Hey all,
My wife and I are completely new to fish, but recently decided to get a Betta. We looked at all of the pamphlets at the LFS, and did a little internet research here and there (but not enough!). After a couple of days we thought we knew enough and went and got a male Betta, a baby Biorb (4g), and some necessities (water testers, food, a plant, etc). As usual, no mention from the LFS about the nitrogen cycle, or much else for that matter!
So, it’s been a couple of days and our little guy seems real happy so far, but I’m not sure we made a good decision on the tank. It comes with large ceramic rocks that line the bottom and are apparently part of the filtration system. The directions state that the good bacteria live on those rocks, so you’re not supposed to remove them or use any other type of substrate.
Here are some of my issues w/ the Baby Biorb:
Wow.. sorry for the huge first post, sometimes my fingers don't know when to quit :lol:
My wife and I are completely new to fish, but recently decided to get a Betta. We looked at all of the pamphlets at the LFS, and did a little internet research here and there (but not enough!). After a couple of days we thought we knew enough and went and got a male Betta, a baby Biorb (4g), and some necessities (water testers, food, a plant, etc). As usual, no mention from the LFS about the nitrogen cycle, or much else for that matter!
So, it’s been a couple of days and our little guy seems real happy so far, but I’m not sure we made a good decision on the tank. It comes with large ceramic rocks that line the bottom and are apparently part of the filtration system. The directions state that the good bacteria live on those rocks, so you’re not supposed to remove them or use any other type of substrate.
Here are some of my issues w/ the Baby Biorb:
1) The opening is relatively small (a little larger than a closed fist), so I suspect it’s going to be a chore if we ever need to do a deep clean. It also makes it challenging to get a scoop in there to get out uneaten food. We also would like 1 or 2 ADF’s in the future, and I’ve heard sometimes you have to be able to get the food directly to them…. I’m not sure that’s going to be possible with such a small opening.
2) Since all wires have to go in through hole in the middle of the top, cords for the thermometer and heater dangle from the center of the bowl (not pictured, we added the thermometer after we took the pic). We haven’t picked up a heater yet, but I suspect I’m going to have a challenge finding one that fits/sits nicely in a round bowl.
3) Because of the curved surface, it really distorts the view. Sometimes (like in the picture below), he looks 3-4” long when in reality he’s only about 1.25”, other times, you can’t even see him because of how the light bends. I’d prefer to be able to see everything in the tank at one time, rather than moving side to side to see him when he goes into “blind spots”.
4) I’ve read that the supplied rocks have been known to be too sharp for Bettas, but we haven’t seen a problem yet in our 2 days with it. I’d prefer to use the small aquarium rocks that many other people seem to use. I suspect with the included rocks we wouldn’t be able to get ghost shrimp or other bottom dwellers either (instead of the ADFs)?
5) With the small opening, and the pillar in the center, I think it'll be hard to get any reasonably sized container in there to remove old water during cleaning.
6) It makes surface bubbles constantly, and they always push from the center to the edge then break. I suspect if he were try to make a bubble nest, all of his bubbles would pop?
So.. My wife absolutely loves the look of the Baby Biorb, but I’m not sure it’s worth the hassle. Does anybody else have one that can weigh in on the above? If I get my way it’s going back to the store and a nice 6-12 gallon rectangle tank will replace it, but I think I have a fight on my hands ;-)2) Since all wires have to go in through hole in the middle of the top, cords for the thermometer and heater dangle from the center of the bowl (not pictured, we added the thermometer after we took the pic). We haven’t picked up a heater yet, but I suspect I’m going to have a challenge finding one that fits/sits nicely in a round bowl.
3) Because of the curved surface, it really distorts the view. Sometimes (like in the picture below), he looks 3-4” long when in reality he’s only about 1.25”, other times, you can’t even see him because of how the light bends. I’d prefer to be able to see everything in the tank at one time, rather than moving side to side to see him when he goes into “blind spots”.
4) I’ve read that the supplied rocks have been known to be too sharp for Bettas, but we haven’t seen a problem yet in our 2 days with it. I’d prefer to use the small aquarium rocks that many other people seem to use. I suspect with the included rocks we wouldn’t be able to get ghost shrimp or other bottom dwellers either (instead of the ADFs)?
5) With the small opening, and the pillar in the center, I think it'll be hard to get any reasonably sized container in there to remove old water during cleaning.
6) It makes surface bubbles constantly, and they always push from the center to the edge then break. I suspect if he were try to make a bubble nest, all of his bubbles would pop?
Wow.. sorry for the huge first post, sometimes my fingers don't know when to quit :lol: