Betta Fish Forum banner

DIY Thread

93K views 403 replies 99 participants last post by  MistersMom 
#1 ·
Be it decor, or equipment (like dividers, lids, or stands, etc), it's all welcome here. With some of the aspects of fish keeping being expensive (equipment and decor), and sometimes not as fish friendly as advertised, I'd like to have a thread where people can share the ideas that they've come up with to make this hobby more affordable, or more safe for our finned family members. Or even something that was just downright crafty!
 
#2 ·
I bought some "solid" cholla for my tanks, and didn't have slate on hand (and the idea of even using stainless steel to screw it to the slate made me feel weird about it), so I made my own "weights" for the bigger pieces.

2 are aquarium suction cups, and I used spiderwire (nylon) fishing line to tie the cholla to the cups. The third is a terra cotta pot. I ran line through the small holes on the wood, and then cut a square of craft mesh slightly bigger than the hole on the bottom of the pot, threaded both ends of the fishing line through the hole and into opposing corners of the mesh. I just double knotted it to get it to stay put. If the pot isn't heavy enough, I can weigh it down with gravel, sand, or sea glass.

BEFORE


AFTER
 
#3 ·
Fancy Betta Hammock

Thanks for inviting me to post this here!



This is the 'fancy' betta hammock I made for my only AB betta I own. I made the typical DIY betta hammock from plastic mesh (available at any craft or Walmart store) and cut it so there'd be amble room for the betta to go in as well as my hands to work in it.

I added two suction cups for stability, since I planned to add silk plants to it as well.

Then I found some old decor that I'm not using and doubted I would use and trimmed off the silk plants connected to it. You could also buy silk plants specifically for this, I was simply home and bored.

Any ways, most silk plants have plastic stems you can poke through the holes in your hammock. I chose to weave it through a few holes if I could, just so it was secure, but also so I could tuck the ends away from the inside of the hammock so as not to disturb my betta.

You can do whatever you like with this, I chose to position some broad leaves in front of the 'door' so s to create more cover for him when he chooses to use it (which he does off and on still).

It's durable and safe (make sure you check for metal parts and remove them - rust is very bad for your fish! ), and you can easily change up the foliage whenever you like.
 
#54 ·
Thanks for inviting me to post this here!



This is the 'fancy' betta hammock I made for my only AB betta I own. I made the typical DIY betta hammock from plastic mesh (available at any craft or Walmart store) and cut it so there'd be amble room for the betta to go in as well as my hands to work in it.

I added two suction cups for stability, since I planned to add silk plants to it as well.

Then I found some old decor that I'm not using and doubted I would use and trimmed off the silk plants connected to it. You could also buy silk plants specifically for this, I was simply home and bored.

Any ways, most silk plants have plastic stems you can poke through the holes in your hammock. I chose to weave it through a few holes if I could, just so it was secure, but also so I could tuck the ends away from the inside of the hammock so as not to disturb my betta.

You can do whatever you like with this, I chose to position some broad leaves in front of the 'door' so s to create more cover for him when he chooses to use it (which he does off and on still).

It's durable and safe (make sure you check for metal parts and remove them - rust is very bad for your fish! ), and you can easily change up the foliage whenever you like.

So here is my little project from a long time ago and still they are attached and look really nice but i made a bridge after this but i don't have pictures of it!

LOVE both of these ideas!! Well done! I'm so excited now, becuase I want to make sure my little guy is comfortable and/or doesn't get too bored with his tank, but don't have much moolah to spare for decor. Now I can put my craftiness to some use :) Thanks!
 
#5 ·
This is my 3-way divided tank. I put the dividers together using craft mesh and the spines from binder covers. I siliconed in the binder cover spines and just slid the craft mesh down into them. Works like a charm!





That second pic really doesn't do it justice, the water is all dark from the Mopani wood still leeching tannins.
 
#8 ·
Can you come divide my 20, Mashiro? My female frog would appreciate it! XD

I don't know if anyone would want me to post the Patchwork Cottages here (made from perlers)? I can. But I won't be posting the hammocks, it does involve more of a burn risk to make those, and I don't want someone getting hurt.

Let me know, and I'll post a little "how-to"
 
#12 ·
How to make a "Patchwork Cottage" (Perler beads are made from food-grade plastic, so they are AQ safe; However, I DO NOT know about Hama beads, or their competitors!)

I made 4 panels that were 10 beads long, and 10 beads wide, removing 4 beads from 2 of the panels to make tiny windows (adults can't get stuck in those), and one of the panels I removed a large section of beads big enough to put my thumb through as the door. The roof pieces are 7 beads wide by 12 beads long. I ironed them as smooth as I could on the outsides, the "ugly" side went in on this one. After I ironed them, I took the insert out of our slow cooker and set it on top of them to keep them flat, since they have an annoying tendancy to warp as they cool.


Using Hot glue or aquarium silicone (both are safe), I glued the window panels to the rear wall at as close to a 90 degree angle as I could. Then I put glue on the foremost edges of the walls, and laid the door side on top of them, making a box.


I positioned the roof pieces at an angle that I liked (could make the roof one solid piece and just glue it on like the other 4 walls), and joined them in the center at that angle. Then, I put glue on the tops of the window pieces and glued the roof on.


So, now we need a floor! Perler bead floors tend to be super buoyant, and don't help the houses stay put, so I use craftmesh (not as "floaty"
if you will), and then you just put a small amount of gravel IN the house, and it'll stay put!


And Viola! You now have yourself a cute little (aquarium) safe house for your betta friends! ^_^
 
  • Like
Reactions: rafaelbetta
#14 ·
Syriiven suggested that I post this:


using a similar idea to her fancy hammock, I took some old plastic plants, some craft mesh, and an Aquarium suction cup, and made a "raft" for my frogs. My sorority/guppy tank has one too, and the girls love to hang out in it all day and stalk each other, the snails, and the guppies. They pouted when I took it away to cut it in half to share with my ACFs, and were content to play in it as soon as it went back in.

I cut every other plastic strip between the holes on 3-4 rows of canvas, and just tucked the loose ends of the plants inside, hooked on the suction cup and done!

This would work/look better with silk.
(sidenote: the pennywort hanging on for dear life is actually real lol)
 
#15 ·
Note to Concerned Viewers::

Plastic isn't always terrible, and safer with girls than boys where so much cover is really needed.

The old nylon trick is your best bet for this! Rough and sharp plastic = NO

Rubbery or gentle plastic with smooth edges with no points = YES

Sometimes silk plants aren't available (like around here, and ordering online currently isnt in the budget considering I'd be ordering internationally cuz that's just how ordering anything online in Canada works) and sometimes people can't keep live plants alive all the time. So plastic plants, though not our number one choice, can be a colorful and chosen correctly SAFE addition to our tanks.

It's all about using your head when choosing it and how you set it in =)
 
#20 ·
I know a few of the users just use regular silk plants, they check them for wires and soak them first to be on the safe side, but that's what I was planning on doing. Our one petstore only carries tiny silks, and walmart is always out of stock on them, and Meijer (another grocery store that sells pet supplies) carries short ones too.
 
#304 ·
I tried this and sealed some plastic mesh (craft mesh) into a floating tube, but got it a bit too hot and now the tube has some brown/black discoloration. Is this still safe for aquarium use? Got it a bit too hot to the point that it began melting and seperating, but it is fused into a tube and has hardened, just with black scorch marks.
 
#24 ·
Test any non aquarium silk plants before using them in your tank. I tried some dollar store plants by soaking them and rinsing and soaking. The end result is the water was cloudy every time (I tried for a week). Some others have tried more expensive ones with better results. Always soak and test. Personally I gave on them out of concern for my fish.
 
#28 ·
which brings us to the driving force behind this thread. A lot of the "aquarium" supplies aren't aquarium safe anymore. It's getting to be a big issue with me, the only local stores only offer toxic decor, so it's in my fishes' best interest to learn to make my own things from stuff that others have tried and had favorable results with. More often than not, it's also less expensive to make!
 
#29 ·
Upside Down Plants

My sorority desperately needed some high-zone cover since all my floating weed melted on me, and I'm not able to get anymore. So taking after SkyeWillow's idea, I've chosen some favourite plants that are betta safe (tested thoroughly) and tied them upside down to the same divider ends I use for my dividers. I then spanned these across the 29g so the girls had a bunch of new hidey spots to choose from, and believe me, they are very busy exploring =)



 
#30 ·
I'm not sure if it's alright to make a request/ask what may be a stupid question but...

Would cheese cloth be aquarium safe and/or has anyone done a home-made isolation/fry net?
The cheapest 'breeder net' locally is $10 but I can get cheese cloth for $1 and I have some straws and those plastic binders people use to divide tanks sitting around already I'm thinking might work to hold it's shape?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top