Betta Tube

[Jessie J.]

Has anyone ever though of connecting a bunch of 3-4 in. diameter clear plastic or acrylic tubes together to make a tube city for betta fish? Mine love to swim around but their tank is restricting them from following me through different rooms. I think this idea would be pretty cool because it would be like the betta fish was a dog, being able to swim around the house and see what everyone is doing- sort of like a waterproof hamster tube city. Ideas? Thoughts? I know it might seem silly to do this for one little betta fish but I was just wondering, and if the tube were bigger, it could be used for other fish too.
The tube could be connected to the wall, and well, I'll just draw a diagram and post it so you can see what I mean.

 

[trash.binh91]

I've thought about it, but I haven't done that. Imagine multiple tubes connecting to multiple tanks!

 

[FishGuest5123]

I can’t imagine cleaning it and looking for the betta all the time. I would imagine the temp would fluctuate too in various parts of the home. How are you planning to filter it? Air flow? Nothing could go in that could possibly plug it up. I would be constantly worrying and checking for leaks all over the place. If the betta is in the pipe, how does it come up for air? Doesn’t sound safe to me.

 

[Jessie J.]

Thank you @Deanasue and @trash.binh91 . What so you think about a 5-inch diameter tube connecting two tropical community tanks?

 

[trash.binh91]

Thank you @Deanasue and @trash.binh91 . What so you think about a 5-inch diameter tube connecting two tropical community tanks?

That'd be amazing! It sounds similar to the Newport Aquarium's fish tanks in one of the exhibits. There is two large tanks, filled with Celebes and threadfin rainbowfish with a tube connecting the two planted tanks. To be fair, it was home to a giant pacific octopus before it passed away...

 

[FishGuest5123]

My first question is why not just buy an aquarium large enough for all to begin with? Too much work for me but I’m not a builder either.

 

[trash.binh91]

My first question is why not just buy an aquarium large enough for all to begin with? Too much work for me but I’m not a builder either.

I feel the point is a sort of enrichment. Buying a big tank works, but this could be a possible chance of aesthetic, and if she stuck with the betta idea, it would provide a sense to take the animal to swim around along her (as she stated it likes to follow her?). The aquarium is large enough (hopefully), and maybe she just wants to try something out.

 

[Colin_T]

There are tanks like that available. Someone posted one on here a while back and it had a couple of tanks joined together with a plastic tube. Personally I think it is a waste of money and you are better off just having a decent sized tank with plants and a filter for the fish.

 

[NickAu]

First whos going to drill the glass?
Next if it dont work you are left with 2 tanks with 5 inch holes in them.

 

[victorwei]

Really liked your idea and here are some thoughts that might be helpful.


There is totally no need to drill holes on any tank, as long as the connecting tubes are sealed, you can dip all the open ends in water and raise the tubes as high as you want, the only thing you need is an air valve at the highest point of the tube network to suck all the air out of the tube.

You can build this system anywhere in your house, but the tube must be sealed tight or this whole thing won’t work. When you finished building, make sure that all the ends are fully submerged in the tank water as I mentioned previously, and start sucking air out of the air valve. As the air is being sucked out of the tube, the water in all the tank will come in the tube to take its place, eventually fill the whole system in tank water, during this step you will need to check the water level of all the tank to make sure that all the open ends of the tubes are dipped in water or air will get in.

When all the air are sucked out of the tube, seal up the air valve, probably left it operable for later use, and voila!

The advantage of this system is that should you grow tired of this project, or bailed half way, you won’t end up with several drilled tank, and you can always release the water back into the tank by opening the valve, and take the tubes off for cleaning. Besides, should leakage happen, it is most likely that the water will flow back into the tanks rather than leak out everywhere. However you should keep plenty of empty space in the tank for the water to flow back. Also all the tank should be at the same level, or the water in the tube will flow from the highest tank into the lowest, probably causing leak.

 

[Guppylover3x]

I agree with some of the above comments, a more ideal option would be to upgrade the tank. Lovely creative idea, however this would be a lot of maintenance. Upgrading your aquarium on the other hand would be more straight forward. This would probably leave your Betta a lot happier too, especially if the tank had live plants at present. Best of luck with whichever decision you go ahead with!