Tiger Barbs In A Biorb 60?

[Betta5]

I'm back! After a while with no fish I've had a craving to have some back in my bedroom, so I've dug out my biorb 60, and set it up with just gravel and a powerhead to create some extra flow. I'm also going to add a powerhead onto the bubble tube to help with filtration because the bubble method is to slow.

To cut a long story short, I've always been fascinated by tiger barbs but put off due to their aggressive nature. I was wondering, how would a group of 6-8 get on in a biorb 60 alone? With quite a bit of current to swim against?

Please no lectures about the biorb. I've been keeping fish for years, I know about cycling, limited oxygen exchange, annoying view, sunlight and fire risks, and I'm adjusting as much of the biorb as I can to make it more efficient.

 

[the_lock_man]

That's a shame, I like any opportunity to pour scorn on the Biorb - just in case there's someone else watching the thread that might be considering buying one. Oh, well, never mind.
 
I honestly think 6 would be pushing it, simply because of the oxygen exchange thing.

 

[Betta5]

Feel free to slate it, but it just becomes a witch hunt/ heated debate and then none of the questions asked, get answered etc etc, and we end up nowhere.

And I'm hoping my attempts to increase surface agitation and water movement are going to boost the oxygen exchange. I mean, I wonder how I'd even measure that? Hmm

 

[the_lock_man]

You're absolutely right, increasing surface agitiation will increase oxygenation, but I think it would have to look like the South Atlantic before you get the same exchange as a "standard" 60l with normal rippling.
 
I think you would get away with 6 Tiger Barbs in a normal 60l, so that's why I think it's pushing it in the biorb, increased agitation nothwithstanding.

 

[Chad]

Feel free to slate it, but it just becomes a witch hunt/ heated debate and then none of the questions asked, get answered etc etc, and we end up nowhere.

And I'm hoping my attempts to increase surface agitation and water movement are going to boost the oxygen exchange. I mean, I wonder how I'd even measure that? Hmm

 
You're both right of course...while there are things to complain about it just serves to move the conversation away from the questions at hand.
 
You can buy oxygen meters to measure O2 content but really that's going a bit overboard for most tanks. Since oxygen level is often associated with surface agitation and by default therefore surface area one way to get the oxygen up is a second air stone and increase the surface area of the water by not filling the orb up all the way. Clearly this comes with it's own issues.
 
Plants are another way but might require altering the lighting.
 
If you are into DIY you can drill the acrylic and add a small sump with a return or include a fan to blow across the surface.

 

[Betta5]

Thanks for the replies guys,

I'm hoping the powerhead I've put in, just breaking up the surface and the powerhead pulling water through the bubble pipe are going to help. Are there any smaller tetra or barbs you could recommend for this tank?

Or just any other kind of fish apart from guppies?

 

[Chad]

Sure, chili rasbora, ember tetra, celestial pearl danio, green neons...and more. The benefit of a round tank is that swimming room is increased by the shape so smaller fish that swim more can still get on well.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I would not put Tiger Barbs in a Biorb for anything but a temporary quarantine no matter how many aeration supplements are added, they are an active fiesty species and like others of such inclination, cramped tanks (approximately anything <90x30x30cm) tend to make these tendencies worse.
 
Look to a carefully chosen, small (<5cm) social "pootling" species. Given a Biorb's limitations, I really would be strict with <30cm of adult fish, for instance 12-15 Celestial Pearl Danios.

 

[Wills]

I would not put Tiger Barbs in a Biorb for anything but a temporary quarantine no matter how many aeration supplements are added, they are an active fiesty species and like others of such inclination, cramped tanks (approximately anything <90x30x30cm) tend to make these tendencies worse.
 
Look to a carefully chosen, small (<5cm) social "pootling" species. Given a Biorb's limitations, I really would be strict with <30cm of adult fish, for instance 12-15 Celestial Pearl Danios.

 
Hit the nail on the head Tcamos has some great suggestions to - stick to the tiniest of the tiniest for these kind of tanks
 
Wills

 

[TallTree01]

Tiger barbs in a 60? Yuck! They need at least a 30 gallon to do well. Plus with a school of 6 they'll slowly kill each other.

 

[Betta5]

Hmm... This biorb is becoming more annoying than I anticipated. Maybe a guppie tank it is.

 

[fluttermoth]

Have a look at the 'Nano fish' thread, pinned in the nano tank section. Any of those would do well in a BiOrb; they're not bad tanks as such; you just have to stock it as if it was much, much smaller than it actually is

 

[This Old Spouse]

Agreed with above. Keeping fewer than 8-10 tiger barbs is asking for trouble. Put them in that tank and it will be a disaster.