Biube - Beginner

[captainnemo]

I recently bought a Biube aquarium.I am a complete beginner.I have the unit,filter unit,air stone a couple of "decorations".I realise this isn't the best tank,but I bought it because

1) I wanted to see if I had the commitment before going "big"
2) My Son is interested in fish

What exactly is "cycing" and how am I best to do this?

What are teh best fish for this tank (to be fair to the fish) and how many should I keep as a maximum?

I have introduced 5 fish up to now.3 x "barbs" and 2 x "mollys" (not sure of the spelling) The barbs are quite lively but the mollys just sit inside the ornaments and sit and sit.

 

[Snick]

i would say as a rule of thumb one gallon per inch of fish. (10 gallons is about as equal as 10 barbs) yet i would like to see more room. probably i would go with 2 gallons per inch of fish, at least thats how i like to keep mine... and for the future, the biube is not in any way a good aquarium to be as straightforward as possible, but i guess fir a beginner it will be OK... if you really want to keep a fish happy in there, i would probably put in a Betta.

 

[InaneCathode]

i would say as a rule of thumb one gallon per inch of fish. (10 gallons is about as equal as 10 barbs) yet i would like to see more room. probably i would go with 2 gallons per inch of fish, at least thats how i like to keep mine... and for the future, the biube is not in any way a good aquarium to be as straightforward as possible, but i guess fir a beginner it will be OK... if you really want to keep a fish happy in there, i would probably put in a Betta.

It's worth mentioning that that rule really only works for regular porportioned aquariums, and really adult fish measurements should be more about mass, and the comparison should be more to the surface area of the tank. This being alot smaller than most, and of a weird dimention would throw the rule off a bit.

Don't mean to shoot you down or anything, just helpin the guy out

 

[jamespond]

Welcome to the forum.


I'm a Biube owner and am currently cycling it with 2 fish. Do you have the ilight? If not, i'd recomend buying it, because its great to see your light cycle from day to night...and the moonlight setting is really impressive with the central filter.


The Biube is a nice little tank (so long as you don't want many fish) and should look very stylish.

 

[DarkEntity]

Im assuming the Biube has a heater, if not its totally unsuitable for tropical fish. Also due to the lack of surface are its not really suitable for many fish at all.

What barbs do you have, as some of them can get in excess of 2-3 Inches. Which is way too big for that style of tank. Barbs are generally a swimmer and a shoaling fish, because of this they like have long tanks to swim in.

Cycling is the stage before adding fish which removes the toxins from the water that hurt and can kill fish. Basically you dont add anything to a tank until its done. This will create good bacteria in the filter that breaks down the waste that the fish make. If you have already added fish then you should be testing the water daily until the cycle is over and the water is safe for the fish to live in.

Check the cycling sticky and also post your water test results.

 

[SuperColey1]

1) I wanted to see if I had the commitment before going "big"

I would've though that if you wanted to see if you had the commitment first then you would've bought a standard tank/filter/heater/substrate. Those Biube/Orb setups are very expensive for their size.

You can get a Fluval 125l kit (or equivalent) for the price of a Biube 60l.

Anyway good luck and welcome to the forum. I would suggest 2 platys first and no more than that until the tank is cycled then 2 more, cycle, 2 more, cycle etc.

Do you have a test kit to check the Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate to see if it is cycled?

 

[captainnemo]

Got a test kit today.The reason I bought it was that I got the whole set-up (tank,stand,heater,ceramic media bubble tube and the ridiculous volcano) for £70.It was only 6 months old.So it was a good price for a "starter" system.I am willing to take onboard any advice.As I said, I am new to the game and would like an "interesting" tank before/if I decide to upgrade to see if it has the "staying power" with me.The Juwel Trigon appeals to me longer term, but to invest that sort of money,I wanted to try my hand at it first.

 

[demonmagus]

as you know the biube isn't very wide, and so probably isn't actually that suitable for barbs, they are very active, and I am sure they prefer going sideways to up and down. A betta would love that size tank, as would some dwarf frogs.

do you now like the standard rectangle tanks, you are interested in the trigon, is that because it is a corner tank or just generally looks good?

 

[captainnemo]

Bit of both.I like the look of it AND it is a corner I want to fill. Great forum for advice though.I am "getting there".Also meant to add,for my money,the "i-light" LED system was also included.

 

[n3ont3tra]

Could you post your test results?

Also, I know you already bought the barbs, but I would suggest taking them back. Some barbs grow over 7 inches long. I think the most common barb is the Tiger Barb, it's white, with black stripes, and some orange on it. They grow to 3 inches and need to be in groups of at least 8. Otherwise they usually kill each other. Do you think that's what you got?

I hate to say it, but Mollies need brackish water (salt and frsh together). If they don't have it, they often get infections and die very early.

I would suggest getting a betta, as others have. If you don't want a betta, and wanted something like a molly, platies are good. For the barbs... Maybe some Harliquin Rasboras. They look a little bit like barbs. The should do okay in the Biube. Just make sure you have a group of 5 or more.

 

[jamespond]

Got a test kit today.The reason I bought it was that I got the whole set-up (tank,stand,heater,ceramic media bubble tube and the ridiculous volcano) for £70.It was only 6 months old.So it was a good price for a "starter" system.I am willing to take onboard any advice.As I said, I am new to the game and would like an "interesting" tank before/if I decide to upgrade to see if it has the "staying power" with me.The Juwel Trigon appeals to me longer term, but to invest that sort of money,I wanted to try my hand at it first.

Sounds like you got a good little deal there..especially with the iLight included!