So the other day my friend gave me one of her 10 gallon tanks. Washed it out and the like, set up my divider, got the water warm, and all the jazz.
Got my fish in. They were good for about half an hour. Then... they realized they had neighbors.
While it's really neat to watch them both flare up (something I've never actually seen before), I'm worried. They've been at it for like 20 minutes. Ianos, the darker red one, was also attempting to fight the filter-- flaring up and rushing it, then getting his fins stuck on the intake. For the moment I've turned it off to keep him safe.
They've just moved in, and I know they're aggressive fish and all, but will they ever get slightly used to each other, or am I going to be watching them attack the divider for the rest of their days? This is my first time splitting a tank between two, and I'm a tad worried.
You'll want to check out the filter baffeling sticky for sure, that should help you with that.
As for the flaring, they'll be at it for awhile, mine were the same. Eventually, they will get used to eachother and only flare for a little bit at a time :P One more thing to look at is the water height, make sure there is at least an inch of divider above the water line. Bettas can and will jump to get at eachother (it happened to me, got torn up fins but both lived :) )
I did already pull that with the filter-- it was one of the first things I did. Ianos is still trying to attack it-- specifically the part where you can see the glass through the back. He gets stuck on the intake-- he can pull himself free but he does because he swims around attacking it rapidly.
Thanks for the info on the attack eachother bit though. Hopefully It'll calm down soon for me too then. xD
If you need, try to break up their view a bit. You've got some plants in the tank, so it might be a good idea to move some next to the divider so they're not always in each other's view.
They will eventually get used to eachother and not flare so much. They will still flare though, don't get me wrong. They may be stressed for the first few days, but then they'll realize that they won't get to eachother and relax. I have 2 divided tanks, and my boys are very happy with large bubblenests :) So I'm sure it's just getting used to having a neighbor!
Panty hose or an Aqua Clear Sponge over the filter intake will keep him from geting stuck or sucked up. =]
As for the divided bit you could wait it out and see if they calm down and if they don't just get some tall plants and block their view or you could make another divider, put them a little bit apart and stuff some moss in between them. =] that way there's no visibility whatsoever. =]
since its filtered you really shouldnt have to do them all that often.
as far as the flaring thing goes, you could half diy the divider. just go to a craft store and get the plastic needlepoint canvas in a solid color. that way the fish really cant see through it at all. (the hobby lobby near me has it in all kinds of colors, pink, blue, green, black, white etc.) and that stuff is not even a dollar. cheaper then buying a bunch of plants. just trim it to size, and slip it in place of the clear one that came with it.
since its filtered you really shouldnt have to do them all that often.
as far as the flaring thing goes, you could half diy the divider. just go to a craft store and get the plastic needlepoint canvas in a solid color. that way the fish really cant see through it at all. (the hobby lobby near me has it in all kinds of colors, pink, blue, green, black, white etc.) and that stuff is not even a dollar. cheaper then buying a bunch of plants. just trim it to size, and slip it in place of the clear one that came with it.
I have black in my tank and it's just as easy to see through as white. If you found black with smaller holes (number 7 size is easy to see through but I've only seen smaller holes in white) then that might work.
Also I got a cheap silk vine from the craft store and cut it into 12 inch sections. Then I zip tied one to each divider. If you did that with craft mesh, you could put several pieces on each side so it would be harder to see each other and you can get a 6 foot plus vine for $5 or 6-that's as much as a couple plants. This is what I did: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=49721
Last edited by Learn To Fly; 10-22-2010 at 06:00 PM.
Check out the eBook Betta Fish Care Made Easy
Similar Threads
