Newbie With A Couple Of Questions Please

[Bebobb]

Light produces heat, so try lowering the wattage of the tank, that might help if you really think it is a problem.

 

[medication25]

Thanks all.......

So im going to get a new heater.... and the testing drops.

So, once my cycle is complete im going yo rehome the Tiger Barbs (whoud a shop buy them off me?)

So my question now is, as the tank is a gift for the GF and she likes fish like the neon tetra's and the bright coloured fish with big tails? lol.... sorry i dont know names, she likes colourful fish...

Can you experts suggest some good stocking options for me and i can look up the fish and she can choose?

This would help me so much...

her fav colours are: pink, purple sand black


thanks all

 

[Forestpisces]

The long tailed fish a proberbly guppies.

They are livebearing fish and breed prolificly so if you dont want hundreds of fry get all males (more aggresive) or all females(bear in mind females can store sperm for months)

Neons prefer a mature tank so i'd let your tank establish for a good 5-6 months before getting them to prevent deaths.

Are there any fish you like the look of?

Make a list and we can tell you if they are suitable or not

The trouble with biorbs is that there is not alot of surface area or room for fish to swim as the tank is not long.
Going by what you said you want
I would stock:
8 female guppys or males not both
6 Harlequin rasboras
4 male endlers
1 apple snail

You could also possibly have cherry barbs or white cloud mountain minnows(the gold variety are very colurful) but they need more swim room so would need to adjust the stocking i suggested above.

 

[arobinson1984]

I second everybodies opinion about taking the babes back and doing a fishless cycle, it's a he'll of a lot easier.

If you persist with a fish-in cycle you probably find you'll need to do 2/3x water changes a day at 50% each time for the next 6 weeks so it's a lot of work.

Regarding the neons, they need a mature tank older than 6 months as they are very sensitive the fluctuating water conditions which are present in new tanks.

I'm presuming the colourful big tailed fish you mean are guppies, if you get guppies, only get males otherwise your tank would be overrun with babies, they breed every 6-8 weeks or so

Andy

 

[mattbond]

i think that the makers of biorbs should alter thier hand books, a customer came up to me insisting that he could have a fish the day after he set one up because the handbook with the biorbs says you can add one fish after 24 hours! it just encourages the new person to make a mistake

 

[medication25]

wow thanks for the stocking ideas, i never knew we could have a snail! when can i put that in, is it hardy... and are crabs possible too?

 

[arobinson1984]

Snails are delicate so you can't put them in yet.

Crabs need tightly sealed tanks, they crawl up wires and escape out of the rank through any tiny gaps

Andy

 

[Forestpisces]

Crabs will also eat your fish.

 

[zientific]

I had a 60l Biorb, absolute waste of time and is very difficult to keep water stable due to the surface area and its shape. Don't overstock it and preferably keep below the recommended stock levels. I only had guppies, white cloud mountain minnows and Dannios that were successful in it. Good Luck.

 

[mbsqw1d]

Anyone suggested a Gourami Betta (Siamese Fighting Fish) just search betta in google and have a look!, I'm sure your missus would adore one of those with 6 or 8 neons swimming around it nice encouraging words there zientific

 

[Forestpisces]

Oldish thread guys lol, and mbsqw1d, the name for the speciese of betta most commonly found in shops is Betta Splendens, there are no Gourami betta speciese they just both come from the anabantoid(spelling?) familly meaning they both have a labarynth organ and similar breeding habits, thats all the simularitys between them.

The op also origionally wanted a variety of fish which could not be acomplished when adding a betta due to their preference for solitude and their aggresive nature

Edit: It is not advised to house bettas and neons together as the betta may become aggresive and kill the neons or the neons may nip his fins constantly, not to say they havn't been succesfully kept together, just that it is not advisable.