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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

Live food

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25 Apr 2017 15:45 #1 by Jonlate (Jon Late)
Live food was created by Jonlate (Jon Late)
So I am thinking of growing some live food for my tropical fish this summer.
I have two water butts connected to my gutters, is there any good food I can grow in these?
Can I put some daphnia larvae or similar straight into the butt and harvest them during the summer?
What else could I put in there?
Where can I get these eggs/larvae/adults from?

Thanks.

Ps. Can I feed them to my marine fish as well? Of does it neeed to be fresh water bugs to fresh water fish, and salt water bugs to saltwater fish?

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26 Apr 2017 10:48 #2 by Bill (Bill Hunter)
Replied by Bill (Bill Hunter) on topic Live food
You can put a Daphnia culture in both and chopped nettles. As the chopped nettles start to break down they will attract Mosquitos and they should lay their egg rafts on the surface and after a few days you'll get plenty Mozzie larvae through to August and perhaps over-wintering larvae later in the year.
You may not be popular with your neighbours though if you have any next door :)
Bill

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26 Apr 2017 13:19 #3 by Jonlate (Jon Late)
Replied by Jonlate (Jon Late) on topic Live food
Thanks bill,
Do u have any ideas where I can get a daphnia culture from?
Can I just go down to a small lough and try dipping for them? Or will I get a load of unwanted bugs?
I live in the country so neighbours are not a problem, unless the wife leaves the window open, then I will be in trouble!!

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26 Apr 2017 22:17 - 27 Apr 2017 13:15 #4 by JohnH (John)
Replied by JohnH (John) on topic Live food

Thanks bill,
Do u have any ideas where I can get a daphnia culture from?
Can I just go down to a small lough and try dipping for them? Or will I get a load of unwanted bugs?
I live in the country so neighbours are not a problem, unless the wife leaves the window open, then I will be in trouble!!


Perhaps the Railway might have cause for complaint if too many passengers are bitten?
(Only joking). Seriously though, Ian at Aquatic Village used to sell Daphnia, as does (from time to time) Seahorse Aquariums but if all else fails I'll fetch a small starter amount to get you going when next I pop up to Boyle.

As to feeding it to Marines, that's very much a debatable topic. Many years ago the perceived wisdom was that it was OK to feed freshwater live food to Marines and vice versa - the thinking being that 'nefarious' organisms from one water would not be able to affect the other. But I would wait for more 'current' advice on this to be on the safe side.

John

Small addendum,
It appears to me that Daphnia and other freshwater organisms live much less time in marine water than the likes of Brine Shrimps do in fresh water.
Just thought I would add that - any further observations from anyone?
Another addition:
The stinging mosquitoes we know so well are the females of the species. In actual fact they (the females) are not able to produce and lay their eggs until they have 'feasted' on blood (not necessarily human blood) I'm not sure of the technicals of this but can assure you that males don't bite/sting.
Another bit of useless information...

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.
Last edit: 27 Apr 2017 13:15 by JohnH (John). Reason: More additional content added

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27 Apr 2017 12:57 #5 by Jonlate (Jon Late)
Replied by Jonlate (Jon Late) on topic Live food
Thanks John, they will be some super breed mozzies to go that fast!!
Yes please do pick me some up, if it not to much trouble.

Thanks for your timely advice as always.

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27 Apr 2017 17:18 #6 by robert (robert carter)
Replied by robert (robert carter) on topic Live food
I heard somewere that a barrel of rain water with some horse manure in it will give you an endless supply of daphnia . Never tried it , so dont blame if the smell gets you thrown out of the house

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28 Apr 2017 09:21 #7 by Bill (Bill Hunter)
Replied by Bill (Bill Hunter) on topic Live food
I think manure is good for a Daphnia culture, unfortunately you would probably end up introducing some unsavoury pests and disease to your fish. A good supply of green water and some bakers yeast would work just as good and be cleaner.
Bill

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08 May 2017 10:48 #8 by bart (Bart Korfanty)
Replied by bart (Bart Korfanty) on topic Live food
Fishing lake in Corkagh Park in Clondalkin is full of daphnia in summer. In fact all the "non moving" bodies of water usually have them. Best spot to catch them is in shady places, in the reeds and such. Just put fine net on top of long stick and go to your nearest small lake;), it should sort you out for starter. As for culturing. They feed of infusoria and single cell algae. Few lumps of horse sh...t should do the job as food for infusoria and fertilizer for algae. The colony may crash if pH goes down to far. Hand full of coral gravel/sand or few calcium rich stones should do the job. Gentle aeration is good idea, especially in tall, narrow tubs.

I'm actually setting up for it as well.

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