# BiOrb and shrimp?



## NightshadeF1 (Aug 6, 2011)

So I have a Baby Biorb (4gal) (http://www.reef-one.com/products/product-detail/baby-biorb) on my desk where I work. Currently its the home for a nice old petco Betta but I was wondering if anyone has had any experiences with these type of tanks and shrimp keeping. Since, I work in a lab I have plentiful access to DI water (we have DI taps :hihi and I like the idea of not having to fight the KH issues I have with my home tap water. 

Apart from being a bit small I don't foresee any problems. Especially since the entire substrate should act like a biological filter as well as a smorgasbord of biofilm for the shriimps Also, I attached a larger than stock air pump tank this year to up the water movement and thus filtration and overall the tank seems to be very stable, though there is no heather. Any input or past experience with these tanks and shrimp would be appreciated!


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

Do you plan on keeping the shrimp with the betta, because in my experience that doesn't work out well. I'm sure if you had a 40gal and 1 betta and some shrimp, they would be fine, but in a smaller tank, bettas don't do well with anything. I tried some shrimp in my gf's betta tank and 1 gotta attacked right away, pulled a 2nd one out and the 3rd never saw again.


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## Mxx (Dec 29, 2010)

I'd considered the same thing with one. If you had a fair amount of plants/moss in one then that in itself would certainly help to act as a significant amount of biofiltration, and likely better than the substrate. However the stock lighting in a Biorb is a bit poor to support much in terms of plants, isn't it? Unless your lab temperature is very stable and quite high then even with just your betta it'd be better to add a heater which has a thermostat.


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## SBPyro (Dec 15, 2009)

Mxx said:


> Unless your lab temperature is very stable and quite high then even with just your betta it'd be better to add a heater which has a thermostat.


+1 
We found from some of the overnight experiments we run the temperature of our lab fluctuates greatly.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

GeToChKn said:


> Do you plan on keeping the shrimp with the betta, because in my experience that doesn't work out well. I'm sure if you had a 40gal and 1 betta and some shrimp, they would be fine, but in a smaller tank, bettas don't do well with anything. I tried some shrimp in my gf's betta tank and 1 gotta attacked right away, pulled a 2nd one out and the 3rd never saw again.


Whereas my bettas don't seem to go near them. There are now CBS in all my betta tanks, and after a few flares, they totally ignore them.


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

Betta Maniac said:


> Whereas my bettas don't seem to go near them. There are now CBS in all my betta tanks, and after a few flares, they totally ignore them.


How big of a tank? And I guess it depends on the betta, they all have different personalities.


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## NightshadeF1 (Aug 6, 2011)

GeToChKn said:


> How big of a tank? And I guess it depends on the betta, they all have different personalities.


Totally true, its amazing how different some bettas are from each other... ive expereimented with sorority tanks before and you can really see the different temperaments when you have about 5 females together.

Anyway, the plan is to move the betta out before the shrimp go in... So no worries there. Since ive become a shrimp addict i have no need for fish!:icon_lol: except ottos o' course. and ill probably look into getting a mini adjustable heater to keep the temp at ~ 73. Our lab is kept constant but its prolly around 70.


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

Crystals would love the 70 without a heater. lol. People strive for that temp in a crystal tank during the summer months.


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