So I noticed my boy likes to hang around this one spot in the front of his tank. Then he would look tired and stick himself behing the top of his heater. This got my worried mind racing for a safer solution.
Yep... I fell for yet another impluse buy and purchased the "Zoo Med Betta Leaf Hammock".
I wish I woulda looked it up before I bought it... eh. Lots of bad reviews!! Possible guttings? Rust? Sweet. :|
But... I like to make my own opinions. So, after lots of looking over and the 'pantyhose test', I put it in Findlays tank.
Three words - he loves it.
I feel okay about it. I really don't see how a fish could be gutted by this product, unless the wire is somehow exposed... which the leaf would have to be ripped. The rust issue, I can understand. There is a tiiiiiny hole where the wire has to be inserted. I'm thinking of dabbing a bit of water sealant over the hole. Problem solved? We'll see.
So for now, I will keep my eye on him and his leaf hammock... and by that I mean watch him like a hawk! If it makes him happy, I'm happy... but I don't want to hurt him.
I dont but I have been thinking about getting this and or the floating log, my view is if i purchase this i would just check it everyday make sure its looking good, the issues i have heard is the wire rusting through the leaf and gutting the fish so i think checking it would be ok. im not sure though
I researched these hammocks, too. I found what you did: that while bettas love them, they can be injured or killed by the wire that runs through it. Even if the wire isn't sticking out, it could become so over time.
A member here had one kill her fish - the wire gutted it. No joke, scary stuff
However, where there's a will, there's a way! Especially if aquarium sealant is involved. I used it to "baby proof" my hammock as it were. Basically I gooed it over the vein on the underside where the wire is and anywhere else that had the remotest chance of wearing through.
For good measure I also used sealant to attach the leaf to the cup because I read it had an annoying habit of falling out.
After the sealant cured, I gave the whole thing a good rinse and stuck it in Flambé's tank.
Well let me tell you, he LOVES the thing. He likes to rest on the stem where it meets the suction cup (good thing I glued it!). He also likes swimming around it. I caught him doing a double loop de loop around it the other day :lol:
Anyways, while I'm fairly confident that I've made the leaf as safe as I can, I'm still checking it every water change to make sure the sealant is holding up.
EDIT: Of course you can always make your own wire-free hammock with aquarium sealant, suction cup and an aquarium safe silk leaf. I had the sealant on hand and the hammock was on sale so that's why I spent the time I did on it.
EDIT: Of course you can always make your own wire-free hammock with aquarium sealant, suction cup and an aquarium safe silk leaf. I had the sealant on hand and the hammock was on sale so that's why I spent the time I did on it.
i threw betta bulbs into my tanks .. the leafs grow out to look like leaf hammocks .. any my betta sleeps on them .. and no worries for rust ..
@maggielynn .. i don't know about anyeone else but i have 2 of those floating betta logs made by zoo med .. and both of them has had paint come off every time i take them out to wash them .. more paint comes off .. till one day i got mad and decided to scrub all the paint off of it .. same thing happened to my bf's betta log too ..
i don't know if it's harmful or not .. but it doesn't seem like it left any paint in the tanks .. it just came off when i took them out of the tank to rinse .. and both of my bettas that have that log are fine and not sick .. but just a warning to anyone that get's that log .. keep an eye on it .. just incase ^_^
I have the hammock and the most my little guy will do is hover over it when he checks out one of his plants. He tends to sleep under a plant on the floor of the tank. He probably wouldn't like it if I removed it though.
i have one for my betta. the wire does stick out if you bend it into a different shape. i didn't want it to rust or have my betta get injured, so i took it out, bought some aquarium sealant, put a BUNCH of sealant on the wire (i seriously made sure there wasn't any wire touching the water, haha), then waited about 3 days and put it back in.
my first betta really loved it, he liked to sleep on it at night, and chill on it during the day when he was bored. after he died, i got another betta, and he does the same thing. c:
This little leaf hammock thing sounds really interesting, but I agree that it will have to be worked on before putting it in with the betta itself. I'd be devastated if something were to happen to my baby because of a "leaf hammock."
I may get one of these when I get my first betta, to see if he likes it.
I just ordered a leaf hammock yesterday... waiting for it to come in so I can fix it then see how my betta Hercules likes it... my betta's King and Tihs have moss balls in their tanks, they like to lean agains them to sleep at night, lol
I got a hammock for my first betta and he loved it. I didn't even think of making sure it was sealed and sure enough, it rusted. So it was rehomed to the trash can. Since I've upgraded to a bigger tank I got Beast a floating log. When I scrub it, paint does come off. When it is sitting in the tank though, I don't see anything floating. Beast loves it and seems to be in good health.
I was thinking it was more to hold the shape of the leaf and make it stay horizontal? The leaf has a little knob at the end that sticks into the suction cup
If you can find a way to work the wire out, I say go for it!! I'm thinking about taking it out. Only thing, the leaf might be... maybe a little floppy and not stick straight out, making it hard for a betta to rest on.
Most things, aqauarium wise, are trial and error. :roll:
Ah, I gotcha. I'll just pick up some Aquarium sealant and coat the bottom of it in the aquarium sealant then. I've got two, but I'm scared to let my bettas have them because I don't want them to get hurt.
I got one of the hammocks and my betta never used it, he already had a favorite hangout spot on top of one of the other plants I guess, I gave it to my sister-in-law and her betta loves it and hangs out near it all the time.
Also I've heard of bettas dying after eating paint that came of off tank decorations. I was just looking at the zoo med log the other day but I think I wont get it now!
My betta loves his hammock! Took him a week or so to figure out what it was for, but he hangs out on it alot!
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Betta Fish Forum
1.8M posts
105.7K members
Since 2006
A forum community dedicated to Betta fish owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about breeds, health, behavior, tanks, care, classifieds, and more!