Hi, everyone! I apologize in advance for my lack of knowledge regarding fish tanks, but I recently adopted a Bubble-Eye goldfish from a friend who was going to flush him. He's my first ever fish, so I really had no idea what I was doing. I got the hang of it, did my research, now I'm pretty knowledgeable about how to keep my tank going smoothly, to an extent! Right now, he's about 2-3 inches big. I currently have him in a standard, 10 gallon rectangle fish tank. However, I'm going to be moving for school very shortly and my new apartment is smaller than my current, meaning I need to downsize. His tank, being the shape it is, takes up more room than I'll have free.

I've been looking into the Biorb tanks, the 16 gallon. Would this be a suitable, happy environment for ONE Bubble-Eye? I won't be adding anything to it, unless it's a snail. Would he have enough room on the bottom? His kind are bottom/mid dwellers, from what I've read and observed. The Biorb would be great for me, space wise. I'd have a lot more options when it comes to places to put him. I'm just concerned about whether or not this is a suitable home for a fish of his type.

Thanks so much to anyone who can help me out!

Why don't u get a cube tank or a tall rectangular tank? I assume the space needed for a 16 gallon spherical biorb can accommodate at least a 20 gallon cube/tall tank.

On a side note, we don't generally recommend biorb because:
1. It's a waste of space (u can get more gallonage with a normal tank for the same amount of space needed to house a biorb)
2. Filtration is lacking for goldfish
3. Shape doesn't allow for large surface area for gaseous exchange
4. It's expensive

i wouldnt downsize at all. I doubt that the biorb is that muc smaller than a 10 gal in space usage. unless your apartment is only 1 small 10x10' room, im sure u can find somewhere:)

I'm not literally downsizing. The amount of water in his tank will actually go up. I just need to downsize on tables, etc, and his tank's shape is not very flexible.

If you can direct me towards a site/place where I can buy rectangular or cube tanks for less than a Biorb, I'd love that. The Biorbs are much cheaper than any hexagon tanks I've come across.

Have you looked around the lfs in your area?

www.craigslist.com

Used is cheap as free!

I'm sorry, lfs?

Local Fish Store or pet store. You can also try yard sales, and a new thing out is freecycle.com.
Good luck - with your fish AND with school!

Debbie