# A neat Idea...



## Albino_101 (Aug 14, 2008)

What if I take a 20 gallon long tank, and divide it into 5 equal 4 gallon sections with walls that you can't see through so the males don't get mad at each other, a small undergravel filter in each section, and for some heating, I have a heat mat that sticks to the outside of the bottom of the tank, and I would have a different type of male betta in each section. How does that sound? This way they each get their own 4 gallons of filtered and heated water, I hate when people put bettas in half gallon bowls with no filter or heater.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

You either need individual filters or porous dividers such as foam with a pump moving the water through. I guess little UG filters would work, you'd have either customize them or the dividers or both.


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

i wouldn't trust a heating mat you have no control over the temperature they are pushing out.


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

You could do it with glass sheets with tiny holes drilled in it and some silicon sealant... or the cheapo way like we did with needlepoint sheets (or whatever they are, flexible plastic gridding found in the craft section at Wal-Mart). We divided a 10 gallon (first 2 times, then 3 times) and were considering doing a 20 gallon 4 or 5 times but the grids were not cut the right size and were not bending right so we gave up. 

You COULD do a couple small sponge filters if you used a more powerful air pump with a splitter, so the air is diverted into two paths - or at least I hear such things exist. We just had one sponge filter in the middle section and it seemed to do ok... same with the heater. Just one, but the whole tank seemed to heat fine as well.

Here is a crappy picture of our first day trying it, haha... I kept the water low because I was afraid they would jump, and it looks so murky because we had just converted to sand 









And here is a closer look at what the gridding looks like. They CAN see each other through it a little but it's more like a dark shape than anything clear. They rarely flare at each other.


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## Albino_101 (Aug 14, 2008)

I was thinking of custom making acrylic dividers that weren't see through and were perforated allowing water to flow through, then I would just then use one UG filter for the whole tank, and thanks for the tip revolution, and hxcchic22 I like what you did, but I want my dividers more sturdy and professional looking, as this is going to be a display tank in my living room, and I plan on showing off bettas, but what you did is really good for an immediate temporary fix, I might even use what you did to separate the albino pleco babies from the larger fish in my other tank.


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

I also have tried the plastic canvas and for a while it seemed to work. Then one day a pushy male betta got his nose at the edge of the canvas and pushed it thru- it bends very easily- and then there must have been an almighty fight because I came home to one betta swimming in the other betta's section and the one was lying in the gravel with big bite marks out of him. There was a good few weeks of daily water changes and betta fix before the beaten betta recovered.
I have tried various ways to divide tanks for bettas and the canvas does not just work somehow. I have read that people have used it but have some kind of long holder that they silicone to the glass and then slide the canvas in. That would maybe work if i could find such a thing.
I have even used canvas right to the top of the canopy( or so I thought ) and I have had bettas jump it to get to the other fish.
I remember once when i was a kid that my dad used a piece of glass for a divider in the tank and as far as I know it worked but I do not remember the details. You would have to be careful that the fish could not squeeze around the sides and cut itself.
One method i have used is to get a number of CLEAN peanut butter jars, burn holes in the sides and just hang them in a tank with a regular heater and filter. Works very well.I place a piece of the plastic canvas over each jar so they can't jump out.
Each water change day I let all the bettas loose in the tank for about five minutes while I cleaned each container. I also gave each fish a small stone with a small java fern tied to it. Since the bettas come from small cups in the store and have likely know nothing else they seem to find the peanut butter jar a satisfactory home. Sometimes I have let one of the bettas loose in the tank and it visits around each betta container and cause a bit of excitement.
You do have to make sure the holes are small enough that the fish can't get his head out of it. I had one fish that got partway thru the hole and ended severing its spine. Since then my holes have been many and small. I leave about 2 inches on the bottom of the jar without holes so that if i want to move the fish to another spot in the house or just to leave it for a few minutes there is enough water for it to sit in.


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## Chard56 (Oct 10, 2010)

If you are wanting to "show" them off why wouldn't you want them to see each other. I have over 150 males next to each other and I spend alot of time watching their displays. That is the whole idea of having them. To me having a Betta that just swims around with his fins unflared is not that exciting to me. If someone told you it wasn't good for them to (get mad) they don't know what they are missing. It does not hurt them. Mine are flaring and displaying off and on from the time I get up until after I feed them at night.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

If you put an uplift tube in each section, the big UG could work. The trouble would be making the divider fit the ug tight so the fish couldn't dig under.


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## Bettawhisperer (Oct 1, 2010)

Here is how I make my canvas dividers and it hold them sturdier you need the canvas from a craft store, plastic page binders from Office Depot. To hold them in place I used brass paper clips also from Office Depot. Bend them so they hook onto the top of the tank and slide down into the binder. You will want to put sand, gravel, or stone down at the bottom to hold the bottom in place. Be sure to leave the water level down about 2" so the fish don't jump over the dividers. Also yes the mat heater is a bad idea. if you use a heater that is suited for a 20g. that should be enough to heat the whole tank.


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

I tried with the plastic page dividers too and did not have much luck- my one males managed to get thru and nearly kill the other male. Must depend on the personality of the betta as to how desparate they are to kill the other.

For Chard I would say that when bettas see each other continually 2 things could happen. They get so used to each other that they give up flaring- you can see that in the lfs where they keep tons together and they all lay on the bottom of the cups or they are overstimulated by seeing the others so frequently that the stress will kill them sooner over the long haul.

Today I saw a 5 gallon long tank that had 3 glass dividers built in to it as a display tank for bettas. Only 1 of the fish was actually flaring, the other 2 were lying bored on the bottom. It cost $24. 95. There were built in grooves on the top of the tank to hold the glass.
There was no place to add a filter or heater so IMO not a very practical tank but it will probably hold appeal for someone as an impulse purchase.
It would be a devil to clean every few days.


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## Chard56 (Oct 10, 2010)

That's where you are mistaken. In the pet stores they don't get feed properly and they become listless from expending too much energy. My betta's might get a little bored flaring at one Betta but they can usually turn around and flare at another one. Saying that they will die from the stress is ludicrous. I'd have them dropping left and right. It's uneducated comments like that that confuse new Betta owners.


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## Bettawhisperer (Oct 1, 2010)

Yes chard is right. They will not die from stress of flaring they just get bored from looking at each other after awhile like in the store. If that were the case all the fish in the stores would be dead. You are contradicting your own statement.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Whenever you have a divider, you will have a temperature gradient. Test both ends. If its only a few degrees, its fine.

Ideally, you'd have it both ways. A divider you could make clear or opaque.


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

_ am repeating what I was told by the manager at Big Al's. He felt that bettas should not have the stress of seeing each other all the time.
My own girls flare for a bit and then find something else to do for a while and then flare again.
They tend to live for a couple of years so I guess that is some proof that they can tolerate seeing other bettas. However I dunno about the malesas I keep them apart._


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## Bettawhisperer (Oct 1, 2010)

Unless this manager Breeds, raises, and show Bettas he should not be giving out advice about things he knows nothing about. I do sometimes keep some of my males carded but that is only so they will flare instantly when they are at a show and they are being judged.


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