Dark_Rider2k3

So all has been fine in my tanks, and so I went on a 3-day vacation to Conneaut and Lake Erie in PA. Also went to Cedar Point today.

I just came home to find 2 crazy things:

1. The power was out yesterday and so my lights were out of whack.

and the worst of all:

2. My tank divider for my bettas somehow got messed up, and my Male was able to go see my Female

I noticed something odd when I saw my female hiding in the corner, and then I looked and saw my male at the top.. I was like OH NO OH NO OH NO!!!

I was able to move the divider a little and "coax" him to the other side. he saw me and swam to me, so I got him on the other side.

Good news is that my female is not injured really badly.. she has a few nipped fins, but other then that she seems okay... I do not think they were in there that long.

but that's scary!!! and now i'm not sure if I like having them divided like that =/

Any thoughts/suggestions?

capekate

Sorry to hear that you are having problems with your divider. I use the dividers on two of my 10g Betta tanks and never had a problem with them. Do you keep the water level lower than usual with the divided tank? It helps to keep them from jumping over. Also, did you use the clips that come with the divider? It will keep the divider tight to the sides if you do and prevent any slipping.

Dark_Rider2k3

could you by chance show a picture of the cips? I didn't exactly get how to attach them w/out messing up the hood =/. When I tried attaching them, it made the hood pop up a little..

Pandora

Also, if you know you're not going to want to use the tank for anything but a divided tank in the future, you can silicone the divider right to the glass. That's what I used to do when I had divided tanks. No divider slippage! There's still a slight chance of jumping, but at least you know the divider itself won't fail you.
Glad to hear they were both ok!

capekate

The hood may pop up a teeny bit, but it should still sit pretty tight on the top of the tank.
I will see if I can get a photo for you... decent enough for you to be able to check it out.

Martinismommy

That is a scary thing for sure......I'm glad they are both OK......I have my 1st divided 10 gallon and have not had a problem yet (knock on wood) I do use the clips and it doesn't seem to affect the hood much at all....

Here is a photo of the clips....Also make sure the water level is low enough to prevent jumping....

Attached Images

Divided tank.jpg (401.2 KB, 26 views)

Dark_Rider2k3

That's a good idea, but I don't want to really seal it completely to there...

Yeah I am not sure how much mine would pop up, but i'll check it out tonight. Thanks!!

Thanks for the pic!! I'll mess with the hood when I get home from school/work. And yeah it was soooo scary... I didn't catch it at first but when I did I was like OH MAN!! Really freaked me out.. but they both were fine (though i'm stopping by my house after work to make sure they are still fine..) The water level is also lower to prevent jumping.. I made sure of that

BTW, While I am fixing the divider (I may have to take it out as it is looking quite bad), do you think it's a good idea to take the bettas out and put them in a bag with water? I don't want them getting to each other while I'm fixing it.

thanks!!

Martinismommy

What I do when I need to make a repair is scoop them out and put them into the cups they came home in....I like the cups because they have the lid with the air hole....I never throw the cups away...I've found that they come in handy...

Devon

I have a divided 10 gallon for Esteban and Consuela and have not had any problems with it, but after hearing some of the stories here on FL about unscheduled betta visits, I am thinking of setting everyone up with their own tank. Especially after seeing how ecstatic Bowie is over having a 10 gallon all to himself!
You definitely want to remove them from their tank if you're going to be messing with the divider, not just because they will get at one another, but because the divider fits so tight that it can snap out and flip to the side pretty hard when you remove it... would hurt any fishes unlucky enough to be in the way.
I also keep the little plastic Deathco cups... they come in really handy for all kinds of tank maintenance things.

Dark_Rider2k3

I actually have them too.. I may use them.

I am going to have to take some time to get the divider completely straight.. i'll take the hood completely off and move the gravel around to straighten it out..

I don't think i'll worry about the otos and i'll leave them in there.. they won't be bothered...

Dark_Rider2k3

Just wanted to say that everything went smoothly. My 2 bettas didnt put up any fuss when I took them out the tank. In fact, my bettas both swam into their cups and were very patient with me..

I got the divider secured down good this time, and also got the clips attached to secure it to the sides .

The water got a little bad but I did a WC during this so all should be well. I'll check the water parameters in a sec to make sure everything went okay .

Thanks again for the help everyone!!

Devon

Awesome! Glad everything worked out.

Just a tip, whenever I'm digging around in the gravel moving things and kicking up dust, I usually run the aquarium for a good while with the power filter on high until the water clears up before I put the fish back in.

emilai333

I had one of my boys circumvent the divider in my tank back when I had it divided (actually my bettas are all still at the sitters, I haven't had a chance to go get them since I got back from being overseas). He got in with another male. I walked in from class and immediately noticed, no Notus. He was notoriously horrible about getting himself stuck under or behind things, but my dividers had worked for a year with no problem. But no, this time he had wriggled himself over to visit Indra. There were my two most aggressive boys, calmly swimming beside each other with no evidence of either one having attacked the other at any point. Despite their calmness at the time, I freaked out and went after Notus with the net, then tightened security. Now my bettas have their own tanks, yay!

COBettaCouple

Those dividers can be tricky with these smart and curious fish, needing us to be sure they don't sneak under, jump over or squeeze by on the sides.