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
Tetra success at last Please ID fry in vid?
- Ma (mm mm)
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I have also tried seperating a few of a species and trying to get em to spawn, not much success, so I put a few shoal species together, not too busy but active. Lately I have switched to Easy-Life added Riccia to block out some light, added some moss and left them to it mostly apart form protein feeds 3 times a week and not a few times a day, clean Clean water is very important I have found, no trace of fungus but I have 2 air driven and one other filter on 100L of water. Lowered the water level and increased the flow slightly and lowered a degree at water changes.
I have at last had success, albeit a poor survival rate because I left em to it so I reckon some got eaten, here is a picture of one of the survivors, at the moment there are Xray Black Neon and Buenos Aires and Glowlight together,
I am thinking this one is X-RAY, at last Tetra breeding success!! EDIT: I mean I tihnk it is Buenos Aires fry
Please click ot enlarge

Mark
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- dar (darren curry)
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Check out the angling section, it is fantastic
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- joey (joe watson)
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fair play to you it takes a bit of work to get them to spawn, the only thing you can do is put the breeding group in a breeding tank then remove them immidiately after they spawn to save as many eggs and fry as possible, or put big marbles in the bottom so the eggs fall to safety where the adults cant get to them to eat them
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- andrewo (andrew)
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- Ma (mm mm)
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@Andrewo. I have had a few spawns, quite regular once I start the feeding cycle increase the tamp and speed up the flow a little with daily small water changes. Getting them to hatch has been the real pain. The tank is isolated so they get plenty of peace and quiet, very important, I doubt I'd be gettin the spawns if the tank was in my livingroom.
I have had eggs now from from three of the tetra species but these arethe first hatch, but as they were never moved and hatched in the tank with many adults a few got eaten I reckon. I will try to get some decent pics, hard with a cr@p iphone camera, digital zoon has to be the most useless thing ever
Mark.
Have to mention, only using easylife 2 weeks and I got hatches, coincidence?
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- Viperbot (Jason Hughes)
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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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- Ma (mm mm)
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Some shots of the Tetra fry tank I set up for future hatches so hopefully I will get a higher survival rate.







Mark
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- joey (joe watson)
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Location: Portlaoise, Midlands
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- Ma (mm mm)
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ok i'm gunna sound stupid, but which easy-life product? easdt carbo or the fertilisers? only now that you mention the brand, my first cory spawn was after a water change and a dose of the ferro fertiliser, along with the daily easy carbo and usual weekly profito ferts...
Not at all stupid matey, Easy-life Flussiges Filtermedium. I have a 9-10" Decora that was quite the recluse until I started using this stuff, have noticed improvement in a few fish behaviour wise. Great stuff indeed. I was using Stress coat and came to realise that this is better off used as a treatment for scrapping fish ect and not as my daily dechlor tasks. Shrimp are more active too, really impressed with the stuff, yet I haven't seen it available in any lfs I have been in, had to get it online.
Lookin at the little buggers now I am almost certain I have a little brood of Pristella Maxillaris X-Ray Tetras, I have no idea of their difficulty to breed and was not expecting these as none look like the usual larger females, thought I had all males in the group of 5.
The fry are chasing microscopic cherry shrimp as I type.
Mark
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- joey (joe watson)
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Location: Portlaoise, Midlands
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- Ma (mm mm)
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whats in that stuff? its sounds like that nutrafin cycle stuff you get when you buy a tank from a shop but i'm guessing its much more...
Does all that and more.
Crystal water too
Product manufacturer, no prices Dar\John:)
www.easylife.nl/english/freshwater_aquar...id_filtermedium.html
Mark
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- dar (darren curry)
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no prices Dar\John:)
are you trying to say that the system beat/whipped me, that i used to be cool, a rebel so to speak and now i'm nothing more than lacky for the big wigs sitting in their offices, me doing all the donkey work while the fat cats rake in the money?
Check out the angling section, it is fantastic
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- Ma (mm mm)
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Mark. wrote:
no prices Dar\John:)
are you trying to say that the system beat/whipped me, that i used to be cool, a rebel so to speak and now i'm nothing more than lacky for the big wigs sitting in their offices, me doing all the donkey work while the fat cats rake in the money?
You said it not me matey:laugh:
I was thinking you were more Hitler youth rather than "Golden Pheasant" and full party member.
Keep reachin for the stars:laugh:
Mark
P.S. Takin the mick with the Nazi jokes there admins, jaesus.
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- Ma (mm mm)
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Cheers
Mark
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- JohnH (John)
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John
Location:
N. Tipp
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.
ITFS member.
It's a long way to Tipperary.
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- cardinal (Lar Savage)
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Lar
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- Ma (mm mm)
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I believe the BAs are probably the easiest Tetras to breed. They are the most active tetra I have kept thats for sure, worth breeding non the less.
Cheers
Mark
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- Jim (Jim Lawlor)
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Did you get the easylife stuff in an LFS or is it online only?
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- Ma (mm mm)
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I am sure if a sponsor has it stocked they may give a shout out, otherwise yes oonline, if you dont hear from a sponsor pm me.
Mark
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- Ma (mm mm)
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+1 , to Buenos Aires Tetra,do the fins have any red in them...?
Lar
I think it is a he, has some orange or redish colour on the fins.
Mark
P.S. 15 .s in the pot:)
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- DJK (David Kinsella)
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Cheers Jim, as I have said before, I seem to have success if I set up a tank keep it stable and dont interfere, I always get spawns and some fry too, but when I attempt to induce it on my timing it fails.
Mark, I've been tutored by some very experienced fish keepers and that's what they've always advised. "Just leave them alone".
Congratulations on your success.
Dave
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- Jim (Jim Lawlor)
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