10gal Tank For 2 Bettas....

[Lazerus]

Hi all,

I have recently upgraded my community tank of tropical fish to a larger, full planted tank....so I am now left with a nice square 38L/10gal tank with nothing in it.

A blank canvas!

Yesterday, I changed out all the old gravel, cleaned out all the accessories, and put in some organic plant substrate, followed by some 0.5mm smooth round tiny gravel... (as I wanted the option of Corydoras) and I planted some Amazon swordplants and some Twisted vallis.

The tank is up to temperature, with filter running and is now ready for some new stock.
(Before you ask, I have some spare mature filter media waiting in my big tank to put in the old filter once the fish arrive )

So...my questions are:

1. I would like two bettas in the tank.....one male betta and one female betta (or possibly another male betta instead of the female)
Can I use 'plastic canvas' to act as a tank divider, and separate them from each other and use plants to block their view from each other? Would this work? Any pitfalls?

Has anyone used this method in their tank? How did you set it up and what is your experience using it?

2. If I decide to have just one betta in the tank, I would like some tank mates with the betta's, but as far as I can see, the only suitable tank mates are corydoras....which is fine, I now have nice substrate which will suit corys. So, would you recommend corys with the bettas? Is there any other fish that might suit?

Anything else I need to consider to make this tank suitable for a betta?

Thanks!

 

[electric yellow]

I have 2 panda corys and a bristol nose keeping my PK company. There is plastic dividers you can get and cut to size called Penplax. I got mine off ebay. Otherwise your basic shade cloth will do to divide. You need to ensure there are no gaps or there will be problems. How many litres is 10gallons?

 

[Glegorly]

How many litres is 10gallons?

About 40-45

 

[Lazerus]

Thanks for that....yes, according to the label on my tank here, 10 US gals is 37.5Litres. (or 8.2 UK gal)

Okay, so I'm going to have a look at that Penplax stuff and see what it looks like. Great, I didn't have a name for it.

I had read up that the 'plastic canvas' (which is often used for arts & crafts) is just as effective, but really, really cheap....so I'll look into both options.

Which ever is easier to use & clean etc will be the one for me.

 

[betta fish]

Thanks for that....yes, according to the label on my tank here, 10 US gals is 37.5Litres. (or 8.2 UK gal)

Okay, so I'm going to have a look at that Penplax stuff and see what it looks like. Great, I didn't have a name for it.

I had read up that the 'plastic canvas' (which is often used for arts & crafts) is just as effective, but really, really cheap....so I'll look into both options.

Which ever is easier to use & clean etc will be the one for me.

Yes the plastic arts and canvas mesh is cheaper than the Penn Plax dividers, I have also found Bonsai potting mesh to be even cheaper and it has the added bonus of being black instead of white so not as see through getting some slide binders from a stationary shop will help hold them in place

 

[loraxchick]

that would be fine...just make certain that there are absolutely NO GAPS in the divider...they will find even the smallest "overlooked" gap to squeeze through and then just hope you are around to separate the inevitable mayhem that will ensue!

 

[newfishy]

the plastic canvas is also called needle point backing, I use that and plastic binder slides. however I find this set up works best with 2 dividers made and placed back to back (good water movement but totaly not see thru) and then siliconed into an empty aquarium. I had done the suction cups to hold the dividers in place but now after being in the water for many months my suction cups are getting hard and not sticking. so sometime today I need to tear down and silicon all my dividers in.

heres a photo of my divided grow outs.

 

[Lazerus]

Cool!!!

They look great!

I'm still deciding about what to do, but now I know it can be done, with success...and I have names for the material I'm talking about...which makes things much easier!

Ok so, I'll go off and think about it.

 

[GSD]

I used plexiglass drilled with holes for my divider, much less noticable than plastic.

 

[Lazerus]

I imagine the Plexiglass would be less conspicuous alright!

I had a look at the bonsai mesh though, and I think I like the idea of a black divider... my tank has black trimming and lid etc, so it might look quite nice? I can only find small pieces though online, not large enough for my tank.

I'm thinking tiny black cable ties with the excess bits cut off will keep it all in place & neat looking, if I've to join up pieces together?

Anyway, I'm going to go to my local garden centre and see what type of materials I can find!

I'm definitely going to get mesh to cover the top of the tank too, to avoid any jumping over!



Anyway, I'll see what materials I can get....

 

[newfishy]

plexiglass is very nice looking, though much more expensive, if I the money to spare I would get the smoke colored plexiglass and drill many holes in it and silicon it in, tank setups like that are stunning. the needle point backing is .99 cents a 12x16 inch sheet at michales crafts