# Betta cave ideas



## Haze (Aug 9, 2018)

Hi there , I’m new here but had two Bettas in the past (Aladdin red VT and Dr Suess blue VT) that lived for 3 years after I got them. We now have our first crowntail , George, who we picked up yesterday.
He’s currently in a 2.5gallon tank with filter but he will move to a 5.5gallon next week when I pick up a new tank for him. I’m looking for cave ideas at the moment , so far he strangely likes the bottom of the tank better than the top unlike my past boys. 
I want easy ones I can purchase not diy


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## Rainbo (Nov 23, 2015)

Ceramic will be your best bet since it tends to be completely smooth.

https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+6635+12162+30288&pcatid=30288

https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+6635+12162+36563&pcatid=36563

https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+6635+12162+21395&pcatid=21395

I've found that the plastic caves I've bought tend to have sharp points on the inside even if the outside is completely smooth. With any cave I get I run my finger around it both inside and out. Also go with the medium or large caves, the small tend to be a bit too small in my experience.


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## Haze (Aug 9, 2018)

Thank you 🙂 I’m in NZ and I can’t seem to find stockists of the ones you listed... I purchased https://www.thepetcentre.co.nz/fish/decorations/balinese-lantern---medium/ekz18878.aspx as I had a similar one for a past VT betta but I don’t know if it’s just my boy or crowntail sin general (?) has a more easy tear tail than my past ones and despite sanding it on the rough parts it’s still ripped his tail 😞 so I’ve removed it and just put a coffee cup in for now until I find somethings that are good and look better. The Zoo med ceramic sinking logs are they ok?


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## trahana (Dec 28, 2015)

If you don't mind the color white, you can use PVC pipe connectors. They come in various sizes and shapes and are very cheap. I have elbow joints, T sections and straight connectors. They sink, but are not easily covered by algae. If you want them green/brown you have to sand them.


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## Haze (Aug 9, 2018)

Ok thanks 🙂 I’ll look into that.
I went and got a terracotta pot and broke it in half and sanded the edges as a cave today 
I do like it but I’m one of the ones that like store brought pet stuff than diy pet stuff if you get what I mean
I’m going to order some silk plants , a leaf betta hammock , betta floating mirror and a zoomed sinking ceramic log in a couple of days

What about the zoo med floating log have any of you had luck with them? I had one in the past but stuff was falling off it when I opened it so it put me off the but recently I have seen many good reviews on them so I’m thinking mine just might have been from a bad batch


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

I was going to recommend the terracotta pot as well. I didn't break mine, just pushed it into the sand (when I had sand) and lined the outside of it with pebbles, I think it gives some character.
A certain some-fish though prefers the leaf litter on top.









I have a zoo med sinking log, I just never used it. I bought it and put my finger inside and it felt like it needed some sanding.

There's also a coconut cave. I made my own but I saw someone selling them on Amazon.


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## Haze (Aug 9, 2018)

Thanks 🙂 that’s good to know about the sinking log as I don’t really want to buy more things that are too rough - the ornament I brought I thought would be fine as I’ve seen it in many betta tanks on the net but even after sanding the parts I thought would be too rough it’s torn his fins - I never expected it to as my VTs were fine with similar


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## Haze (Aug 9, 2018)

I asked around on other forums and no one seems to think the ornament was a cause of George’s tail , it seems split on whether it’s early finrot or the filter 
So I’m doing 50% water changes with prime daily ( incase it’s finrot ) and I purchased a 5g tank to give him further room away from the filter 
I can’t find a better filter , this one is A aqua one one that in NZ is advertised as a “betta filter” , it has adjustable settings and I have it on the lowest but it was still too strong in the 2.5g he was in, the 5g it seems much better 🙂


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

Don't want to stop you from the sinking log if you like the look of it. I've heard a little sandpaper will take care of the roughness on the inside. I've just always liked the look of natural for my tanks which is another reason that I haven't gotten around to putting it in.


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## trahana (Dec 28, 2015)

Were did you get those caves? They look super cool.


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## Haze (Aug 9, 2018)

So Kaido ( our new mustard gas) loooves the rock cave! He goes in and out and he likes to sit and rest in there with just his head poking out 
Here’s a pic of the new guy, Kaido


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## doney12 (Aug 23, 2018)

this fish its awsome


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## Ethand (Sep 1, 2018)

Awesome, thanks for sharing!! I’ve been looking at every pet shop near me for a nice, natural-looking cave for my new tank, but everything I’ve seen is either really sharp or realy tacky looking! Haha!
I’ve had a quick look for the Kazoo brand, apparently a pet shop near me that I haven’t been to yet does stock them! Here’s hoping they have that particular item! 🤞🤞


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## rintintan (Jan 22, 2018)

Wow, I'm jealous of the amazing hides your local pet shop has! All the ones I've seen at Petco/Petsmart have sharp edges/paint that will flakes/small holes my fish will get stuck in.

I actually /just/ received these triangular ceramic hides today and put them in my tank! So far I love how they look. They have smooth edges, and are pretty heavy too.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LZB1KUZ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I wish I could've bought the round larger ones also listed above, but they are coming from China I think? And didn't have amazon prime, so it would've been a looong shipping time. The triangular hides have an amazon prime option, so I got them in a couple days.  (I attached a picture of them in my 10 gallon)

Hopefully these hides do well over time. I'm always nervous when getting new decor.

Congrats on your new fish! Maybe Petco/Petsmart will one day get those amazing stones/hides you have in stock. If we're lucky...


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## Jootje67 (May 19, 2016)

Those rock rocks Hihihi , you can use also live plant on them if you buy anubias or any mosses you can bind them on your rock. I do have three of them (those rocks) and bind some Moss on them so the Stones look natural. If you use live plants your parameters will be better  You can also use the hornworth or the cabomba wich with that last one I'm quiet jalouse. Here we May not sell or buy cabomba any more, because it's overgrow the natural species here in our waters 

Verstuurd vanaf mijn G8441 met Tapatalk


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## Lunatic (Jan 23, 2018)

I used to use hides all the time and found these little rock hides that are smooth and safe for the betta.

They don't really use them, but they are there if they want to.
I did get them a floating log and a couple of my longer fin ones used it constantly, but not the short fin.

You can use any cave for hiding as long as it's smooth and the holes are large enough.


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## Old Dog 59 (Nov 11, 2018)

*caves*

It depends on the look you are going for in the tank. If you want a natural look than driftwood or rocks could be the ticket. I happen to like the idea of a small clay flower pot. It's cheep and easy to find, It is also smooth inside and out. By letting nature take it's course and letting the green algae build on it and placing plants around it, it creates a perfect natural cave. Most hides you buy in plastic do have some sharp spots and need to be sanded. But like I said before it's the look you are going for in the tank and how the hide blends in.


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

I don't really use them, the bottom of my tanks typically have a layer of Leaves, with the filtration and hardscape items the leaves usually form little caves, each day the tank subtly changes


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## bettatanksalot (Mar 6, 2018)

I like PVC pipe. I know that it is smooth and won't do any damage! I may end up replacing some of my original hides with those since it's getting expensive now that I have 7 tanks! !


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## trahana (Dec 28, 2015)

bettatanksalot said:


> I like PVC pipe. I know that it is smooth and won't do any damage! I may end up replacing some of my original hides with those since it's getting expensive now that I have 7 tanks! !



Lol, I love using PVC pipe. I've even made a floating 'logs' out of them. My girls use even use the floating logs as well as my males.


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## bluesamphire (Nov 20, 2018)

Every so often I make big plans to introduce bright clean modern decorations to one tank... but I always bottle. Haha! And end up with a ‘natural look’. Or at least as natural as I can pretend it can be. 

Then I see a pic of someone else’s splendid bright modern tank and I get all jealous again. Lol


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