# Dividing betta tanks?? God or bad?



## eemmais (Oct 28, 2012)

So right now I have one make betta in a ten gallon tank. The thing is, when I got him I didn't know that I would soon fall in love with bettas!! :-D so my question is, what do of guys think of divided tanks? Some people say there great, some say there not worth the risk, some say they are not filtered evenly. So what are you experiences with divided tanks?? Thank you!


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## LeoTheLakerBetta (Oct 12, 2012)

They are usually not filtered evenly but in my opinion, they really pose no risk if you set them up right. My 10 gallon divider is a little see through as it is a top fin divider from Petsmart. But after a while, my bettas stop falring at each other. I just place some tall silk plants so their view is, for the most part, blocked. I like the idea of a divided tank because it goes pretty well with my parents becasue it saves energy in the sense that you can keep 2 bettas in one tank. As long as you keep the tank clean, the filtering shouldn't be too much of a problem except for the betta in the filtered side since he can't really make a bubblenest. I just float 2 halves of a stryofoam cup so the betta on that side can blow a small nest. Every week I switch sides so it's sort of even.


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## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

You are right about what you have heard about filtering, but you dont really need it as long as you do weekly changes.

I have 3 in a 10 gallon right now, males on the outsides, and a female on the inside, and dont have any problems other than sometimes after water changes the dividers get loose and so the female sneaks through to one of the male's sides or a male sneaks through to hers if i dont check.... but as long as you make sure the dividers arent open in any spots I dont see any problems with it.
and leo is right - they do stop flaring after a while, they do it for a minute or so here and there throughout the day, but once they are used to each other its no longer going to be a 24/7 ordeal

Best of luck!


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## tromboneplaya (Jul 7, 2010)

I have a 10 gallon divided tank. I attached a pic so that you could see what I did to fix the filter/heater problem. I made a triangle shape with two dividers so that the heater and filter are in the middle so that way both sides are heated and filtered evenly. I have never had any issues with divided tanks and I love mine! Oh, and the double divider really makes it so that they can't even see each other....no unnecessary flaring!


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## jsgossamer (Oct 11, 2012)

I have divided tanks and they are not bad. People who say they are have never had them or had them not set up correctly. You have to make sure the dividers fit correctly, are high enough so the fish cant jump over them and don't move at all. My fish also ignore each other except at feeding time when they may flare at each other once or twice. I have filters in mine, but still do weekly water changes.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

What a great idea for the filter and heater!! With a ten gallon it would be cool to make a slim middle section for the filter, heater and some shrimp or a moss ball or something and the 2 bettas on the sides. 
I have a 5g and the canopy is designed so I can only keep the filter on the side. My tank manages though, one side gets the plant light moreso and thus has more algae.


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

I divide.. never an issue. Keep any new bettas in their own tanks for a couple of weeks prior to adding them to make sure they are healthy and not going to bring anything with them to your other ones.


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## bryzy (Nov 3, 2012)

Good! You could have a divided tank with tropical fish on one side and a beta on the other


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

I love the 10 gallon above but I decided to go a different way with my 15 gallon. I went to a glass shop and got the correct sized piece of glass to use as a divider. I spread aquarium silicone all over the glass and "textured" it with my finger so it looks frosted and not see-through. Then I glued it in with silicone, which was a messy job and it is not exact, but it worked!

I have a filter on each side and the heater is on the divider glass and keeps both sides warm. There is no danger of one getting over to the other side. The only danger is my CAT :-?


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

What an awesome tank!! And I see your dragon scale mustard gas... You cannot hide that gorgeous thing under a cat xD


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## bryzy (Nov 3, 2012)

Pretty tank!


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

Laki said:


> What an awesome tank!! And I see your dragon scale mustard gas... You cannot hide that gorgeous thing under a cat xD


LOL! Thanks, Stumpy is on the other side but no decorations for him yet.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Yea I was looking and didn't see anyone. Then I saw your mg <3<3<3


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## tromboneplaya (Jul 7, 2010)

I like the frosted glass idea a lot.....looks a lot cleaner than the two black dividers! I also really like your 15 gallon....I don't think I've ever seen one at my local pet stores. Anyway, it looks good and I'm sure you have a couple of happy fishies! And the mustard gas one looks absolutely gorgeous! Mustard gas is like my favorite color


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

I didn't think he was a mustard gas? His body is baby blue dragon scale and his fins are butterscotch color with dark edges?

I wish I had done a better job of measuring and placing the divider glass. It is crooked and one side is a little bigger than the other :-?

I went to a glass place and it was $8 for the divider piece with all 4 sides rounded out so it had no sharp areas.


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## tromboneplaya (Jul 7, 2010)

Well, he looks really pretty anyway! I just saw that he looked blue and yellow and assumed....I'm not very good with colors!


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

it's mg.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Myates said:


> I divide.. never an issue. Keep any new bettas in their own tanks for a couple of weeks prior to adding them to make sure they are healthy and not going to bring anything with them to your other ones.


It very important to do that, so many sick bettas in the store and i think sometimes symptoms can take time to onset . I would even say sometimes it takes more than 2 week. 

Also quarantine love plants for a couple of weeks. Plants can also carry disease.


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## Shadyr (Mar 27, 2012)

Don't know if you are still in the "deciding" stage, but I have a 6.6G divided for two of my fellows, and I enjoy it. The funny thing is, they do dart around and flare, but not at each other...I think they see their reflections in the sides of the tank.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I am not a fan of them.


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## nel3 (May 29, 2011)

just how well does swithching places in a divided tank go? i dont know if it will cause unesscessary stress if i switch sides every few weeks or so. ive only do so twice but thats only for stress relief (didnt go so well) as i dont think my DeT likes being in a wc cup.


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## Shadyr (Mar 27, 2012)

I don't switch mine. Each has his half of the tank with nice plants and his own hidey spot. Not that I ever catch either of them in their hideys for very long  

I would imagine, and it seems like you experienced, that switching causes undue stress.


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## Bettanewbie60 (Jun 26, 2012)

This is how I divide my tanks..this way there is less chance of them seeing each other and stressing..and the heater/filter is evenly distributed.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

In my opinion I dont like my very agressive Betta being forced to see other fish. But there are many Betta that show great potental for a divided or tankmate.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

I switch my bettas every now and then. I mean, after a good long clean where they're away in cups anyway. It gives them something totally different, like, since my tank is on my desk one fish is always closer to me and can see what's happening on my computer so they like to watch the screen move and stuff. So I switch them for stimulation.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

If I was a Betta I would hate to have my tank changed.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Well mine spend time exploring new territory. I would hate to be in the same un-changed box every day. 

It depends on each individual.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Carter loves moving around his tank. I think at sometime they will figure out they have been there before.


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## ImStillLearning (Nov 23, 2012)

We have dividers in all 5 tanks of ours, and they all seem to be okay. The filter system doesn't appear to be bad so far. We don't tend to switch them sides ever, just because we like them to be used to their side of the tank. It's enjoyable to have two of them in the same tank, all of mine like to play this cat and mouse game with each other. Sometimes I get woken up in the middle of the night from a few of them swimming into the divider trying to nip the other one. And what's even cuter, is that they all will swim up to the divider when it's time for food, flapping their little fins knowing it's dinner time, and flare at each other until I give them their food.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

That is very adorable.


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## ImStillLearning (Nov 23, 2012)

They are all good fish!


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## bryzy (Nov 3, 2012)

The divider should be about 2-3 inches above the water line. Any less than that they could jump over it.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

It should allow circulation too.


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## bryzy (Nov 3, 2012)

Yah. A few holes about 1/2 an inch is what I think is best. Maybe like 2-3 rows


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I think .5 inches is too big. Maybe tons of small holes.


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## ImStillLearning (Nov 23, 2012)

The lids to the tanks we have avoid the possibility of them jumping across to each other. The dividers themselves have tons of slits between each of them so the boys get to see each other quite often but It also gives all of our shrimps the ability to sneak through the slots and go back and forth.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

What kind of shrimp?


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## bryzy (Nov 3, 2012)

Ohhhh.


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## ImStillLearning (Nov 23, 2012)

Ghost shrimps. We have twenty of them. Four for each tank. A few of the shrimp are a little too big, so they can't fit through the little slots.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

It sounds interesting.


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## bryzy (Nov 3, 2012)

Are your dividers solid color black or glas


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## ImStillLearning (Nov 23, 2012)

My dividers are simply plastic and one color.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Can it be seen through. If so you need plenty of hiding spots.


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## ImStillLearning (Nov 23, 2012)

Yeah they get Jew if each other. But they don't really bother each other too much other than when they want to play chase


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Are there plenty of hiding spots?


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## bryzy (Nov 3, 2012)

Hiding spots. Aww sweet hiding spots. My bettas live to hide in the fake grass I have in there tanks. It's really natural looking like a grass bed under water


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I dont know if to call my tank plenty of hiding spots. I have many plants.


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## FishyFishy89 (Jul 3, 2011)

ImStillLearning said:


> The lids to the tanks we have avoid the possibility of them jumping across to each other. The dividers themselves have tons of slits between each of them so the boys get to see each other quite often but It also gives all of our shrimps the ability to sneak through the slots and go back and forth.


If your shrimp can fit through, your fish can fit through.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Ghost shrimp are a bit smaller.


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## FishyFishy89 (Jul 3, 2011)

They're not that much smaller. Unless these are VERY young shrimp, it is highly likely the betta can fit through.


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## Hassled (Sep 30, 2012)

I'll have to post mine later, I rigged up a divider so they cannot see each other, but still allows for the flow of water.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

That is very good. Some day I want to build a tank that is a Rice Paddy.


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## Newtonbetta (Nov 5, 2010)

hi all.. what do you mean by "not filtered evenly?" Usually a filter and/or heater is on one side of the tank or the other anyway - divider or not.

My divider is mesh plastic with tons of tiny holes, similar to the triangular shaped setup above (nice setup by the way!). So water gets thru it.. I guess I'm not understanding how the divider affects filtration or heat.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Some dividers do not allow water to flow through. Which changes eachsides conditions.


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## ImStillLearning (Nov 23, 2012)

No the Bettas can not fit through our dividers. The slits are too small and it's only the determined shrimp that squeeze through, and generally they are quite small. Our Bettas have lots of places to hide. With plants and a shelter that has many Entrance holes.

We just did some cleaning tonight on the tanks and the verdict is out for five missing ghost shrimps. Lol we know three were eaten as there was someone body left. Thankfully they are inexpensive, as we are going to go replace them in a few days!


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

The small ones are male.


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## ImStillLearning (Nov 23, 2012)

Yeah we just learned that.


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## bryzy (Nov 3, 2012)

How do you tell male from female?


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## Chuckee (Nov 17, 2012)

Personal Experience: Not Good!
I tried this twice.
Once with the Cowardly Dude and a lavender plakat (RIP)
The Cowardly Dude did not fare well at all, and I don't think that the nasty plakat was all that at peace with being able to see the stranger next door, either.
The other was with my Blue DevilFish and a plakat that was unfortunately mislabeled as a female wild type. He jumped the glass, and BDF smashed him. And that was when I was finally able to see that, lo, he had no egg spot. *sigh*
So, anyway, that quaint, space-saving idea has popped. All the boys must live alone. Although, I am toying with the idea of a sorority... We'll see how that crazy train plays out in my head...


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## ImStillLearning (Nov 23, 2012)

bryanacute said:


> How do you tell male from female?


For Shrimp? 

The Females tend to be much larger than the males.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Plus some shrimp you can see green eggs.


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