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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

Catalpa leaves

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15 Apr 2016 16:25 #1 by Bill (Bill Hunter)
Hi all,
Catalpa leaves for aquariums is a new one for me. Will the process of cycling a new tank be faster using them or will they just add additional benefits. What I've managed to find out and read about them is, I think, they are ideal for making black water, encouraging zooplankton and perhaps - although not proven - add some natural anti-bacterial agencies.
Also, where would I buy these leaves in Ireland?
Bill.

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16 Apr 2016 17:02 #2 by robert (robert carter)
hi bill , use these in my shrimp tank ,got mine from Ian in aquatic village although reckon all fish shops would have then .Robert

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16 Apr 2016 18:14 - 16 Apr 2016 20:19 #3 by Bill (Bill Hunter)
Replied by Bill (Bill Hunter) on topic Catalpa leaves
Hi Robert,
Thanks for your reply. Can they be used to cycle a tank a bit quicker?
Where is Aquatic Village? Do they do mail order? I'm afraid that most of my purchasing needs to be via mail order.
I just googled them and it appears they started doing mail order last August.
Thanks for your help.
Bill.
Last edit: 16 Apr 2016 20:19 by JohnH (John). Reason: Merged posts to avoid duplication.

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17 Apr 2016 12:28 #4 by igmillichip (ian millichip)

Hi all,
Catalpa leaves for aquariums is a new one for me. Will the process of cycling a new tank be faster using them or will they just add additional benefits. What I've managed to find out and read about them is, I think, they are ideal for making black water, encouraging zooplankton and perhaps - although not proven - add some natural anti-bacterial agencies.
Also, where would I buy these leaves in Ireland?
Bill.


Hi Bill,

There are a number of advantages to using them for fish where those advantages would be welcomed.

However, their use would tend to work against speeding up the biological filter maturation.
Development of the ammonia oxidising and nitrite oxidising bacteria is favoured by a more basic pH: the leaves would tend to try to move the pH to a more acidic pH.

But that should not be an issue to avoid using them.............it is just a fact of the question you asked.

Now, there is a flip side to the action they would have on the maturation of the various bacteria required to oxidise ammonia to nitrites etc:
the decreased pH would act to lower the percentage of unionised ammonia in the total ammonia.
That is important.

ian

Irish Tropical Fish Society (ITFS) Member.

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17 Apr 2016 15:34 #5 by Bill (Bill Hunter)
Replied by Bill (Bill Hunter) on topic Catalpa leaves
Many thanks for taking the time to give such a concise reply, Ian. I now have a much better understanding of it.
My apologies to all for misspelling the name. Most people I've read information from seem to call it Catalppa or Catalpa leaves and I found it very frustrating as the Google results were few and far between, in fact the searches usually took me to info on Catalpa bignonioides, I knew it couldn't be that tree going by the price of the leaves. I've managed to work out that it should be catappa leaves and the tree is in fact Terminalia catappa. I don't think I'll try growing that in my garden lol.
Many thanks.
Bill

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17 Apr 2016 20:51 #6 by igmillichip (ian millichip)
No problem Bill.

If you ever plan on breeding Bettas or Gourami or Killifish or certain African Cichlids then these catappa leaves are great for being a breeding ground for micro-food for the fry.

ian

Irish Tropical Fish Society (ITFS) Member.

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18 Apr 2016 12:03 #7 by Bill (Bill Hunter)
Replied by Bill (Bill Hunter) on topic Catalpa leaves
Yes, that is my intention, Ian. I don't know if Chocolate Gourami are any easier to breed these days but I'd certainly like to try those again with the addition of these leaves.
Bill

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18 Apr 2016 19:55 #8 by igmillichip (ian millichip)
Tank bred chocs will settle quite well.
One of the more important things I found with breeding (well.....the wild caught ones) is conductivity.............low conductivity.

ian

Irish Tropical Fish Society (ITFS) Member.

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18 Apr 2016 20:18 #9 by Eric (Eric Corcoran)
Replied by Eric (Eric Corcoran) on topic Catalpa leaves
Don't go wasting your money buying them in shops. Ridiculous prices. You'll find them way cheaper on eBay. I wouldn't be without some in the fish room


Eric

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19 Apr 2016 10:14 #10 by Bill (Bill Hunter)
Replied by Bill (Bill Hunter) on topic Catalpa leaves
@Eric, yes, I found a few sellers on eBay with leaves at a much better price. Anyone know if any native trees would supply suitable leaves? I'm surrounded by Sycamore and Ash trees, along with Elder.

@Ian, So I would be better to use my RO water when setting up breeding tanks for them I suppose and for water changes. How does the higher conductivity affect them?
Bill

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19 Apr 2016 12:43 #11 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
I'm not sure if any native leaves have the same antibacterial effects as catappa, but there are a number that will add tannins and make the water more acidic. Sycamore and ash are OK to use but they'll break down quite quickly and as far as I know they'll release phosphates that promote algae growth. A better choice are beech or oak leaves. They will last far longer and as far as I know won't increase phosphate levels to the same extent. Alder cones allegedly have similar antibacterial properties to catappa.

"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life; your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you.They're freeing your soul."

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19 Apr 2016 13:22 #12 by Bill (Bill Hunter)
Replied by Bill (Bill Hunter) on topic Catalpa leaves
Thanks for that reply, LJ, I certainly have Beech close by.
Bill

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