I have two males that share a 20 gallon. While one is in the main tank the other is in a breeder that hangs on the inside. I tried to feed them but they won't eat. They're energetic and healthy as far as I can tell. I tried flakes, tubifex worms and pellets. They're just disinterested. Is it cuz they're too busy flaring at each other? Or shoud I just wait until they're more settled?

Life in a breeder cage is not ideal, and can be very stressful on the fish, especially in close proximity of an "enemey" that wants to beat him up and he has no where to run and hide, or even to block his view for a few minutes to put his "gaurd" down. Hence, he is CONSTANTLY stress.

Is there any other place where you can put him? Or can you divide this tank up? A simple divider can be made out of plastic canvas and report cover spines for mere pennies and takes but a few seconds to make. If you need more details on how to make one, just let me know.

I think stress is the number one culprit why your boys isn't eating. It's stressful enough to adapt to a new environment, and even more stressful to constantly be put on gaurd.

Thanx. I was planning on getting a divider but the store didn't have one. Thats why at the moment they split their time btween the 20 gallon and the breeder. They will be moved into a 10 gallon that they will split.

A store bought divider runs about 10 bucks. A big waste of money in my opinion.

A DIY divider looks alot nicer, much cheaper, disposable, and fits a lot better.

Go to the dollar store. They usually carry the report covers. About six of them for a buck.

Go to any craft store, or nnnnnn. Get a sheet of plastic canvas for about 25 cents.

I usually get a darker color, such as brown, that way the bettas can't see each other as much. (Too much flaring can not just cause stress, but blown fins as well.)

If you want to make the divider permanent, you can get silicon sealant. A tube will last you a LONG time. BUT, the tank has to be clean and dried, and the sealant needs at least 24-48 hours to completely cure. Or you can do what I do...

Just cut the plastic canvas to fit your tank precisely.

Slide the canvas right into the report spines. I use the report spines on all four sides to give the canvas more support.

Then slide the entire thing into your tank. It should fit perfectly. Put about an inch of gravel, or whatever substrate you use in, make sure the DIY divider is nice and secure.

Voila!

Oh... and please make sure your tanks are CYCLED before adding your bettas.

They make horrible candidates for cylers, as they have extremely delicate fins.

Oh yeah... another advantage of a DIY divider is that the waterflow through both side is MUCH better for filters to get through to filter debris and heated water flow.

The store bought one is not very good at that, as the holes are way too small.

One male is now in a seperate container(the breeder was never meant to be permanent) so don't worry about that. I don't think I'll be writing any more about my bettas as people seem to get very hot about the subject.

cometgoldielover, please don't be put off by the words of one person on this forum. I hope you will continue to post here about your bettas. We are a caring and knowledgable group on the whole. And we our bettas! Please give us another chance?

Aww no! We you and your bettas! Please stay with us...

As for the divider Bethany is talking about i have a picture of the one dividing Tsunami and Malaysia. Just like Bethany said, i went out and bought extra sturdy report binders at Traget for $1.5o, aquarium sealent for $3.oo and plastic canvas for .39 cents a sheet. (I buy bulk sheets size wise) Measured and cut to size the canvas, fitted and sealed the binder let cure 24hrs., slid the canvas in and adjusted where i needed and bingo. Turns out like this...

Well my purple dude died on Wednesday. He was in seperate quarted at the time. I'm not sure what it was but I think the filter was too strong for him. The filter was a tiny internal filter and it didn't say how many gallons it was for. So I put that in an he seemed stessed out so I decided I'd take the filer out the next day if he still was. The next morning he was on the bottom. I feel so bad. :crp I should have acted quicker. Most people would say I'm an idiot for not taking out the filter in the first place but I honestly didn't think it was that strong. Maybe it wasn't that but I'm pretty sure thats all it could've been.

And my white one is doing great, hes eating and zipping around the tank. Sometimes he lies on the bottom and looks like hes dying but then hes right up again. Do bettas sleep like this cuz I see them in stores lying on the bottom the exact same way.

It's difficult to tell without seeing the fish 'in person' so to speak. That would be very worrying behaviour from my own betta - he never darts around or sleeps on the bottom - but possibly perfectly normal for someone else's betta. Have you checked his water quality recently?

As for your purple guy, it is possible the filter was too much for him even if the flow was not that strong. How large was his tank? If it was a small tank so there was nowhere he could go to get away from the water movement then he might have been stressed enough to die overnight.

I am sorry you are having troubles with your bettas at the moment. Keep persevering though.

So sorry your betta died.

Mine sometimes sit on the bottom but usually they sit on a plant and sleep. They never "zip" around the tank. They usually swim slowly around the tank except when I put a pellet in there, thats the only time they swim fast.