First Ever Tropical Tank.. Need Stocking Advice.

[redgirl]

Hi there everyone!

I've been keeping coldwater fish for a few years, and my parents have sewn how much I enjoy it, so they got me a bio orb 30l for an early Xmas present, and I need your advice.

I don't know tropical species very well, and have been trying to work out what I can stock it with once its finished cycling. I know its a very small tank, so I'm rather limited, but when I do a Google search on the matter I get massively different opinions, varying from not stocking it at all as bio orbs are cruel (i don't really want to ask my parents to take it back as it cost them a lot of money) to other people telling me I can have varying amount of guppies, mollies, bettas, gouramis etc. I love mollies, but my initial thought would be that the tank is too small for them, but others seem to disagree?
What would you all suggest?

Redgirl.

 

[IanL]

Hello there...Not a great deal in a 30l tank I'm afraid... Mollies are too big,maybe a small shoal of dwarf rasboras? 5 or 6 of them? or maybe 3 0r 4 guppies... Shrimps may be an option too...

 

[HayzH]

i would suggest to forget fish till your tank has cycled....I was fully set on what i wanted in the beginning....my last tank is STILL cycling in it's 90th ODD day! (I'm not saying yours will....but it can happen)
have a thorough read of the fishless cycle on the beginners section....

BTW....Welcome to the best Fish Forum on the planet

 

[redgirl]

Hi, thanks for your reply! I know its pretty small, but I live in a studio flat and already have a 105l coldwater tank... I'm a little short on space
Guppies are lovely, they may be a good option! What about dwarf gourami?

I've been cycling for *checks calendar* 38 days now... *sigh* hopefully the end is nigh!

 

[IanL]

is it the goldfish bowl type,or the square one?

Not a big expert on gouramis,I'd guess at only a pair of them... honey gouramis are smaller though!

 

[pablothebetta]

I've had a BiOrb myself, and I can tell you that they really aren't the best tanks out there. However, if taken care of properly, they can work.

I do think the tank is too small for the mollies - they do better in larger setups on the brackish side. However, I think a betta could work well in there and some shrimp could make a good addition to the setup if you went for one. I'd check out cherry, amano and ghost shrimp. Some bettas don't tend to get along with the cherries as they are pretty small, but mine is fine with them - it's all down to the individual.

I'm not sure what else you'd get away with. Maybe some male endlers, maybe a small group of microrasbora or ember tetras. However, the filtration isn't the best in these tanks and the shape isn't so great for the fish either, so I'd need some other input for this. Personally, I'd just go for a betta - they are stunning little fish. Mine swims up to me whenever I go near to his tank, and begins to flare when I shake his food packet in front of the tank because he knows it's feeding time.

If you went down the betta route, some advice. I kept a betta in a Baby BiOrb (15L, so the size down from yours, though he's in a better home now), and now I strongly regret it in some ways - mainly the ceramic media. It is very coarse, and within days/weeks of adding my betta, his fins went from long and pretty to shorter and ragged. He often slept along the bottom, so I'm pretty certain that the media was to blame. So if you went for a betta, get some smooth pebbles to cover the ceramic media. Also, try to stay away from plastic plants - any sharp edges can harm a bettas fins. Go for silk or live.

An alternative to the undergravel filter would be to modify it so that it had a small internal filter instead, so you'd be able to have a different substrate and have more room for decor (no bubble tube to go around). In saying that, though, you could decorate quite nicely around it. If you were willing to go for live plants, some 'spindly' driftwood to the rear of the tank planted with java fern and/or java moss could look lovely, and some smooth river pebbles could cover the media.

Good on you for cycling by the way - BiOrb don't say anything about this, so I'm glad you don't appear to have followed their instructions in this case

 

[mike455555]

youd want to put a small heater in the tank and id recommend a single betta

 

[redgirl]

Thank you for that pablothebetta, that was very helpful! I stock live plants in my coldwater, and was planning to in my bio orb as well. Bettas are beautiful, but I've always felt a little put off by their agressive reputation. However I suppose in such a small tank, one fish on his own won't have a problem with agression!

 

[pablothebetta]

To be fair, it all depends on the individual betta. Of course, all male bettas will fight with other male bettas, and there will be fighting between males and females after spawning, but you can keep females together (unfortunately not in your tank size though). I've found 2/3 bettas I've had to be pretty laid back and have got on with tankmates. Some bettas will attack every living thing that enters their tank (I've had that too), but generally, I've found they aren't as agressive as they are sometimes made out to be. Some will get along with other fish, some will kill them. Some will only get along with snails or shrimp, some won't even do that.

 

[the_lock_man]

If it were my aquarium, I'd have 4/5 male guppies or 2/3 male platies and a dozen chilli rasboras or celestial pearl danios. Or possibly some male endlers.

EDIT: A definitely small small shrimp - red cherry or crystal red shrimp. BUT, if you went with a betta, you may have problems with small shrimp becoming a betta's mid-morning snack. Some, but not all, bettas will do this, it depends on the temperament of the betta.

 

[pablothebetta]

+1 on the chilli rasbora. They're very pretty little fish, I didn't think of them. I don't think you'll be able to have them as well as a betta though, as they do like a good sized group.