Boirb 30Ltr Advice

[Rikardo1uk]

Hi there,

My names Richard and im new to the forums, a mate suggested i come on here for some advise.

I bought a biorb 30ltr about 3 years ago and have has a number of different fish in there such as, danios, golden barbs,siamese fighters etc.

I gradually lost fish over this period and now down to nothing at all.

I would like to set this up again and was looking for advice on what fish i can put in, and how many etc??

I would also like the mention and have purchase a tropical heater and some other acessories recently.

Any help/advise would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Richard

 

[KittyKat]

First, you will need to cycle your filter, I suggest fish-less cycle.

Secondly, if you can, upgrade to a standard shaped tank, the BiOrbs are too much of a pain.

Lastly, for the biorb, you'd be looking for a stock of shrimp and a Betta (who sometimes eat shrimp, so be careful), or maybe 5-7 endler or guppy males instead.

 

[ATK!!!]

Biorbs and such are rather hard to keep fish in compared to normal tanks. They don't have very good filters as they are only powered by air, and they don't have much surface area at the bottom or the top of the tanks because of their curved shape. However there are still many fish that you can keep in them. In my 35l Biube (cylindrical biorb) I have 2 Platy, 4 guppies, 6 cardinal tetras, 1 Zebra Nerite snail and 3 Shrimp. So in yours you will be able to kepp slightly less than this (unless you want dead fish or hundreds of water changes on your hands.

Before you do any of this you will need to do a number of things:

Read through some of this, mainly the Threads about cycling your tank

Once you have done this you will have to decide whether to do a Fishless or Fish in cycle. A fish in cycle will mean a higher chance of your fish dying or having much shorter lives, Fishless cycling is where you don't put any fish in your tank for around a month and on this time build up a bacteria colony by dosing Ammonia (can be bought from boots). THis is the better option and means you can add all your fish in one go!

Finally you will have to choose your stocking, check that the fish you will buy won't outgrow your tank or bully other fish to death here before going for it.

Fell free to ask more questions, theres nearly always someone who can help out!

 

[Rikardo1uk]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies,

Would i difinatly need to add the amonia as suggested, with the biord you get two sachets which you add to water.

Im am not quite sure what these are for?

I have never followed this process before and had fish last months/years, some have dead in days however.

Thanks

Rich

 

[KittyKat]

Would i difinatly need to add the amonia as suggested, with the biord you get two sachets which you add to water.

Im am not quite sure what these are for?

Is one of them a dechlorinator and the other bacteria in a bottle? The bacteria in a bottle do not work, to be honest. They may speed up the cycle by a few days, or they may just mask any problems, but the only way to make sure the bacteria are in the filter before the fish are added is to fish-less cycle. (I will be starting one in a couple of weeks, if you want to follow the progress, link in my sig.)

I have never followed this process before and had fish last months/years, some have dead in days however.

That could be why some of the fish only lived for a few days or months, but it is impossible to tell in hind sight. Ammonia poisoning usually weakens the fishs' immune system, shortens their life span and can potentially kill them. For example, it is not unusual for an average tetra to live for 5-13 years or so, if the right conditions are provided.

 

[Rikardo1uk]

Hi yeah, i guess i better get some amonia and test kits and do the fishless cycle.

Thanks for all the help

I will post some pictures, as i progress it through, so you can see exactly what im adding

Thanks again

Rich

 

[KkAaNnEe]

I think thats wise, also keeping a log will help to ease the tediousness that some find cycling can create and you will be offered lots of advise and help as you go. You can also start to discuss your stocking options a bit better.

 

[Tizer]

I would go out and buy a new tank, if you are having a new/fresh start, do it with something decent