My betta doesn't like his new tank!

steffi0122

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I just transfered my betta of 6 months to a smaller tank. He was previuosly in a 5.5 gallon tank with 4 platies, but he wasn't doing so well. The platies were nipping at his fins and generally terrorizing my poor betta. His long beautiful fins are all short now...i heard that fish fins grow back in time and i didn;t want him catching any disease so i bought him his own smaller tank to share with a new betta (my newest addition). The tank is about 1.5 gallons and i have divided it in half with a divider to keep the bettas apart. It is equipped with an undergravel filter and a light and i have put plants in as well to make him feel more at home. However, about once a day he tries to jump out of the tank through a tiny little hole at the fron of the tank. I am not worrying about him getting out (the hole is far to small for that) but i am worried that he is not happy in his new home. Should i move him back to his tank and let him get nipped at once and a while? What can i do!
 
I don't think that he is tying to get at the other one at all auctully. my new one is the more agressive of the two...he is always flaring and trying to attack the other one. My older one just seems to ignore him though. Also the spot that he is trying to jump through is at the front of the tank....nowhere near the other betta.
 
he's jus the opposite of one of my bettas. he's only happy in his little dual betta hex thing (originally bought him a big posh 5 gal, then moved to a 2 gal, then a 1 and finally into the feeder shrimp holding area, the hex, now he's finally happy). could be that he doesn't want to be near the other fish, could be he wants more space, could be bad water. i'd move him to his own tank and let the other guy have that 1.5 gal all to himself too. they'll both be happier.
 
Ok i just have one question. The tank that the two bettas are in now is much bigger than the little jars that they were living in at the pet store. And you can buy betta tanks and betta hex's that are ALOT smaller. So why would this tank be any different for the two of them? The space they have to swim in is bigger than if i stuck them in a betta bowl or something. How can this tank POSSIBLY be too small for them?
 
Also....when i bought this tank it was specially designed for two bettas to live in...it came WITH the divider.
 
Just because something is sold, does not make it a good product.

I'm not saying anything one way or another, but this is always something to keep in mind.
 
hey hey no need to get defenseful. all I am saying is that for bettas to really thrive they should be in a tank no smaller than 2 gallons bythemselves. I kept bettas in small tank for many years and none of them lasted more than 6 months. When i got a 2 gallon he has lasted 3 years. Its just my personal opinion as well as many other peoples.

You could live in one tiny room your whole life, but would you be happy?
 
some bettas need more space. others are perfectly happy in smaller tanks (like my one, he thrives in it). as CA said, just because they sell it doesn't mean its any good (have you ever looked at the boxes the acrylic 5 and 7 gal tanks come in? they show like 15 fish (all of incorrect scale and size). and we here all know that just isn't right.
if your betta isn't happy in there, try something else, thats all we're saying. you asked for help, we're just giving our opinions :)
 
Its just a generalization that all bettas like to live in a tiny bowl/jar. They however are like any other fish, the more space the better. The small divided tanks are for your comfort, they are made to look nice with things in your living room but think how the betta feels only being able to swim 3 or 4 times his body length. :sad: I give all my bettas atleast 2 gallons of water and now that i do that (instead of putting them in jars) they live 7 years instead of 1. I bought a small betta hex but it quickly got dirty and gross. I removed the divider and bought another tank and if they could talk they would be thanking me, then yelling at me for cramping them in it.
 

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