New Betta! And a Q about bettas in filtered tanks =)

[Angelfish]

My ex-boyfriend recently took custody of our betta Jack, so I figured it was time for me to get a new one Yesterday 'Pheredin' became part of my family He is your standard veiltail and what everyone I have asked so far describes as "ugly". Hes kind of ... colorless (but a kind of pearly pink shines through at times), but I like him, he is really active

I just got a new ten gal. that I have divided in to three even sections, Pheredin is in one end and Pellinor will be in the other end. (Yes all my bettas are gonna have Arthurian legend names that start with 'P' ... next up is Pendragon ) The filter is in the middle section and because of the dividers its keeping that section rather ... wavy! Do you think the filtration will be too much for another betta or shoudl I go ahead and put one in there?

Thankyou!

 

[katyboombaty]

I keep a power filter in my ten gallon divided tank for my bettas. I had a female in that section and noticed it was too much of a current even for her. I have an aqua clear mini so what i did to reduce the flow of the water was get one of the filter sponges you put in the filter and cut it to fit where the water pours out. now you have to fit it carefully so you dont divert the water to go all over the hood and such. but this is what i did to eliviate the problem and everything works fine. the female betta appreciates it too

 

[izabeau]

I have found with my bettas that it's kinda hit and miss, I had one that hated the "runoff" from the filter a preferred calmer water...the betta I have now spends most of his time UNDER the "runoff" from the filter and plays in the water current all the time and seems to love it, if I turn down the flow on the AC mini he actually swims over to me and flares as if to say "how dare you, I was having fun playing in that!!!" ...it's really quite funny. I know they usually say that bettas prefer calmer water, but I think it sort of depends on the temprament and personality of your fish. I would try putting one of your existing bettas in there and see how they react...and maybe judge by their reaction??

 

[Iggy]

It should be ok as long as it has 'dead' spots where the betta can rest. I use a lot of dividers (5) in my 17gallon long tank and a powerhead 201 filter. The outlet tube has a failry good push, but Ruby (female betta) knows where to go to avoid the heavy current and is fine.

Go ahead, but not a female or your boys will go apeS*IT.

Enjoy

 

[Angelfish]

Okay thankyou all for your advise Im gonna put pherdin in there and see how he takes it. then I can asses the situation for another betta Thankyou!

LOL, and yes Iggy, no female! (wouldnt that be tourchure, in the middle of them both, yet unattainable?! ohhh!)

 

[Angelfish]

Bettas and Ghost shrimp

How many of you keep ghost shrimp with your bettas? I added some with my bettas earlier today and now Im sure one of my bettas has less of a tail! Okay it could and probably is my imagination, but has anyone experienced/heard of ghost shrimp nipping at bettas tails?

(I know this is a separate topic but it relates to the same thread so I threw it in )

 

[Lotus]

I tried a couple of ghost shrimp in with my betta. He kind of chased them a bit, but I think the warmer water is what killed them

 

[Angelfish]

Okay, but nothing the other way round with the shrimp going after the betta?

 

[theeyrietrainer]

well, i have had fish too weak to swim (dying) and the ghost shrimp will begin to tear out parts of the tail. sometimes ghost shrimps will attack the fish that are resting and force them to float-rest. i'd think you should put the bettas in their original places, then make the middle heavily planted and put injured fish or anything else that likes strong currents. cause its sorta more balanced looking, lol! if i was you, id use that middle part as a breeding set up, so like you can get more panda cories or something like that.

 

[Angelfish]

Okay well theeyrietrainer's words and paranoia got the best of me, I put the ghosties alone in the third section for now.

(Side note: Isnt "Why Cant I?" by Liz Phair a great song?)

 

[theeyrietrainer]

lol, ok, now <subliminal messaging> go buy plants to furnish that ghost compartment so they can hide... </subliminal messaging> you should get some plants cause when ghost shrimp molt, they feel safe when they hide and are VERY vulnerable to attacks of fish or even other ghost shrimp, i seen a larger one attack a smaller one that was molting in the open and was eating it while the little one was moving! it was a VERY nasty sight, but the tank was FULL of ghost shrimp, so i guess they HAVE to eat each other at some point!

 

[Angelfish]

*resurects thread*

Okay hopefully someone is still reading this ...

I want to put some guppies in the middle compartment (it is now 4 gal. (each betta has exactly 3)). I would like one male and two females. My only concern is are the bright colors on the guppies gonna make the bettas flare and stress them out?

 

[theeyrietrainer]

yes, depending on the color they WILL flare. well finnage. blah blah blah whatever. the bettas will flare for a while but they will may or may not (depending on the betta) get used to it. the guppies, too, will have a negative effect by getting scared. best way to stop this is to put plants in the middle of the compartment and also on the walls so the bettas cant see well. thats what i do to prevent my bettas from flaring at one another. heh, hope it all works out!

 

[Angelfish]

its no big, I can just go with white clouds instead

 

[theeyrietrainer]

well not all bettas flare mad at guppies. Green Sunshine is a flarer cause i tried. but im very sure some dont. its funny to watch how bettas react when theres another fish with them! I put an oto with Salamandice yesterday cause his compartement got dirty yesterday, and hes like, what the heck is this?! backs up while staring at it. then when the otto moves he zooms into it and then gets scared and slowly backed up, its VERY HILARIOUS watching that, now he got used to it, wonder how he'll react with the pygmies if i decide to..