Life's Betta With A Fish

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Graceful-Lily

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Sure!

Step one is measuring the dimensions of your aquarium. The larger it is, the more difficult it'll be to find craft mesh to fit. I know the market in American is better than it is here in Canada so you might be able to find it easier than I was able to. Craft mesh comes in different hardness so you want to find one that is marked as firm. Extra firm is even better. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't able to find mesh of that hardness so I had to go with the extra soft instead. The harder the mesh is though, the more easy it is to work with and the more secure it'll be in your aquarium.

Next, you will need to find report covers with removable spines. The slide on spine is to keep the mesh straight and in place within the tank. I got mine at Dollar Tree.

I would say this next thing is optional but my diviner's wouldn't stay in place without it and that is an aquarium divider clip with suction cups. I purchased mine from Amazon. I'll be honest, the suction of the suction cups is terrible and they do come loose quite often but it is much better than having nothing there for extra support.

Don't be too worried about the colour of the mesh. Yes, black is better because it'll be harder for them to see each other but I haven't had a problem with the translucent mesh. They have been next to each other for almost 2 weeks now or just about so they no longer flare like they did when I first added them to the aquarium. I've seen people double up the translucent mesh but that just seems like an extra step to me. Especially if both fish have adequate space in their respective sides, doubling isn't necessary.

You will also need to measure roughly where in the tank you want the dividers to be placed. A measuring tape to the outside is fine. You can mark it with a dry erase marker if needed.

Step two is cutting the mesh to size and sliding the report cover spines on.
You can use scissors or an olfa knife. Make sure to test the mesh several times as you cut it to shape to make sure that you aren't removing too much material. It should not bend in the aquarium and fit straight. Trust me, if it doesn't, the fish can take advantage of that and it just makes things harder for you in general. Also, if you like a clean aesthetic, it's just nicer to have everything line up straight.

Step three is placing the dividers into your tank!
This part took me a long time because I didn't have enough sand to pack at the bottom. It was difficult to get everything to line up and stay in place. I eventually got it though.

Keep in mind...
1. Make sure there are absolutely no gaps. If the fish feel threatened as especially antsy, they will attempt to squeeze into the other side in any way they find possible to beat up the other fish they feel is threatening their territory.

2. Watch for personality clashes. Of course, you'll only have 2 bettas but even then, some fish just do not do well next to each other. I learned this the hard way (4 bettas with fin damage because Jaxon is a bully and an escape artist so he is now by himself). Don't try to force them if they don't seem to be getting along but as long as they aren't trying to get to the other side, occasional flaring isn't a big deal. Even if one betta is docile and the other is a bully, the bully might still be persistent on attacking so watch for that.

3. The dividers need to hit the rim of the aquarium. Keep the water level lower than normal as well to discourage jumping.

I think this is it. Let me know if you have any questions.
 

glittercat

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Ah thank you so much!!

I will have a proper read through tomorrow (it's gone midnight here and I should be in bed lol) and have a think. I'm in the UK but can't see that I wouldn't be able to get the mesh.

You're a star, really appreciate it.
 

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So I've been thinking about you both regarding how to get the dividing mesh/report cover spines to stay up and in place. (I was able to obtain those spines separately and didn't have to purchase the report covers).

I had purchased a Top Fin aquarium dividing kit from one of the big box stores that had dividing material (fairly worthless), something similar to those report cover spines which I was glad about because I needed the extra lengths of the spines, and most importantly there were clips included in the package.

These clips are great, the long straight part inserts into the gap of the spine at the top, and then the crooked part fits over the frame of the tank and grips the outside of the tank wall. There are two of these clips in each package, or maybe you could make something that would work similarly (suction cups that don't do the job are frustrating).

Aquarium hardware (2).jpg
 

glittercat

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Well as I'd promised the 80ltr to my niece, I decided to splurge on the two smaller tanks.

Betta Lifespace H5 Aquarium -White With Black Edge

Made the purchase today. The guy opened up the boxes in the shop, just to check that the bases of the tanks were OK and that they were the colour ticked on the box. Looked fine, popped them in the car and pootled home.

Stupid me, I didn't then inspect them all over once I got home and started set up - no water or anything at this point, just the lights and putting the filter together etc. So most of the packaging has been opened.

Then I noticed these (see pics). One is on the back of one tank, the other on the side of the second tank. It's not stray bits of sealant but scratches... However neither appear to be actual cracks / all the way through the glass that I can tell. They are just on the inside but deep enough to catch fingernails if you move your fingers over them.

If these were secondhand tanks I wouldn't bother but as they are brand new straight out of the box they are going back to the shop tomorrow.
 

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glittercat

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Yeah, it's annoying. :( I just wish I'd done a full inspection before opening the packaging for the lights and filters etc. Oops.

But the shop seems to be good so hopefully they will just exchange them for me - there will be a full inspection in the shop though this time. I will ring them in the morning. I suppose I worry that they will not accept they were damaged before getting them home. But I think they will be fine.

I had this before with a tank I ordered from a local branch of a chain pet store ages ago. Got it home and unpacked it and there was a huge diagonal crack across the bottom - and it was a crack rather than a scratch. Was a job and a half getting the box in and out of the car!!
 

Willowy

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Be SURE it's not just stray sealant because you'll feel silly if it is. Tbh I think that's what it looks like. One of my tanks had that and I was positive it was a crack, even scratched it a bit and it didn't come off so I messed with it a little more, and yep, just sealant strings that stuck extra well. Maybe run a razor blade over it (carefully!) before you do anything else.
 

glittercat

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Turns out that one was sealant, and one was a scratch in the glass - d'oh!!

The V shaped one was a scratch/crack so they replaced the tank. The other one was easy to remove with a blade.

Both set up now (partially). Though, very annoying, one filter is pretty much silent but the other one is really noisy. So I need to work out why as both set ups in terms of filter equipment and positioning are identical. Something around the impeller maybe.

Now need more plants and another piece of bogwood or redmoor / spiderwood...
 

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doomsdave

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I can relate. The only plant I've managed to keep alive is the hornwort (barely though). And also the carpeting plant.

It's best to stick to plants meant for low tech tanks first. The ones that don't require a lot of light or fertilizer. I dose the aquarium water with Seachem Flourish but in very very small amounts every other week.

I also have two 6500k bulbs running over the fish for 6 - 8 hours a day. Can't do more than that because high light requires more CO2 to grow.

I also give them some "light breaks" every few days to give the natural CO2 time to build up.
Oh yowza this thread takes me back 35 + years when I had a bad (good?) fish habit. Started when I was a kid in Ohio.

Try, if you can, to get good at water plants. They are so glorious and the fish mostly love them too. Saggitaria, Cryptocorine and many more. A well planted tank turns into an old master picture of texture and color.

More effort to maintain but so wonderfully worth it.
 
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Graceful-Lily

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So ever spawn any tropical fish?

or, even better, non-tropicals?
Only guppies a very long time ago. I didn't even breed them purposely, we just mixed everyone together and they had a good time. Constantly had pregnant females. Eventually, I had to buy a breeder box.

I've also "accidentally" bred African Cichlids and I'd love to do that again sometime in the future. But my main focus right now is betta fish.

I've heard bettas that grow up together don't normally fight and some people have managed to keep males together this way but I'm not sure how true that is.

I don't think I have any more room for fish tanks though. 😖
 

doomsdave

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I once bred Bettas.

Bought the most glorious Siamese Expletive Fighting Fish and he was this brilliant Marxist Leninist red shading to near black at the fin and tail tips. I was like ten or eleven. Called him Captain Blood.

Stuck him in a five gallon tank with metal frame 😎 and the pump didn’t work but he was alone and was gorgeous. If I looked as glorious as him ...

AHEM

A buddy came by, took a look and said “get him a woman“ or words to effect and he gave me two female bettas. One kinda hid but CB and the other well ....

heater got stuck at 90 F and he builds this bubble nest one bubble at a time I fell asleep watching.

And they spawned right in front of mom and me

and the babies hatched lots of work ensued
 
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Graceful-Lily

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I once bred Bettas.

Bought the most glorious Siamese Expletive Fighting Fish and he was this brilliant Marxist Leninist red shading to near black at the fin and tail tips. I was like ten or eleven. Called him Captain Blood.

Stuck him in a five gallon tank with metal frame 😎 and the pump didn’t work but he was alone and was gorgeous. If I looked as glorious as him ...

AHEM

A buddy came by, took a look and said “get him a woman“ or words to effect and he gave me two female bettas. One kinda hid but CB and the other well ....

heater got stuck at 90 F and he builds this bubble nest one bubble at a time I fell asleep watching.

And they spawned right in front of mom and me

and the babies hatched lots of work ensued
What happened to the offspring?
 
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