Divided Tank & Fish Stress Questions

[Zoetrooper]

I have a divided 10 gallon tank. It has two partitions and it is meant to house 3 bettas. This gives each betta something like 3.33 gallons to swim around in.

I have a crowntail on the left, a veiltail in the middle and what I believe to be a plakat on the right.

The plakat has only been in there for a short time but I am worried he may not be adjusting as well as the others did. When he sees the veiltail (who is three times his size) he tends to fin clamp and colour blanch. He is so small I am wondering if this is a defense because he is young? I'm not sure how big the more wild types get but he is maybe an inch from head to tip of his tail.

He has lots of room to swim around, lots of hiding spots, the tank is warm and filtered with a very slow current He has a good appetite, is energetic and shows no other signs of illness. I think the veiltail may just scare him.

How long should I give him to try and adjust before moving him to a smaller separate tank? Anyone else have experience with this?

[shellieca]

Some Bettas do not do well with seeing another Betta, if I were to have a divided tank I would have the dividers non-see through. You might try moving more plants/structures to the side where the divider is to help block his view of the other Betta.

[Zoetrooper]

Originally Posted by shellieca

Some Bettas do not do well with seeing another Betta, if I were to have a divided tank I would have the dividers non-see through. You might try moving more plants/structures to the side where the divider is to help block his view of the other Betta.

I moved the plants around yesterday and in doing so made his colours blanch. It could be he is just a fraidy cat betta. I can install a darker harder to see through divider on my next cleaning and cross my fingers that that works for him.

If all else fails I do have a little heated tank on standby, but it isn't as nice as the big tank. :(

[shellieca]

Some Bettas don't like change. I know a couple of my males will stress out for a little bit when I switch them to a different tank or re-arrange their current tank. I'm not comfortable letting them see each other 24/7 so I make sure they can't.

[waterdog]

I'm still waiting to see. I divided a 10 gallon but only have one fish in there so far. I did buy a divider from petsmart (on sale) cause I do like the opague look of it.

[Zoetrooper]

Well, he has been staying his true colours longer today. He occasionally blanches but for the most part he is a black little fishy with fancy fins. I think he is getting used to his environment and knows where he can hide from the big bad veiltail.

I still haven't picked up a new divider, but I'm still going to, and hopefully that will reduce his stress to nil.

[Myates]

I would give him a week at least before changing anything.. some bettas just need a bit of time to realize they are safe in their section.

Be careful with dividers that don't allow water flow - won't be getting the benefits of the filter that way.

[Shadyr]

I'm glad he's settling in! I love my divided tank. I know some on this forum haven't had good luck with them, but when they work, they *work*!

[Zoetrooper]

This definitely has a happy ending. I installed black dividers that are harder to see through but still allow water movement. I also moved the veiltail away from the wild betta.

So now the setup is: Veiltail, Crowntail, Wild

The little guy seems much happier, even so bold as to flare at the CT. He even built a bubblenest yesterday as well as the pale markings on his face are completely gone. He's back to his old self. :)

[Aluka]

aww i'm glad he's happier =)