A betta tommorrow

[splashluff]

wow, I'm shocked and impressed that you even returned. THANK YOU for giving them their own homes to recover and be happy in, and taking time now to do tonnes of research. Personally, I'll never agree with keeping male Bettas together no matter what. I see a lot more fun, enjoyment and healthiness on the fish and the peoples part if you just got a 10g and divided it into 4 seperate homes for 4 happy boys. And, just like it is with dogs/cats/horses/any other pet, Betta girls and boys can life perfectly happy lives without breeding. To me, having 1000 (which can definitely occur if you have 3 females in one tank) fry swimming around in a 10g with 4 adult Bettas spells disaster. Betta breeding is NOT easy, and most of the fry will most likely be eaten in a community tank anyway. Bettas are unlike Mollies, Platies, and basically any other fish, its NOT a good idea to breed them in anything besides a private spawning tank (where the mom is removed immediately and the dad is removed once the fry are free-swimming).

However, I completely agree with Wuv, a hex will just not work. Look for long, not deep, tanks, the larger the better. They have large 20-gallon bookshelf tanks that look like a perfect female community, they're really long and perfect shallowness for Bettas!

 

[Alix]

im glad that youve desided to stop being a little idiot. an i hope it works. but i use to not even be able to get 2 males to be in a 10gal while i run an empty out a 1gal fill it up an run back put some contitioner in it put it on the snake cage an grab the net. by then there is already hardcore flairing or a nipped fin..not usually a nipped fin. jus a lotta huffin an puffin.

 

[CatLover]

Wonderful! I'm very proud of you for coming around! Not many people in this world can swallow their pride and do that.

Once you get a longer tank and fill it with tons of thick plants, I think your betta community will be tremendously better than your first one. Good luck!

 

[KeddyPie]

Congratulations and deciding to change your plan of action ^^

No matter what, I HIGHLY doubt you'll succeed in a small peaceful community tank. But there are some ways to be more efficient with bigger tanks. I have a large range of silly, silly obscure ideas I'd like to throw out

#1: A kiddie pool. One of the ones about 4-5 feet in diameter, and about a foot and a half high. It's inconvienent for size, but I think if you can get around the jumping, this would be an ideal betta community setting... The major issue I see are filtration. You would need to buy a pong filtration system. I would suggest leaving at least 7 inches of space at the top without water, to help prevent bettas jumping out of tanks. I hope to have this one day, indoors, until I can afford to build an indoor raised pond (this is of course after I get my own house, and then add on a large greenhouse-type room that shares the heating

#2: A high under-bed storage bin. They come in so many sizes. Really, hight of tank is VERY unimportant.... You could probably get one 8 inches high, 4 feet long, and 2 feet wide, for a GOOD price... And in reality, it is not much different then a tank these dimentions, but 4 feet high, for bettas. You can get them crystal clear, and put them on a high table or a dresser. Lids come with Again, filtration is the only problem. Maybe a large in-tank filter.

#3 Sucking it up and buying a really big tank. My random guess is that the bettas are going to try and claim their own territory, and each territory wou8ld be at least one square foot... So you would neet 1 square foot per fish if you don't want much fighitng. Also, you probably need a LOT of fish to spread out the aggression.... 7 or 8 at the least. You would need a large tank. (this paragraph is pure guessing, but I think it is probably fairly accurate)

#4: Switching to females


I would imagine the only way you could convince bettas to not fight in a smaller tank, is to convince them that the other bettas are NO threat to their territory... I think the only POSSIBLE way of accomplishing this is to raise the whole group together from birth, and even then it is highly unlikely.

Given, research and trial-and-error is a good way to test these things, and find loops around them. I completly support such research, because I think a community betta tank that was truly peaceful would be a sire for sore eyes I can see you don't want a larger tank, so you have a VERY daunting task ahead of you!

Good luck!

Katy

And again, thank you for reconsidering your community plan!

 

[FishEnthusiast]

Unless you are willing to invest in a very long tank, like the one in Wuv's post, I wouldn't do it.

You may think that they don't like a lot of decor, but I will tell you from experience, they do like the cover. In fact they need it to be happy. They love live plants, and there are lots out there that will grow profusely with little effort.

Fast growing plants like cabomba, ambulia, java moss and water sprite are cheap and easy to find additions. I have found these plants do well with lower light levels and help to provide cover for safety.

Slower growing plants like java fern and anubias also do great with lower light levels.

Your boys would appreciate them a lot. I had some boys that never used to bubblenest. As soon as I added live plants they started. Especially when the ambulia started to touch the surface of the water.

Sand is a great substrate to use. Easy to clean and cheap! $5 for 25kg here.

Listen to the advice given here. I don't think more than one male in a tank would work. Not the splendens anyway. Maybe go for imbellis instead. They are bettas, but they can and do live peacefully together. Using a small tank just won't work IMO.

 

[Synirr]

Yay for Mr. Shums!! I'm so glad you recognised your mistake and are willing to admit it. That takes a big person indeed

If you're determined to try this again, then I have a few suggestions... first, get related fish from a breeder who have grown up in the same tank together and have never been separated. Honestly, I don't see it working any other way if you're going to try to keep more than one male per tank. If they don't know what it's like to live alone, they're a lot more likely to tolerate the presence of others.

Second, I agree with the others that you are definitely going to need at least a 20 gallon, the longer and wider the better. PetSmart has glass tanks made for reptiles that are long and short, and I think these would be a good choice. The bettas may stay together most of the time and may be small fish, but you have to take into consideration how very large (relatively speaking ) their individual territories can be. It's not about the size of the fish, it's about the size of the territories. The fish need room to get away from one-another when they want to, and to have their own individual space. You'll need to plant the tank heavily and provide at least one cave area per fish so they have their own "rooms", so to speak. Even human siblings find it difficult to share a room, after all!

Now, here's the important bit... when it comes right down to it, and I mean no offence, but your experiment is completely illogical. Bettas as we know them are bred to be aggressive towards one-another... maybe it's just me, but I don't see much sense in trying to force fish that hate one-another with a passion to live together, you know? If I were you, I would just invest in some Betta imbellis, which are a wild type of betta that has not been selectively bred for aggression for hundreds of years. They are much more willing to live in the company of others, even the males, so really that would be the ideal betta community tank. That way, everybody wins

 

[Mr. Shums]

I think a larger tank would suit me much better, I don't mind throwing down the cash for a larger tank but they're just so expensive. Have many of you tried building a tank? Not even from a community standpoint but just a practical way to store these little monsters.

I don't like leaving them in the gallon/half gallon fish bowls.

Also, fish stores dramatically overprice tanks. Any ideas?
I would prefer a fair amount of smaller tanks as well. What size do bettas seem most comfortable with?

Betta distributors websites, ummm and a way to provide heat practically to many smaller tanks.

Is it cheaper to order products online?

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

Bettas do just fine in a clean 2 gallon tank/bowl. Maybe it would be easier and cheaper to keep a small room at a constant warm temperature than to heat every indivual tank. Goodluck and well done for coming back and facing the music Glad you've sorted it all out for now

 

[GuppyDude]

im glad to hear that mr.shums, after reading throgh your last post i had to talk crap to my monitor as the post was closed and i couldn't express my frustration there. im am very glad to see that you have stuck around to learn more, thogh i dont think your plans are reasonable or possible, no matter how u go about it, who am i to say what is and isn't possible. i wish you luck

 

[SRC]

B) Click'um link......V


HOW TO BUILD A FISHTANK

 

[Naughtygirlrlw]

Try going to garage sales and thrift (second hand) stores. Not always but sometimes you can find bigger tanks at these places for around $20 or so. Keep in mind though that you have to keep going back as they get new stuff in almost everyday. Also do some checking online and see if there are any free sites around you. We have one here in MN, people put stuff on there that is still useful but they're moving or got new stuff and don't want to throw it away or go through the hassle of having a garage sale. If all else fails and you can't afford it, try the RubberMaid! Good luck!

 

[wuvmybetta]

If you go find wuvs thread on her kribs then that type of tank would be ideal. But I'm still not sure about a mixed colony, maybe one male and a few females might just work but a very long tank is what you need.

here it is
its the 13th post down.
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=99153

[snapback]875052[/snapback]​

I agree. That tank would be perfect for something like this. It offers plenty of length and enough space to have territory.

Lots of good ideas in this thread

 

[fishykisses]

Mr Shums
I think if you MUST try this again you should build yourself or like myself and others have suggested look for old tanks as the older styles are long not tall. Here's my tank which I think would be Ideal if you were to try this again.

i don't have betta's in there, but notice all the plants for my other fishies and caves etc. Soon to have many more plants.

 

[xxSarahxx]

Mr. Shums...........You have done the right thing and although it may not have been easy, I think it is absolutely wonderful that you have listened and taken advice and separated your tanks. The benefits will be amazing and you will see your fish looking so much better....in so many ways.
Thank you!!!
I have my male Bettas in 10-15 litre tanks and they love it. I use plastic 'small animal' tanks and small heaters and filters. These are cheap and work well. As well as being easy to clean and care for.
As you have found people are full of ideas and suggestions and advice on here!!
It would be really nice if we can see pictures of your fish when they are back to full health. It might be worth considering something like Bettafix to help your fish heal. Observe them closely for signs of parasites or other infections. Sorry to get slightly side-tracked but I just thought it would be worth mentioning the health of your fish as they have a lot to recover from.
Once again....thanks so much for listening to us and separating the fish. They would give you hugs to say thank you if they could, of that I am sure!!!!
Please stay in touch and keep us updated on what you do.

 

[FishEnthusiast]

Mr Shums
I think if you MUST try this again you should build yourself or like myself and others have suggested look for old tanks as the older styles are long not tall. Here's my tank which I think would be Ideal if you were to try this again.

i don't have betta's in there, but notice all the plants for my other fishies and caves etc. Soon to have many more plants.

[snapback]876064[/snapback]​

I know you mentioned how much you paid earlier in this thread, but I would like to repeat. This was a Buy and Sell find, and only cost $350. This is a 7 foot long tank, 17" high and forgive me if I am wrong, but I think it is 18" deep. That is a great deal. Garage sales are another GREAT place to find cheap tanks.

As for heating small tanks. What I plan to do is create a drip system with my tanks, barracks style. I am going to line my fish up on a shelf and have 2 hoses one going into the tank and one going out. There will be constant filtration through a large sump pump. I will put a submersible heater in the sump, or another holding tank beside it. That way the water is constantly being heated and filtered without the current.

When looking for a tank, longer is better. Even if the thing is only 6 inches top to bottom, they will be ok with that. They are top swimmers, they like the surface. I usually only see mine at the bottom when they are resting.

If you want harder to take care of plants, you can do what fishykisses is in the process of doing. Get retrofit lights so you can boost your watts per gallon. Get a really great CO2 system and proper fertilization. You will have an underwater garden that is just beautiful in no time at all.

Make sure the tank has a tight fitting lid, I don't know if that was mentioned or not. Bettas love to jump. Male and especially female.

I would again like to suggest getting betta imbellis. And failing that, a sibling group that has not yet been separated for any length of time. I think imbellis are a better choice, as there will be much less stress trying to keep them together peacefully.

I am sure there is more I missed, but I can't think of it right now.