Can Pandacorys and Plecs be housed in a BiOrb successfully?
18 February 2010
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6 Comments
I am battling with Reef One about their BiOrb and their suitability for Tropical fish. They have told me that Pandacorys and Plecs are not suitable for this tank yet the pet stores and research I have done on the net say it will be okay.
The filter system seems ineffective despite frequent changes. I love my fish and just want the best for them. Could do with some real advice…
Corys need soft, preferably sand, substrate or at the very least small rounded gravel or they abrade their barbels which leads to septicemia.
Please post the link to where you saw it would be ok on the net.
Unfortunately many pet shops don’t care what they sell as long as they sell you something.
Biorbs have sharp lava rock as a substrate which is unsuitable for any bottom dwellers.
Absolutely no for the plecostamus. "Dwarf" variety plecos get to be 6 inches minimum, while commons exceed 20 inches. Corydora need to be kept in groups of at least 3 and need ample area in which to scout the tank bottom. The trendy shape of the bio-orb is unsuitable for plecostamus, corydora, schooling fish and just about all other fish I can think of. You would be much better off getting a 25+ gallon rectangular tank with a good filter. It may not be the trendy little decorative item that your bio-orb is, but it will be a much healthier system for your beloved fish.
I will agree with Reef One. From what little I know about the Orbs, the largest I seen is a 16gallon. This is not suitable for Pandacorys as they need to be in a school of 4-5+ to thrive. Yes, you can house them singularly or in pairs, but in the wild they live in groups which usually require a 30G+ aquarium. If you just get 3 pandas – you might be able to get away with that – maybe.
Orbs do not have a lot of substrate space – this in itself could lead to unhappy bottom dwellers – which is where pandas spend their time. Since the real estate is cut down because of the design of the orb, this is possibly why it is not recommended.
Depending on the pleco, it too can not live in the Orb – common plecos get to 1 foot all the way up to 2+ feet. There are other plecos that stay small such as the clown and bristlenose. Beware that not all plecos are algae eaters, many are carnivores and omnivores.
If you get a single small pleco – you should be fine. But not with other bottom dwellers.
You mention the filter is ineffective – did you cycle the tank before adding fish? If not, you are still in the cycle and need to do daily water changes.
i dont think you should put plecos in there or the corys get a bigger tank. or you could put otocinclus or a small species of bristle nose plecos in the tank i would recomend getting a bigger tank. you could put other fish in that tank though like tetras, platies, bettas, guppies and other species. and you could get algea eaters probably.
Biorb’s are a posh name for a goldfish bowl, both Cory’s and plec’s need hiding spots to live a comfortable life and the design specifically makes it impossible to create them as there is bare minimum ground space and that is part of the filter.
Otocinclus might be OK, but pet fish belong in tanks not bowls. Bottom dwellers need a bottom to dwell on and biorbs don’t have one, so Reef One is correct.
just remember the biorb is the worse tank on the market.
Because the gas exgange is so bad you can only hold 35% of the fish a capacity a standard tank can hold.
So a 10 gallon orb can only hold 3.5 inches of fish before the tank breaks down and fish start to stress.
best thing you can do is pitch the tank or sell it.
panda cories are supersensitive and you need at least 6 of them for them to prosper.
Thats probably your whole tank load there so the questions probably moot.
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