Funny thing happened in my Betta tank...

I was feeding the betta fish and got to the females tank. As I was feeding one of them, all of a sudden Precious was swimming next to Darling. I was like... whaaaa ? LOL... well it seems that Precious jumped over the divider and decided she wasn't going to wait her turn for pellets. I thought that was so funny... and decided to watch them interact for awhile. I got out my camera and took a movie of them together, since it wasn't something that was going to happen again. They really got along very well, I was surprised.
Here is the video of them together... ;D

~ kate

 

Very nice video. Your bettas are really gorgeous - such BIG girls!!

I wonder if Precious thought "Hey, how did I get here??" when she landed in Darling's tank.

 

great vid!

 

I wouldn't count on it not happening again! My girls tend to any time I'm paying more attention to one than the other thinks is right!

 

LOL Barbrella.... I bet that is exactly what Precious was thinking.. and they both were probably in shock at finding themselves on the same side as the other.


Thanks Dave...;D

HI Luvabetta ..... you may be right there! I will have to watch them closer lol. Hmmm.... been thinking maybe a 'play date' once in awhile.. hehe...

Thanks for checking out the video of my girls.. ;D

~ kate

 

been thinking maybe a 'play date' once in awhile.. hehe...

That might not be a bad idea, if you're there to watch that they play nice.

You could float something on top or give them a new toy to distract them while they play.

 

That was really neat to watch, glad you were there to take the vid Did you buy your divider or make it? I've been wanting to put two bettas in a 10 gallon divided, but didn't know what the best divider would be. Also I didn't see how you are filtering, can you explain? Are females the best to put in a divided tank? Sorry for all the ? but I'm really interested in doing this

 

HI Barbrella, I would sit in the chair in front of them to watch. If there was a sign of aggression I would move them back to their own side asap. They really seemed to enjoy each others company.. if nothing but to break up the monotony! ;D I would do this only once in a while.

~ kate

That was really neat to watch, glad you were there to take the vid Did you buy your divider or make it? I've been wanting to put two bettas in a 10 gallon divided, but didn't know what the best divider would be. Also I didn't see how you are filtering, can you explain? Are females the best to put in a divided tank? Sorry for all the ? but I'm really interested in doing this

HI Drea,
Glad to help! I bought the divider from Petsmart. I don't remember the name of the product tho it didnt cost much, about 10-11 dollars. Its very sturdy and easy to set up. I have one filter going. I switch sides every week. The divider is made up of round very small holes and the water is able to flow through each side of the tank. Eventually I will put two smaller filters in on each side.
I think that females are best to put in the divided tanks. IMO they are not as aggressive as the males are, and evenually get more curious of each other rather than being aggressive. My girls hardly ever flare at each other. Plus the males IMO again need a ten gal tank rather than a five gal space due to their long fins and larger size. I'm very happy with the divided ten gal tank and I'm able to have two females instead of just one! ;D

~ kate

 

Thanks. Kate very helpful info. I thought having girls would be better too. Gosh, I want to pursue this, and I will let you know how it goes. I have a 10 gallon cycled, just would need the divider. yea team!

 

Thanks. Kate very helpful info. I thought having girls would be better too. Gosh, I want to pursue this, and I will let you know how it goes. I have a 10 gallon cycled, just would need the divider. yea team!

Sounds great Drea.. and to think you already have a cycled 10 gallon tank!
Alright! Sounds fantastic... and be sure and let us know how it goes. Hopefully you have a Petsmart or any of those chainstore pet shops nearby?

;D
~ kate

 

Sounds great Drea.. and to think you already have a cycled 10 gallon tank!
Alright! Sounds fantastic... and be sure and let us know how it goes. Hopefully you have a Petsmart or any of those chainstore pet shops nearby?

;D
~ kate

Yup, got lots of stores nearby, my 10 gallon had a ciclid in it, I gave him to my LFS to find him another owner. They are good about that, but it was still hard to give him away.:-\

 

Yup, got lots of stores nearby, my 10 gallon had a ciclid in it, I gave him to my LFS to find him another owner. They are good about that, but it was still hard to give him away.:-\

Great, you will find the divider then. You will want to restock that tank soon if there are no fish in it now before you loose the beneficial bacteria. I had mine empty for almost two weeks and it went through a small minI cycle that showed some ammonia after I put fish in it. I was doing more water changes because of it. I did 'feed' the tank with fish food, but not enough times I guess.
Its always hard to have to give away your fish but sometimes its all you can do. I wish you happiness with some female Betta's, you will enjoy them very much! ;D

~ kate

 

Okay, glad you mention the importance of 0 fish time, it's been since yesterday, so I'll get busy and also monitor with testing too!;D

 

I really enjoyed that video!!! Thank you for sharing!!

 

Nice vid! You have very pretty bettas. I'm surprised they got along so well. I've always wanted to see what mine would do if I put them together, but I wouldn't do it on purpose since I don't want to be overrun with babies.

Drea-I think a divided betta tank is a great plan. You could do 2 females or a male & a female, just not 2 males. I think 5 gals is ok for a male alhtough my guy is on the smallish side.

 

Nice vid! You have very pretty bettas. I'm surprised they got along so well. I've always wanted to see what mine would do if I put them together, but I wouldn't do it on purpose since I don't want to be overrun with babies.

Drea-I think a divided betta tank is a great plan. You could do 2 females or a male & a female, just not 2 males. I think 5 gals is ok for a male alhtough my guy is on the smallish side.

HI Omorrokh
Thanks... I also wouldnt put a female in with a male. I wouldnt want babies either lol.. But my two girls seem to get along pretty well and I was very surprised by that.

I agree.. I wouldnt put two males in a divided tank either. I have seen how they flare at each other all the time. That's why my guys are in their own tanks.

~ kate

 

That's an awesome vid, Kate. It's almost worth removing the partition once in a while and letting them have their 'sociable' time and swimming space, then putting it again when you're not supervising.

 

HI Armadillo, thanks! ;D
I had thought of taking down the divider to give them more swimming room and places to go so they are not so close to each other. But I know from reading that they will not in the long run get along together over time, so I decided to keep the divider up and will just let them have some time together when I can supervise. I would love it if they were able to get along enough that I was able to remove the divider. But its a pain to take out and put back in and end up disturbing the substrate and decorations in the process. :-\

~ kate

 

Cute! Makes me wish my sorority could have worked. When they play, you wouldn't think they could kill each other.

 

Cute! Makes me wish my sorority could have worked. When they play, you wouldn't think they could kill each other.

HI Allie,,,
thanks. ;D You are so right about that! I know that you really tried the sorority route. It would be so very nice if we were able to keep females together. When they play, as you said it seems that all would be well. That is why if I put them together from time to time for the interaction, I will always be sitting in front of the tank with the net handy.

~ kate

 

Kate: there's a sticky on making your own divider - it's almost exactly what you'd get at petsmart but you can make it for about $2. It works beautifully.

I've tested the water on the right because the filter is on the left, and monitored the temp on the left because the heater's on the right... no problems. Except for the jumping! Play dates sound like a good idea.

-Beth

 

I tried the sorority route too, they seemed to get along okay. But I changed my mind - this was a great explanation by COBettaCouple:

It's extremely rare that a sorority tank works with Betta and of the times that it does work, a single change of any kind that upsets the territorial balance brings a violent end to the attempt.

 

Kate: there's a sticky on making your own divider - it's almost exactly what you'd get at petsmart but you can make it for about $2. It works beautifully.

I've tested the water on the right because the filter is on the left, and monitored the temp on the left because the heater's on the right... no problems. Except for the jumping! Play dates sound like a good idea.

-Beth

Thanks Beth, I will look for that, I did once before, but must have missed it!

 

HI Kate, I loved the video..I forgot what beautiful big girls you have, they really are amazing. If I was ever somewhere that sold healthy girls, I would love to try them again.You really lucked out and got two spectacular ones!

Val

 

HI Val
yes, I have had good luck with the bettas. Have only bought five of them and lost one after a week. These guys have been with me for 9 months and about 7 months. How time does fly! ;D Now if I can only have such good luck with my other fish! :-\ Some day you will find a healthy female when you are not looking... and make a wonderful happy home for her! ;D

~ kate

 

I tried the sorority route too, they seemed to get along okay. But I changed my mind - this was a great explanation by COBettaCouple:

It's extremely rare that a sorority tank works with Betta and of the times that it does work, a single change of any kind that upsets the territorial balance brings a violent end to the attempt.

I had 3 girls together for 2 months...what upset the harmony is one of them got a tumor, got beaten up and died. Then the last 2 turned on each other immediately. Amazing how fast it changed.

 

WOW! I'm glad mine are separated or I'd be driving home right now!

I'm going to keep that quote for the next newbie.