Back With Bettas

[jackyb07s4]

Hi y'all.

It's been a long time since I've posted on these forums. Was a very keen fish keeper up until around 6 months ago where my guppy tank started to go downhill untill I had no fish left I felt so guilty so I decided to take a break.
I miss looking after my fish and staring at them for hours on end, so I thought I'd try again with a few male bettas.

I've not kepped many bettas before; 1 male and 1 female.

At this stage, I'm quite keen on keeping two males in a divided tank, but I don't really know what sort of tank to get. I got a few coconuts the other day for "caves" that looked like a nice addition for a tank.

There are so many different varieties of bettas too, I don't know which ones I like best. I really like crowntails and half moons, yet I'm not so keen on v tails. Does anybody know some reliable breeders in the UK? As for breeding them, I wont consider it untill I've got more experience with bettas, since guppy breeding is a different skill all together from betta breeding.

All replies welcomed

thanks


EDIT: Sorry If this is in the wrong section or anything, it's been so long since I've been on.

 

[nessar]

Look on ebay, theres loads at the moment being sold by a member of this forum. And others of course.

Or google 'the betta lady' or 'betta bred' (they wont have stock for a few weeks) or 'betta rice aquatics'.
You should get a good few come up.

I think most people agree that best minimum for a betta is 5 gallons each. Although they can live in anything upwards of a gallon - just not as healthily.

Make sure the divider is dark if possible, I know one of the members here (Woodstock) has had issues with tail biting because his bettas can see each other all day.

 

[jackyb07s4]

Look on ebay, theres loads at the moment being sold by a member of this forum. And others of course.

Or google 'the betta lady' or 'betta bred' (they wont have stock for a few weeks) or 'betta rice aquatics'.
You should get a good few come up.

I think most people agree that best minimum for a betta is 5 gallons each. Although they can live in anything upwards of a gallon - just not as healthily.

Make sure the divider is dark if possible, I know one of the members here (Woodstock) has had issues with tail biting because his bettas can see each other all day.

Ok, I was thinking about using my old 14Gal (60litre) tank, should that be fine with the divider? With a divider, does this require two filters and two heaters? Or is one of each fine? Sorry for my inexperience, I've never had to use dividers before.

 

[nessar]

Yeah that would give plenty of room for each, 7 gallons is more than enough Make sure you put plants in that they can hide behind to get away from the sight of the other betta.

I've never done it so I'm not sure, but I believe it depends what divider you use. If you use mesh the water just flows through nicely, so you only need one heater and filter, but if you use a glass divider you might need two becasue the water wouldnt be able to get through it.

I would ask someone who has a divided betta tank just to make sure.

 

[jackyb07s4]

Yeah that would give plenty of room for each, 7 gallons is more than enough Make sure you put plants in that they can hide behind to get away from the sight of the other betta.

I've never done it so I'm not sure, but I believe it depends what divider you use. If you use mesh the water just flows through nicely, so you only need one heater and filter, but if you use a glass divider you might need two becasue the water wouldnt be able to get through it.

I would ask someone who has a divided betta tank just to make sure.

I was just planning on using a mesh, mainly because it's probably a heck of a lot cheaper. I was also thinking about placing plants on either side of the divider just to reduce the temptation for any jumping Are the coconuts a good idea for caves? Also do different varieties require different conditions? For example I was planning to get a crowntail and either a plakat or a superdelta, would this be ok? If anyone has some nice combos, please say!

Thanks nessar for you kind and helpful advice

 

[nessar]

oh and this site has some cool-looking ones, they sell on ebay as well after the fish have been for sale on the site for 7 days
http/bettaglobe.niceboard.net/UK-Betta-Breeder-Importer-Sales-h5.htm

hope im allowed to post that link

 

[nessar]

Sorry didnt see you had replied. Yeah make coconut caves - so cheap! Costs like 60p for a coconut from Morrissons. Boil them before you put them in though (after youve scraped out all the white stuff) and sand off any sharp edges.

I dont think different types need much variation in conditions, although generally the longer the fins the harder it is for them to swim, so maybe put the filter on the plakat side - you might need to kill the current still though.

 

[jackyb07s4]

Sorry didnt see you had replied. Yeah make coconut caves - so cheap! Costs like 60p for a coconut from Morrissons. Boil them before you put them in though (after youve scraped out all the white stuff) and sand off any sharp edges.

I dont think different types need much variation in conditions, although generally the longer the fins the harder it is for them to swim, so maybe put the filter on the plakat side - you might need to kill the current still though.

ok, great. Thanks for the link, they look exactly the sort of ones I'm looking for

 

[englishbettas]

Just to be on the safe side i wouldn't let the two males be able to see each other as this is apparently meant to make them fight and i wouldnt put the male and the female together either as they may try to breed and get aggressive.
hope this is helpful as i am new to the site
thanks

 

[jackyb07s4]

Just to be on the safe side i wouldn't let the two males be able to see each other as this is apparently meant to make them fight and i wouldnt put the male and the female together either as they may try to breed and get aggressive.
hope this is helpful as i am new to the site
thanks

I'm not getting a female lol And they can't fight if there is a barrier between them

I probably will eventually get a female when I start to bred them, but that wont be for a while. Thanks for your advice.

 

[nessar]

Yeah that site has some beautiful crowntails
I love the blue and red one .

 

[englishbettas]

Just to be on the safe side i wouldn't let the two males be able to see each other as this is apparently meant to make them fight and i wouldnt put the male and the female together either as they may try to breed and get aggressive.
hope this is helpful as i am new to the site
thanks

I'm not getting a female lol And they can't fight if there is a barrier between them

I probably will eventually get a female when I start to bred them, but that wont be for a while. Thanks for your advice.

i know they wont be able to fight but it will most likely drive them crazy not being able to get to each other i wouldnt recommend it unless you were goin to be using a coloured divider i personally wouldnt do it.
thanks
englishbettas

 

[soph_betta]

I have a devided betta tank and it is working really well!
If you looky in the journals and pictures section you can see my betta tank
I used a pennplax devider (you can get them on ebay) find one a bit bigger than your tank size and cut to fit easy!! when mine came it was clear but in a few days they go cloudy so the bettas cant see each other!!