Unique betta idea ...

depthC · Mar 29, 2003

While checking out my tank and thinking of ways to inprove it i got the idea of keeping more then one betta in the same tank. So you know those things that hang on the side of the tank and have like 2 columns that you can house a betta in each? Well i was thinking of getting one and two more bettas. Then each week put the one that is swimming in the open with one that has been incubated for a week and just keep switching them each week. Does this sound like a good idea?

- depthC

lightning · Mar 29, 2003

my parents got clear plexiglass, drilled about 30 small holes in several pieces, and siliconed them in place in a 10 gallon tank deviding it into 4 equal sections, the fish seemed to have a good time and wold flare up at each other after time they would swap the fish around from section to section making the fish see each other, they would put a small plant at the back section of each one, and it really didnt look bad

Abercrombie6202 · Mar 29, 2003

I was thinking about doing kind of something like that, but i think those compartments are WAY TOO SMALL!! so here was my idea get a 10 gallon aquarium buy glass right, clear and like black or something right, non-toxic!! and make my own use silicone right and make it and make my own areas, but i was also going to use it for breeding have like 2-3 compartments with male bettas in it and then the bigger part of the aquairum be for the females!! and of course drill small holes so that the water for the male bettas would be the same for the females!!!!!

Hopefully this will help

adamj · Mar 29, 2003

First things first, im anal about this topic so i cant stand to hear of male betas being kept together in such small quarters. If you have a very LARGE aquarium you can keep multiple males without dividers. But i suggest something like that only for the seasoned aquarist. But keeping multiple betas in a divided 10 gallon in my humble opinion, is just cruel.

agpoel · Mar 29, 2003

I agree with adamj

depthC · Mar 29, 2003

Well if you think about it you are giving the betta much more room then they were offered at the pet store. In the pet stores around here including petco and petsmart they are sold in small little containers.

- depthC

Orion · Mar 29, 2003

Just because a betta, or any other fish for that matter, can live in a small space doest meen that they should.

AmazonTankz · Mar 29, 2003

I agree that bettas are alowed intirly to little space in almost every situation I see them in espesially males. But if you think about what depthC is saying it will give the fish room to "stretch it fins" for an entire week in the main part of the tank before haveing to back into the smaller space. I would just suggest that not to many bettas are kept(maybe 3) that way they don't have to wait very long on the small space.

depthC · Mar 29, 2003

Great finally someone gets what im saying. Yeah i would only keep at most the 3, but as i said its only an idea hence the title of this post.

- depthC

catfishmike · Mar 29, 2003

the best choice is an eclipse explorer and put a plant is the way of the flow return.low cost low maintaince ample room to keep a betta and no need for a heater cause the pump keeps the tank warm enough.i hate those hang-on betta divider or as i like to think of them "betta hell"they just end up stressed and unable to breath from the surface.a refelx that is important to all bettas even if there is sufficent o2 in the water.

adamj · Mar 29, 2003

in the great words of the mythical dr. ian malcom, "they were so busy trying to figure out if they could, they didnt stop to think if they should."

Hell, i'd love to be the beta saviour of the world, but thats not possible. Personaly, i think betas should be kept wild simply because of the lack of education about these fish, generaly speaking.

I've been in charge of 150 gallon community tanks at the lfs i worked at years ago. We kept a few male betas in there together, they would rarely meet, whenever they did, there was nothing but a little chase which is what normaly happens in the wild for these fish in non-breeding seasons. So keeping males in small confines even remotely seeing each other causes them great stress. You have to remember that all fish work inheritly with the fight or flight responce. When a fish can do neither, all kinds of bad things can happen.

We also must look at the pet shop betas body design. The wild beta is faster and stronger than splendens. The long fins make them weak warriors. To put this into perspective, everyone gain about 150 pounds and go run down the block. See how you feel. Thus these petshop betas are under mega stress by simply how they are kept which i outlined above, but they arent able to cope with that stress as well considering their physical atributes of the overly long fins. What we have is a combination of death to be honest.

If you must keep betas, be responcible. </rant>

p.s. i know its *betta*

Guardian · Apr 1, 2003

AmazonTankz...

I understand what depthC was saying; however, iw ould have to ask if you would like being shoved into a small box for 2 weeks at a time and let out for a week to "stretch your fins"....

Betta's should not be kept in small environs unless it is for transportation from one place to another.

Sorry for the rant....

tramca · Apr 1, 2003

the fish at all pet shops I've been to are all sold from nothing less than a 10g tank.
Lots of fish yeah...but still room to move.
The bettas from one shop come into the shop in tiny pyramid shaped bags similar to pg tips teabags! They can just about turn around ion there so the 10g tanks they are released into are like heaven!

Guardian · Apr 1, 2003

There is a difference between stocking for retail sale and stocking for proper care....

tramca · Apr 1, 2003

Yeah you're right guardian....I personally don't like the idea of cramped conditions.
But if depth does carry out his idea and the fish remain alive and healthy then i suppose thats all that matters.
I'm no expert and while trying my very best I managed to lose 2 bettas on 2 seperate occasions.
It saddened me a lot and I really tried my best and did what the petshops told me but it wasn't good enough and they got stressed and died.
I'm not proud of that, but now i'm trying to learn more about bettas and am cycling a 10g tank so I can maybe keep one male betta and a couple of guppies and harlequins.

madhippoz · Apr 1, 2003

Everyone gets what your saying, they just don't all agree with you

. And I'm in the camp that think this idea of yours is not a very good one. Yes technically it would work, but it's cruel. Its like having 3 children, and saying that for one week one of them can go out and play and do whatever he wants, but the other 2 must stay in their rooms. When little Johnny is balling his eyes out, wanting to go play, you can reassure him thusly, "Don't cry little Johnny, it'll be your turn in 2 weeks from now." I see what your trying to do, and I can sympathize, your trying to get the most use of your small 10gallon tank as possible. But the reality of it is, is that each fish has space requirements, and if you cannot afford to meet those requirements, or simply don't want to pay the money out to meet them, then you should not have the extra fish.

I don't see what the big deal is anyway. I can go out and buy an entire Hagen 5.5gal starter kit for $50 Canadian, that is a minimum amount of room for one male betta. I'm sure most people if push came to shove could save up $50 over the period of a month, and then buy a $5 betta and plop it in. If you have to wait 2 months to save up enough, then whatever

.

depthC · Apr 1, 2003

I had an idea of this for my 45g not 10g, sorry if i didnt state that earlier. But ne ways this idea is obsoleate now so please dont rant on like ive gone ahead and did it already.

- depthC

madhippoz · Apr 1, 2003

I see where I got confused with the 10gal, Lightning posted after you regarding a 10gal. My apologizes for that. However, I didn't think I was ranting unjustly on you, like you'd gone off and done it already. You were putting forward an idea, and I was just emphatically stating that I thought it was not a very good one. Can't fault me for that. But even if it had been a 45gal, it wouldn't change anything, because the other 2 would still have been enclosed in that hanging chamber thing right. Only the free one would have access to the 45 gal, so it doesn't really change much.

depthC · Apr 1, 2003

Thats alright I wasnt acusing you of ranting on me, but ne ways the idea originated off of this post :
http://fishprofiles.com/interactive/forums/thread.asp?id=5457
and i just though about the weekly changing after i saw the picture.

- depthC

AmazonTankz · Apr 1, 2003

No offence taken, however all I was saying is that compaired to the way most people keep there bettas(in a small compartment for ALL their lives) It would be better to have room to swim if only every 2 weeks. Some is better then none.

I give my bettas plently of room I have 3 females in a 55g tank with other fish.
I suggest that if you want to keeo multilple bettas you should get females (thats what I do) That way they all get the large amount of room all the time!

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