[tf1265]

I have 2 female bettas in a 5 gallon tank divided. The divider is clear mesh, so they can see each other, They have plenty of plants and hiding spaces, so they mostly keep to themselves but occasionally will "battle" through the mesh - it seems to keep them active and healthy.

This morning I came into my office to find both of them on the same side of the divider! No damage was done, but they are bettas and they were both pretty stressed out.

I moved one back to her side of the tank, and immediately checked the divider for gaps or holes. There are none, it is sealed tight from top to bottom and there are no holes (other than the tiny ones creating the mesh) in the divider that she could have slipped through.

I know bettas jump, but can their jumping be that precise, to actually jump OVER a divider? It comes up 1/2-1 inch above the water level. I've not seen either of them jump before, but it's an office tank so I'm only here during the day.

THanks!

 

[Neil D]

My betta Josh has done that twice. For some reason he won't fight with the other guy on the other side (thank god!!)

I now have saran wrap over the tank, to prevent it.

 

[Littlebittyfish]

I "T" the top of the divider with another piece of mesh..That way it sort of resembles a "T". Then there's no way to jump over into the other section.

 

[Goomba3]

I had Cheep-Cheep jump over the divider into Edwin's side once. I was feeding them, and was holding my finger over the pellet so he could find it. Well he backed down a little bit, and then launched himself at my finger and over the divider! Both of the looked a little confused, and kind of just sat there, looking at each other, a few inches apart. I pulled the top off real quick and scooped Cheep-Cheep out. But I was always really careful after that. Scared the crap out of me!

 

[hmckin20]

oh jeez, that's scary.. i make the divider a little high and pull the water level down a few inches even though i've never had any of my bettas to jump (knock on wood) but if neither of those things work, any of the above suggestions are good ideas

 

[Neil D]

I had Cheep-Cheep jump over the divider into Edwin's side once. I was feeding them, and was holding my finger over the pellet so he could find it. Well he backed down a little bit, and then launched himself at my finger and over the divider! Both of the looked a little confused, and kind of just sat there, looking at each other, a few inches apart. I pulled the top off real quick and scooped Cheep-Cheep out. But I was always really careful after that. Scared the crap out of me!

That happened to me!! They didn't even fight. I mean Max was ignoring Josh, and Josh was flaring a bit on the other side of Max's side. O.O

 

[Abby]

Louie tore Charz to its
Benny tore ced to bits
Barney tore won won to bits.

all have jumped dividers, my waters now lower and i have plastic crate over the bays then glass tank lid

 

[tf1265]

Wow! Mine are females, so I feel like they're slightly less likely to be aggressively launching themselves. I tee-ed the divider anyway- I had a smaller piece left over from the original cut and I taped it over the top of the divider. Now if either of them want to jump, they'll have to launch themselves up 1 1/2 inches and over at least 4. If they can do THAT, I'll get them separate tanks because they will have earned it, I think.

 

[KristinM]

A few days ago my one male tried to jump and missed...I wasn't at home to help him and I came home to a devastating scene finding him dead on the counter. My older male didnt pay him much attention which made him more irate and in his state to flare (even though there were many plants and the water level was low) he had jumped out. My canopy has been ordered and is due to arrive this weekend so I was devastated. I have now covered the other one up temporarily in case to avoid this happening again.

I think because the plants were now blocking his view and he knew his competitor was close by it made him even more anxious. My 3 females however all live together in a sorority and there are no problems.

I have read that they can jump 2 inches or more.

 

[SnowySurface]

I lost Sparkle the same way. I was still on campus and I had a divided tank. I didn't know bettas could jump so my divider was only 1/2 inch above the water. I don't know how, but Sparkle still missed the other side of the tank and fell to the floor. I came back from class to find only one fish still swimming. Once I read up on how well bettas jump and how they will try to go under a divider as well, I stopped using divided tanks.

It doesn't surprise me that tf1265's fish cleared a 1 1/2 hieght divider. Bettas are really good jumpiers. I didn't know about making a T shaped divider back then and I'm used to separate tanks now. So, I just don't bother. But, if your fish do keep jumping, T-ing would be the way to go.

But I am curious why you have females separated instead of in a sorority. Only the males have to be kept away from each other. Females can co-exist in small groups. But, that's as much as I know about sorority. I like male bettas too much to switch to female bettas. XD

 

[tf1265]

Female bettas can sometimes coexist, but it is tricky. They are still aggressive, just less so than males. Their aggression can be handled in larger groups - meaning their is a hierarchy to it. There will be one who comes out on top as the dominant female, and in order to ease the aggression on the other fish it is generally recommended that female sororities have at least 5 together. I only have 2, and that means that there would be one dominant (aka bully) fish, and one submissive (bullied) fish. The stress on the bullied fish would be terrible. I also only have a 5 gallon tank, and in order to keep 5 bettas together I would need minimum of a 10 gallon.

It also depends on fish personalities. Sometimes the females can be as aggressive as males, and if you happen to get more than 1 very aggressive female in a sorority they might not work.

Basically, you are right that females can coexist in one tank, but it is definitely a risk no matter what - they are still bettas, and less aggressive doesn't mean not aggressive. Maybe someday I would try a sorority, but I'm content to watch them interact through the divider and know that they are safe.

 

[KristinM]

I got my 3 girls at the same time, from the same tank and the same already existing sorority. In fact they had a male in with them too in the store and were all fine. I figured if I got them young and small they would have a better chance of growing up together and keeping that happy atmosphere. So far so good.

 

[sorrelhorse1]

Boo did that to me once. I came home to find him lying on the counter. He was completely dried out and I thought he was dead but when I scooped him up he moved. So I put him back in his tank and he sat on the bottom for a bit and now he is his old self. He also has like a 2 inch high bubble nest going now. Hehe talk about a near death experience.

 

[Punki]

From what ive experienced my females jump much higher and much more often then my male, he never jumps really, but my females have jumped a couple of inches before to get a snack off my finger or impatiently jump to nip the food im pinching into their tank. I T my dividers also. Glad your fish wasnt hurt!

 

[Kytkattin]

Though females might not have the want or need to jump, they will be much more physically capable of doing so than the long finned males. I would imagine that the wild betta splendens are very good at jumping as a survival technique when their water dries up.

 

[Neil D]

Not only that, they jump to avoid other males, or get away from one.

 

[KristinM]

So all this said, what is the best thing to put over the tank if need be temporarily? I placed a piece of glass over mine while I wait for the canopy but there are still places they could jump from.

Ive heard of using cling wrap but doesnt that starve them of air?

 

[Neil D]

No it shouldn't. If you poke holes or leave a corner or two un-covered.

 

[betta dude]

wow that is realy wierd

 

[KristinM]

I'll give it a try - although i now have my big male next to my new female who is really small still and they seem very happy She is a serious tease!

The other 2 girls are in a closed tank.