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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

Ancistrus sp Rio Abuna Bolivia F1 fry 8 weeks

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12 May 2012 11:36 - 04 Aug 2012 16:44 #1 by Ma (mm mm)
After 2 years of leaving these fish alone they ahve finally spawed.

Over 50 fry, 1 mortality in the entire spawn which is a good indication of quiality I think.

Raised this size in an Ikea 54l plastic container with plants and bogwood near a window to promote plenty of algae and some lights for plants as no lighting used for sake of stress reduction.

The adults never ate most vessgies I offered and were extremely picky, plants and protein was their diet over the two years and refused every veggy offered boiled or fresh that I tried bar brussel sprouts.

They are abouts an inch almost will be up for sale at 2"

Credit due to Irishfishkeepers, I had problems keeping the fry alive until I got some questions answered a while ago on the question of survival


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Last edit: 04 Aug 2012 16:44 by Ma (mm mm).

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12 May 2012 12:41 #2 by wylam (Stuart Sexton)
very nice congrats. :)

Stuart.

Multi tasking: Screwing up more than one thing at a time.

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12 May 2012 13:38 - 12 May 2012 13:39 #3 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re: Ancistrus sp Abuna Bolivia F1 fry 8 weeks
Well done Mark, nice clear video too!!

Kev.
Last edit: 12 May 2012 13:39 by stretnik (stretnik).

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12 May 2012 20:11 #4 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
excellent well done

Fishkeeping the Only way to get wet and wild

currently 25 tanks, and breeding is the aim of everything i keep
location:Limerick

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12 May 2012 21:00 #5 by BlueRam (Sean Crowe)
fair play mate very well done lovely looking fry

Sean

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Location: Navan

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13 May 2012 09:21 #6 by Pat (Pat Coogan)
Congrats
The look fantastic. :cool:

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01 Aug 2012 15:09 #7 by Ma (mm mm)
Fry update


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01 Aug 2012 16:56 #9 by Stem12 (Stephen M)
Well done mate nice One,

Stephen M.

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01 Aug 2012 18:43 #10 by joemc (joe mc)
well done, do you have any pictures of both the parents? could you post them on the thread? tks
oh and where are you based? tks in dvance

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01 Aug 2012 18:45 #11 by Melander (Andreas Melander)
Great news, congrats on the success!

Did you figure out what was killing them the first time?

Melander

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03 Aug 2012 18:09 - 03 Aug 2012 18:14 #12 by Ma (mm mm)

Great news, congrats on the success!

Did you figure out what was killing them the first time?

Melander


Thanks all.

Re parents, both dead. had em over 3 years, in same tank for 2 years undisturbed before breeding eventually, female had 6 spawns then wnt nuts and laid about 200 eggs and died next day and male the following day, both jet black and perfect looking but floating dead!

5 "Canary" Rummies in same tank to alert me of issues as they show any probems with water right awaay. Not a boter on them at all. I reckon the adults were same age ish and both about 5-6 years old. Old age combined with serious spawning followed by the male not being able to get out of the cave to eat cos the female went into egglaying overload.

Very strange scenario indeed.

As for spawns dying M. I am almost certain it was because they would not eat anything but slightly spoiled mushy veg, they were not eating liquifry or anything else. LAtely they have been eating everything even javafern. Mega lively fry!

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Last edit: 03 Aug 2012 18:14 by Ma (mm mm).

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09 Sep 2012 12:16 #13 by Ma (mm mm)
A pic of dad



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09 Sep 2012 19:29 #14 by JohnH (John)
That's a nice male Mark.

Is that the Dad of the youngsters you have for sale in your ad?

Please save some for me.

John

Location:
N. Tipp

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.


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It's a long way to Tipperary.

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09 Sep 2012 20:12 #15 by Melander (Andreas Melander)

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12 Sep 2012 12:23 - 12 Sep 2012 12:23 #16 by Ma (mm mm)

That's a nice male Mark.

Is that the Dad of the youngsters you have for sale in your ad?

Please save some for me.

John


Yep that's the man of the hour.

How are the little fishies settling in?

He's a looker alright M


Mark

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Last edit: 12 Sep 2012 12:23 by Ma (mm mm).

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12 Sep 2012 18:06 #17 by JohnH (John)
They settled in the minute I released them - scurrying around as only baby Plecs can.
Thanks Mark - it was good to see you again yesterday (and to hear DSOTM, for the first time in years, it sounds better with the benefit of not having heard it for so long).

I suggest that anyone after some young Ancistrus gets over to Mark's pretty sharpish - these aren't even your normal 'run-of-the-mill' Bristle-noses either, see the male in the picture a couple of posts up.

John

Location:
N. Tipp

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.


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16 Sep 2012 01:04 #18 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
I have to agree John, got 10 from Mark on Friday, great quality fish, Thanks a million Mark

Fishkeeping the Only way to get wet and wild

currently 25 tanks, and breeding is the aim of everything i keep
location:Limerick

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16 Sep 2012 13:38 #19 by Ma (mm mm)

I have to agree John, got 10 from Mark on Friday, great quality fish, Thanks a million Mark


Good stuff. Just as well, they were starting to get too big for the fry tank.

My only regret is the weird death of the parents in the same tank those fry spawned in. No losses when I moved the fry and only lost 4 or 5 from then on. No deforms at all, no typical runts even or they were the ones that died.

I think a big thing in the survival rate was that I had them in an ikea plastic 54L container by a window with some plants and moss n moss thrown in. The inside of the container was solid green with thick algae from the light coming in constant food and no better way to grow algae to be honest, could scrape it off and make a paste..mmmm yum yum

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20 Sep 2012 13:13 #20 by Ma (mm mm)
An update vid on the fry. The 20+ i have left are far more feisty now that they have more room, there were 60+ in there a month ago. crowded much!




Mark

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20 Sep 2012 13:26 #21 by JohnH (John)
Nice to see them Mark, mine are all doing well too.

I honestly fail to see how you have any of these left - they really are a steal at the price!!

John

Location:
N. Tipp

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.


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20 Sep 2012 16:23 #22 by m4r10 (m4r10)
How big are these when mature?

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20 Sep 2012 16:27 #23 by JohnH (John)
a large male would reach 6"*, but only after some time as the Ancistrus seem to grow quickly at first, then slow down thereafter - at least these have been what I have found. Does anyone have experience of them growing larger?
*That's less tail.

John

Location:
N. Tipp

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.


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It's a long way to Tipperary.

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20 Sep 2012 20:38 - 20 Sep 2012 20:40 #24 by Ma (mm mm)

a large male would reach 6"*, but only after some time as the Ancistrus seem to grow quickly at first, then slow down thereafter - at least these have been what I have found. Does anyone have experience of them growing larger?
*That's less tail.


John



The female was about 5.5" the male 5" at 4+ years old so its safe to say they were maxed out. I got them just as they maxed out, not grown 1cm in 3 years.

I'd say we're looking at 4.5-6" range depending on diet and conditions at the early stages of growth. I#ve had them living with a constant nonpolluting food supply in the form of thick fresh algae until they were large enough to get the scheduled feeding. they are plump little buggers :)

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Last edit: 20 Sep 2012 20:40 by Ma (mm mm).

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21 Sep 2012 20:17 #25 by m4r10 (m4r10)
Thanks. I was tempted to get some off you, but they would get too big for my tanks.

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