shaz

can anyone help me i bought a biorb 4 my husband and we set it up fishless 4 2 weeks, we bought 6 neon tetras they died, so we bought 4 flame tetras, they are ok and 3 blue tetras and one died 2day. i just wonder what we are doing wrong, we did everything the fish man told us to. can anyone advise me?

King_Snuggles

What are your water parameters? Do you have a test kit? What is the filtration?

shaz

told you i was a novice i dont know. i wasnt told about a test kit and we just got the 30ltr biorb with pump heater and halogen light. please help me i feel that im murdering these little fish.

COBettaCouple

Welcome to Fishlore.

I think the tank wasn't cycled and if you don't have an API master freshwater testing kit, I would use that to test the tank and determine when it's fully cycled.

If the store will accept returns, I would return them and cycle the tank fishless.

Check these 2 links for information on cycling your tank:
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
http://www.firsttankguide.net/cyclechange.php

Gozer_1

Welcome to FishLore

Yeah I agree, the tank was likely not fully cycled. Tetras can be a little more sensitive than most stores let on. They don't do very well in an unstable tank. Like COBettaCouple said, I'd read those links and do a fishless cycle.

shaz

will do. thanx a lot guys i'l let you know how i get on.

Gozer_1

We'll be waiting lol. Good Luck.

≈ D ≈

Welcome to FishLore shaz Correct me if I'm wrong but is the tank a 7½g tank

Drea

Hi Shaz welcome to our fish lovin' forum! Help is on the way dearie! You won't be callin yourself a novice very much longer...stick with us we'll get to the right place soon

Butterfly

Welcome to FishLore! we're glad to have you
Yes thats correct Biorbs need to be stocked very lightly due to the small surface area, this limits gas exchange(C02 out- Oxygen in).
Carol

≈ D ≈

Carol

Don't worry shaz, you in good hands with the folks here

King_Snuggles

Biorbs need to be stocked very lightly due to the small surface area, this limits gas exchange(C02 out- Oxygen in).
Carol[/quote]

That would not have come to me if I was looking at the tank in the store. I would have thought a nice 7.5 gal what can I get. But due to its small surface area how would you measure the inch of fish per gallon rule? Would the tank become a 5 gal (rule wise)?

Butterfly

That would not have come to me if I was looking at the tank in the store. I would have thought a nice 7.5 gal what can I get. But due to its small surface area how would you measure the inch of fish per gallon rule? Would the tank become a 5 gal (rule wise)?[/quote]
You would definitely rule out any fish with a labrynth (sp?) organ like Bettas or Gourami because they need a larger surface area to gulp air.
Live plants and five or six neons or something small like that would probably look good in it.
The inch per gallon "rule" is really just a guide line and the way the Biorbs are shaped it would be hard to design a rule for stocking.
After the substrate, decor and other accessories are added I doubt theres even 5 G of water in there.
Carol

MedicBiker

I was under the impression that the "inch-per-gallon" guideline related more to the biological filtration capacity of the tank, rather than the surface area for gas exchange. I am obviously still a newbie to this, so this is more for my own information than trying to discredit any of the previous responses.

King_Snuggles

The inck per gallom rule is debatable here. Most say it should be 2-3 inches per fish. I tend to take that rule for everything from the filter to surface gas exchange, to how much decor I need.