A lot of people divide 5.5 gallons. I personally think that 2 gallons is minimum so a divided 5 gallon would be fine. However, the divider needs to be secure and up to the hood so they cannot jump over it or get through it. Some fish have been severely injured by fighting their way through a divider or jumping over it, so I'm not really for dividers unless they are silicones into the tank. I'd also personally put two dividers in the tank and maybe fit the heater and filter in between to heat/filter evenly. That should help with them not being able to see each other as easily and so will the plants near the dividers.
I also think it depends on the fish. Sometimes they seem to be happier when they can kind of see each other. Sometimes they get very stressed. Sometimes they don't care. You'll have to see if it works for your fish, keeping in mind that for the first few days you'll probably see a bit of flaring and stuff. They may or may not calm down and be able to live peacefully in a divided tank.
My Charlie doesnt flare much, but sometimes give me a big, slow, wide open mouth... im not sure how to take it, I feel like shes mad at me when she does it. is that some kind of flaring?
Is that a fishy form of yawning? Lol. I have five bettas and I've seen one of them do that one time only.
Some are less aggressive than others. My CT flared a lot before going blind. My VT doesn't flare too much but I've seen him "yawn" like that. Actually, I've only seen him full on flare at other fish.
Is the PetCo ruins collection toxic parts specific to only PetCo merchandise? I recently bought a similar thing from petsmart, but I am worried that it might do something similar. Since it is going in a community tank, I want to know if I will be okay putting it in there before I do so.
My betta, Jimi (Hendrix), has moved around with me a lot. Maybe something betta fish don't like. I bought him in Nevada... took him to Los Angeles, CA with me, and lived there for a few months. LA was awarded "Best water in the country." So Jimi should have been happy with the water there. He went to Orange County, and back to Nevada. He's probably been to 3 different counties. The water I use for his tank now is soft water, filtered with a water softener. I don't think he likes his water being changed so much. He has been hiding daily and gets very jumpy or skid-dish when the tank shakes from a dresser drawer closing or being moved. He hasn't been eating either. Just hiding. I must seem like an idiot, but I haven't really put in the time to learn about my betta before getting him.
Should I put him in distilled water? I have been using water conditioner for him since day one.
Last edited by ashleybanana86; 02-22-2013 at 11:19 PM.
Don't use distilled water. Tap water contains nutrients that he needs. Keep using that with conditioner.
When was the last time you moved? How do you acclimate him to new water? Each time you move, the water is probably different. Bettas are sensitive to changes in water parameters. They do like soft water, but they can go into shock when the water suddenly goes from hard to soft so he should be acclimated to your new water each time you move. He could have possibly been shocked by a change in water, and that can also cause illness.
More information would be good. What size is the tank? Is it filtered? How often do you change the water? What do you feed him and how much? Etc... There is a questionnaire on the diseases and emergencies forum that you should fill out. You can also create a new thread there.
Wow! Thanks for responding! This is the first forum site I have joined... ever! So I am a little slow, lost, and confused when utilizing this site. Hmmm... So many questions, good!
The tank is 1 Gallon... I started him in a 1.5 Gallon tank, but it got damaged in a move so I had to downsize to the 1 Gallon (the only tank available at the time). The water is not filtered. I would say I change the water every 3-5 days... usually 3 or 4. I feed him blood worms, as the pet store employee advised me, but tried pellets as an alternative... Jimi didn't like them. I feed him 2 times a day usually in the morning and at night. I just started getting into the habit of cleaning out the uneaten worms, as I was told to remove uneaten food.
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