More questions!

[Jupiter]

So here's the deal: There are two females at a pet store I go to often that have been in the back of my mind while I look for males for my 10 gallon. They're kept together in a small tank (maybe .5 gallons) and like the rest of the bettas in cups, have no life.

They are so cute though. Especially one that's a little dull, but has lavender in her. I'm in love. I already named her Bambi, lol.

And since the whole divider thing has not been going well (my tank has weird measurements and I'd really rather not make it myself) I was wondering this:

Well, I know you should get at least 4 female bettas for a tank. Those two get along in that small tank, but when they get more lively in my tank, will they start to harrass each other?

How many females can I keep in a 10 gal? 4 or 5?

If not, I guess I'll have to force myself to make a divider.


Another thing: I haven't been able to find a hood that fits. Like I said, my tank measurements are weird. Any suggestions?

[Kim]

Well, I really have no experience with sororities as I have avoided them because I figured I'm way to OCD to keep one.

What I'd keep in mind is the personalities of the fish. Maybe those 2 would be fine together...maybe not. Maybe they would be fine just the two of them, but not fine if you added more. You'd really have to figure it out as it happens.

You could always just divide it and put those 2 on opposite sides if you like them so much. Trust me, what females lack in finnage they make up for in personality! I don't think anyone ever regrets getting a female :)

Maybe post a pic of your tank so we can help you with the hood/divider trouble.

[Jupiter]

Yes, I'd really much rather have just those two. I was just worried that they were getting along now because they were listless and in a not very ideal home. But I guess we'll see when I go get them, eh? I was thinking of buying one of those breeding traps-just in case.

I know, I love females! I used to have one, one of the best fish I've ever had.

As for pictures, I have no camera, just a webcam that produces very crappy pictures. Sorry if you can't make it out, it was a little hard trying to angle the laptop to get the pic, lol.



I just measured it, the dimensions are approx:

50 cm (19.5 in)x30 cm (12 in)x20.6 cm (10.5 in)

[Kim]

Well, a divider would be fairly easy to make with plastic craft canvas and report spines. You could get a large sheet of canvas and you might have to use several spines but it would be custom fit to your tank.

As for the hood maybe you could look up the manufacturer and see if they make one special for the tank because I've never seen one with those dimensions.

[Ilovemyshiny]

you could take the measurements to a hardware store and get some plexy glass cut to fit it and drill a couple holes for air. and i personally think that if the two get along now in that tiny space they will still get along when they have more energy. you could get some other fish like mollies (who ive found out get along with females) to go in with them

[Jupiter]

Yes, i'm thinking of going ahead and buying the females along with a breeding trap, and if things don't work out I'll make a divider.

The tank is Hagen (or at least, the sticker on the tank says so). My uncle gave it to me, when I asked him about the hood he told me the tank was given to him from a friend without a hood.
Thanks for the suggestion. Hopefully I'll be going to a fish store this weekend and I'll see if they have any hoods there, because i haven't been able to find them at Petsmart (and I'm not allowed to purchase online ).

@Ilovemyshiny: Thanks for the suggestion, I'll keep that in mind if I can't find a proper hood for it. And glass hood are better for plants, right? Because I'm getting live plants.
As for other fish, I'm really not partial to any sort of live-bearers. I'd much rather have just the pair of them, with maybe some shrimp on the bottom. I may want to divide it later and add a male to the other side, or get some black neons and some Ottos.

[Kim]

Yeah, sometimes you have to go with glass hoods with plants just because the all in one deals won't handle the necessary wattage.