capekate

I have a clear plastic divider in my 10g tank that I bought from the LFS. Its fine, does the job but my question is this. I now have Precious, the female betta sharing the 10g with Phoenix the male betta. They did flare alot at each other in the beginning.. (since saturday) and now seem to have calmed down. BUT.. What I would like to do is somehow color the divider so that they really cant see each other. What material can I use to do this? markers? acrylic paints? Id think these are toxic.. is there any kind of paint that I can use to color the divider? I really want to put Precious back in her 2.5 g tank, I think she was much happier there then in the 5g space she has now. She is so tiny and seems lost in all that water. Id rather put the new male betta, 8 cents, into the shared divided tank because he is much bigger than Precious.
any suggestions on what I can use to color the divider? thanks, ~ kate

Phloxface

After about a month the dividers color themselves. Mine have turned white from the minerals in the water and all the fish can see is shadows on the other side. I wouldn't try to use anything on them that could hurt your fish.

capekate

thanks phloxface...
guess I will just have to wait it out then. I just hoped there was something that others used and worked at covering it up. I really do want to put the other male in there, instead of the female that is there now. But feel that the two males seeing each other may be worse off than just a female and male seeing each other. I dont know....

Phloxface

You could try partially blocking the view with a bushy plant or two. Just don't put things so close that it blocks the circulation. They do get used to each other and will ignore each other most of the time after a while. Just be sure there is no space at the top for either to jump through. You'd be amazed what tiny holes they can get through!

chickadee

I have 2 males in my 25 gallon and the divider is made of Plexiglas and very clear (like glass) and they totally ignore each other after the first day. They did not even flare at each other the first day, just swim back and forth along the divider together occasionally. Now they go about their own business like the other side is not even there, but they are used to seeing other bettas as my tanks in the other parts of the house have always been in sight of each other or sitting right next to each other so they are used to seeing other bettas all the time. That may be why I am not having any trouble. Of course the Plexigas not having any holes for circulation means I have to have double heaters and double filtration but it is worth it as it makes a nice looking tank..

Rose

capekate

HI Rose,
I would love to be able to put the male ( 8 cents) into the shared 10g tank with Phoenix the other male. It would give the big guy more room than the 2.5. I think that Precious was much more happier in the 2.5 g than she is in the 'larger' 5 g. It just seems that its soooo much room for one lil girly like her. She is a tiny one, about half the size of Phoenix, next to her. hmmm... maybe I will try moving 8 cents to the tank and put Precious back in her tank and see how they get along. Will see what the day brings on...
I really like the idea of the shared 10gs for the bettas. It saves money to be able to use one heater, and one filter and one pump and air stone. With the divider having all the lil holes in it, unlike the plexiglass which doesnt its the finanically easiest way for me to go. Hopefully the two guys will get along side by side. I really wish someone would have been able to come up with an idea on how to darken the divider tho. I dont have a clue. I think i need to go and buy a new air stone. THe long wand one that I have is only allowing a trickle of air to come out in only one spot on the stone. It may be broke. So maybe with a new air stone, and a wall of bubbles will keep them from really seeing each other. who knows... may try it out and see.

chickadee

If you go online and look for a large craft outlet they carry colored plastic canvas like dark blue or dark brown that would help to darken the divider but be sure when you get it that you order the correct size and the ultra rigid as they come in different sizes and strengths and can be too soft to hold up. The plastic canvas also does not work in larger tanks for those of you with very large tanks, in case some of you have really large tanks and want to try. I purchased the strongest canvas they had and in the big size and bought all the trimmings and used 4 layers of it and it could not it would not hold up to the size of the 25 gallon tank with all the water in it. It folded and let the fish get around the edges and I had several bad moments there. This is why it had to be plexiglas for that tank.

For a 10 gallon tank the plastic canvas would work fine. Just be sure to get the braces just like the ones that were shown in the picture. They do work.

Rose

capekate

Thanks Rose, I will check it out. For now the two males are in the 10g tank divided by the clear divider. I just had to put Precious back into her 2.5 g tank, where she seemed much happier and now is. Phoenix, the red betta pretty much ignores 8cents the other male betta. But 8cents sure does flare alot and I want to be able to calm him down abit with a darker divider. thanks for the suggestion, there is a large craft store about 25 miles away so will have to check it out asap.