shelldwellers but the only ones suitable for colonies are the similis and less rare multifasciatus. as mentioned by kev, both of these species are tolerant of conspecifics in close proximity. all the rest such as brevis and occellatus etc. need space and are best kept in pairs if in smaller tanks.
with multis/ similis you can start with a pair or a group and a few shells on a sandy base and they do the rest.they spawn at quite a young age and do not generally harm the young. best food is cyclops, brineshrimp or smaller nls or good flake. as with all lake tanganyikan fish they demand good water.

30 tanks specialise in african cichlids, angelfish and various catfish

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29 Sep 2010 18:01 #12 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re:Shellies on a tiny scale.
;) Thanks Derek, praise indeed, Ammendment to Nomenclature completed.


Kev.

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29 Sep 2010 18:27 #13 by Xaribdis (Lorcan O' Brien)
Thanks for that Derek. At the moment, I have just the one male and two females in a 2.5x1.5 foot tank. Would the Occies accept any Similis or Multies in their territory, or is that just too small an area to introduce such a similar shell-dwelling species for the Occies to accept?
Thanks again
Lorcan

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