# Do You Have Any Homemade objects For Your Betta?



## CandiceMM (Jul 15, 2012)

Does anybody have any homemade decor or hammocks for their Betta's? I need some ideas for my guys and would love to see peoples photos.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

I used to have a candle holder from the 99c store and I tied an anubias nana on it to make it a natural looking betta house.
Only thing I ever made from a household item. 









I also weighed down some water wisteria in the same candle holder but in white to make ot look like a pretty planter. My shrimps loved to hide in there.It's on the left, with the anubias covering the entrance.


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## inareverie85 (Apr 18, 2008)

Those candle holders are a BRILLIANT idea! I might have to get some.


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## CandiceMM (Jul 15, 2012)

What a great idea!! I love it, it's the perfect home!!


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## mursey (May 9, 2012)

I make little "castles" or towers for my bettas. This one is new, I made it from kiddie cups made from silicone, but I don't know where you'd get it cheap. They're not that cheap but I like them because they are soft and I can cut holes with just a regular scissor. I also use aquarium glue to glue silk flowers on some of them, I had a green "tower" I glued silk leaves to and it blends better if you stick it near green plants. I have a ton more photos of DIY things like this, I will post photos when I organize them. There is an airhole cut out at the top of the "tower" in case you use it in a more shallow tank or because I noticed some of them like to swim out the tops.


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## Pilot00 (Jul 24, 2012)

Dont have my camera but i have an airfix model (painted and all) Renaissance British battleship (it must be the HMS Prince) cut in half and dropped to the tank. Lots of my fish have used it as a cave and now Piou (my betta) takes frequent rests between it and a java fern.

A decade ago my parrot fish layed eggs atop its deck and patrolled it regularly. It was so cute ^^


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## BettaQi (Jul 26, 2012)

Thx everyone for this great thread!


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Oh there's a thread on making hammocks.. http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=104223


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## MollyJean (Dec 29, 2009)

(The first one in the last pic is unfinished, it needs to be smoothed out, but the other 3 are ready!)

These are made from the left-over pieces of folding cutting boards, which I use for dividers. I picked up 3 boards for 4 bucks at Big Lots. They cut really easy, too!

The suction cups are from paddles my daughter got last Christmas. One broke, so she started pulling the suction cups off to use on her mirror and for various crafts. I scrubbed the ones I used then boiled them.

And aquarium safe silicon to hold it together.

I just cut the leaf shapes, scoured the center to fold them up, put a few cuts in the "stem" and folded them at the tips, so the silicon would hold better, filled the back of the suction cups with silicon and pressed the "stem" in. The tips where rounded off and I checked the sides to make sure there were no jagged areas. They took like 5 mins each to make and sat for 2 days before I put them in the tanks.

All of my boys have them and they ALL use them, some more then others. The boy in my pic, Robin, has made the whole thing worth while. His fins are far too extensive and he uses his 2 hammocks (one on the front of his tank, one on the back wall) all the time. And really I made the whole thing from scraps and stuff I already had, so it was pretty much free.


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## KevinPham123 (Jul 24, 2012)

Nice DIY leaves MollyJean!


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## Sprinkles55 (Jul 3, 2012)

Wow, this is a really cool thread! I really enjoy the home-made castle mursey


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## mursey (May 9, 2012)

Thanks! I do love this thread. . . nice to get other ideas. And actually I think making little things for my bettas is a therapeutic kind of "zoning-out" activity.

I really like the blue plastic leaf hammocks on the other page too. I might have to make some of those. I like that you can make them in different colors probably, to go with whatever your theme is.


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## ktlelia (Jun 27, 2012)

I love this thread!! I'm a major DIY girl but I've yet to make anything for LB's tank mainly because im scared ill use or make something that accidently harm him. Where would you find "aquarium safe" silocone?


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## PaintingPintos (Dec 27, 2011)

I don't currently have any pics now, but....
I have a small tea mug with a cat print on it that I turned upside down so fishy wouldn't see it lol which he uses as a little hideout. Also poop accumulates in there so Ash likes to pick through it >.>
And in the goldfish tank there is this weird very thin glass candleholder that's like a bowl with straight sides and it curves in a tiny bit at the top. I filled it with pretty marbles and anchored my anacharis in it, which, by the way, is about 3 feet long now :shock:
But the fishies like to uproot it and nibble on it, so I have to re-root it like twice a day. I'm ok with my hands in the tank though. Goldies aren't that yucky (OR my filter works really well!)


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## jeremywadejunior (Jul 11, 2012)

Easy and fast betta hammock/ log. Just cut a plastic cup!


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## CandiceMM (Jul 15, 2012)

I love all these ideas!! I cant wait to make something!!


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## mursey (May 9, 2012)

Sprinkles55 said:


> Wow, this is a really cool thread! I really enjoy the home-made castle mursey



Thanks, Sprinkles! Actually, it's just scissors and glue and ordering things, so it doesn't take any talent. Funny thing is, I was a Crafts MAjor in art school but I have no studio or tools so I just make sloppy easy stuff. I don't think the fish care, heh heh.

Here is a "tiger lily leaf hammock" that was inspired by some people on this website talking about home made leaf hammocks.


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## mursey (May 9, 2012)

PaintingPintos said:


> I don't currently have any pics now, but....
> I have a small tea mug with a cat print on it that I turned upside down so fishy wouldn't see it lol which he uses as a little hideout. Also poop accumulates in there so Ash likes to pick through it >.>
> And in the goldfish tank there is this weird very thin glass candleholder that's like a bowl with straight sides and it curves in a tiny bit at the top. I filled it with pretty marbles and anchored my anacharis in it, which, by the way, is about 3 feet long now :shock:
> But the fishies like to uproot it and nibble on it, so I have to re-root it like twice a day. I'm ok with my hands in the tank though. Goldies aren't that yucky (OR my filter works really well!)


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(Don't mean to post so much but I want to keep this thread going to so I'll keep adding. . )

Many of us seem to like candle holders for things. I forgot I used to use a clear glass votive holder or various shaped shot glasses or cordial glasses to put plants in, you could put pretty gravel or some ceramic beads (provided you thought they were aquarium safe) in there too. I think I was told you need dirt or sand too though, I was just using gravel and I was told my plants would die eventually. 

Here's a photo of a sort-of-crappy early attempt. The tank looks sloppy and it's nothing like this now but it's just to show my shot glasses of different shapes with plants in them. I went to Goodwill and there were many varieties of sizes to choose from. I've also used saki cups, they are ceramic and glazed and come in many colors but are tiny. Espresso cups would work too. (Also I have since took the shells out because I learned about how it makes the water hardness worse.)


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## CandiceMM (Jul 15, 2012)

That's good to know about the shell! And awesome tank with great ideas!!


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## nel3 (May 29, 2011)

i made one ornament/fake plant. i have a gundam model hobby and the plastic trays the peices are held to are often the only plastic parts not used on the model itself. i took a rock and a section of the tray, siliconed it to a rock and used extra fake silk plastic leaves, siliconed to the plastic parts. dont have a pic of it atm but it turned out decent.


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## Catfish Billy (Jun 27, 2012)

I made a cave by getting a thoroughly-washed plastic flower pot and cutting a chunk off the curved side so that I could stick it in the gravel. I also sanded it down and stuck stones on it with aquarium sealent. You may want to seal up the drainage holes so that your betta doesn't get stuck in them and drown. I've also attached some java moss to the top.

Great thread, btw.


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## mursey (May 9, 2012)

ktlelia said:


> I love this thread!! I'm a major DIY girl but I've yet to make anything for LB's tank mainly because im scared ill use or make something that accidently harm him. Where would you find "aquarium safe" silocone?



Petco or Petsmart. One warning .. once I accidentally bought black silicone instead of clear one time .. so just make sure it doesn't say black on the label anywhere.

I have been uploading photos of other stuff I make for my bettas. To everyone else's credit, I get a lot of ideas from here.

silicone betta hammocks made from baby placemats and dollar store suction cups with hooks:








That darker blue thing is a hammock made from another dollar store suction cup and a Wilton's blue silicone baking sheet/cookie sheet. I used that cookie sheet as a filter baffle too. I made this hammock just with scissors and a hole punch. For some reason my bettas are less scared to use my hammocks if I make holes in them. I guess they are less threatened by a weird object if they can look out of them more.







This is inspired by whoever made the thread on how to make your own hammocks out of needlepoint craft mesh and a suction cup. My bettas LOVE those, and this is just a lazier version of it- I call it a hammock "shelf". The ends are sanded or capped by a piece of air tubing and silicone glue. Cornelius loves his shelf hammock.


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## SpookyTooth (Dec 23, 2011)

While I haven't actually used it, I have made a cave out of left over river rocks from Kaze's first aquarium. It's rather heavy but I managed to get a few photos.










































It took me a few days to make and some of the stones were a little frustrating to get to stay, especially the roof ones. I remember sitting with a tube supporting the roof stones until the sealant had dried. I _did_ use aquarium sealant but I just haven't been confident enough to put the item into a tank.


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## mursey (May 9, 2012)

that cave is nice because it can go with a natural looking theme too. Good job!


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## SpookyTooth (Dec 23, 2011)

Thanks, mursey


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