divy Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 ok well to me my bettas seem unhappy they kind of just sit at the bottom of there tanks and swim around every now and then, my males have stopped building bubble nest which to me means there not happy the only time the build nests is when they are in the spawning tank i belive i am doing everything right with water and water changes so i dont know what i can do? i put a white back ground on the tanks to lighten them up abit and i put small silk plants in them because all they had in there tanks was rocks but i took the plants out again cause i want them to have more swimming space so what can i do? change the tanks to ones with filters? or remove the glass dividers and make each tank divided into two instead of three or remove them all together and have one betta to a tank?? i really dont know any ideas what so ever would be great here is a pic of the tanks incase you cant remember what they look like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celeste84 Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 they may be bored or stressed out from seeing each other all the time?? also how are the tanks heated?? and is there any way you can card off the boys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divy Posted December 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 they are carded its hard to tell from the pic because the plastic i used to card them is black yes they are heated too, i use a heating cord under the tanks and keeps the temp 27-28c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anasfire Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 what size are the tanks? and how often do change water? (Its misfit by the way) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divy Posted December 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 hey misfit there 2.8litres each and i do 100% water changes twice a week but im thinking that 2.8l is too small for a hm thats why im hoping someone might say change the tanks to hold 2 bettas instead of 3 and they will be more active Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y2jdaze Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 Well this may just be me but I've had HMs in that sort of sized tank (slightly smaller) and I've never had a problem with them being inactive... finrot however.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anasfire Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 my 8 chamber i built each compartment is just under 5 liters uncarded but filtered no heater.... there has always been matter of opinion on the tank size personally to small but thats me . I have seen great results with small tanks even cups (750ml) and bad results with bigger tanks i think alot has to do with the personality and hardyness of the fish. Maybe try a bigger tank and see how he goes? (misfit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divy Posted December 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 ok if make each tank hold 2 bettas that would give them 4.2 litres each, do you think that would make alot of difference then the 2.8litres? i would really like to filter them for better water quality and less water changes per week but im not sure how i would do it to these tanks? any ideas on how to filter 4 tanks that are 4.2l? i dont know much about filters all i understand is sponge filters and undergravel filters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callatya Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 one double airpump (something like a Stellar 60) and 2 x 2 way gang valves to create 4 adjustable outlets. Pop in some stick-on disposable filters (Penn Plax Smallworld or Lee's Disposable) and away you go Tap down the air flow until you are happy with it. The disposable filters are wall mounted and take up less space than a small sponge. They are essentially a box filter, but IMO are more efficient. The cartridges can be modified and refilled with plain sponge or filter wool once they are too dirty to rise clean. I think if you added moving water, you'd have less moping Maybe even half-card the breeders so they can hide or interact when they feel like it and they don't feel so isolated :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anasfire Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 you pretty much adding a little less then a 3lt milk bottle i reckon they will love it even with my 2x 55L/H filters i still change the water every week. the tank holds 59lt (misfit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jusdeb Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 I know how you feel ...You cant help but worry when a fish loses interest ..You cant help but think that something is wrong..Even though I only have 2 halfmoons I think they seem happy so Ill tell you about my set ups , they have a 22 litre tank each which I have side by side , I only let them see each other for about half an hour per day. They are on my computer desk and seem to know when Im there . They have a terracotta pot , a couple of live plants , a marble and a sponge filter which I move around every now and then and they do seem to be curious and want to investigate any thing new in their little homes. They do have times when they take time out and veg at ground level or behind the heater but for most of the time they seem to enjoy swimming just for the sake of having a swim. So maybe if you increase their tank size and give them more stimuli ( someone suggested a ping pong ball also) they might just get some get their groove back. Ive also read somewhere that you should not let them flare at each other to the point of one backing down and hiding which sort makes sense as they are boys and do have their pride. Any way I hope this offers some ideas and I hope your little fellas pep up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jusdeb Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 I know how you feel ...You cant help but worry when a fish loses interest ..You cant help but think that something is wrong..Even though I only have 2 halfmoons I think they seem happy so Ill tell you about my set ups , they have a 22 litre tank each which I have side by side , I only let them see each other for about half an hour per day. They are on my computer desk and seem to know when Im there . They have a terracotta pot , a couple of live plants , a marble and a sponge filter which I move around every now and then and they do seem to be curious and want to investigate any thing new in their little homes. They do have times when they take time out and veg at ground level or behind the heater but for most of the time they seem to enjoy swimming just for the sake of having a swim. So maybe if you increase their tank size and give them more stimuli ( someone suggested a ping pong ball also) they might just get some get their groove back. Ive also read somewhere that you should not let them flare at each other to the point of one backing down and hiding which sort makes sense as they are boys and do have their pride. Any way I hope this offers some ideas and I hope your little fellas pep up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divy Posted December 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 ok well these are my ideas, the pics are to scale to give you all a better idea of how much space the filters take up the tanks are my tanks like the pic above except instead of three there divided into 2 for more space i used your idea callatya with the penn-plax disposable filters so what do you all think? are they good ideas and which one would you choose?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tara Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 Have you thought of adding some Indian Almond Leaf my guys love it, it, it is similar to the fishes natural environment some people even use it too increase the frequency of breeding. It can encourage a fish to eat if they are off their food it can also be used to treat bacteria infections and help recover from injuries. I would choose the one that gives the bettas the most room. Hope this helps Tara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divy Posted January 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 i use ial extract in my water allready as for the one that gives them the most room all the ones i drew give the around the same amount of space (4.3l) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tara Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 ok, all your idea's look great have fun deciding. Tara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 Most of my halfmoons are kept in 1.5 ltr beanie boxes which is a lot smaller than what your guys get. I'm also probably not as diligent with water changes as you are. I'm not convinced that water quality is the problem here. You could go to a fair bit of trouble only to find that the problem isn't fixed. Is it possible to test the theory by trying a couple of those guys in a larger tank to see if they're more active? What are you feeding them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divy Posted January 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 i feed them bloodworms,blackworms or betta pellets ok so you think water quality is making them unhappy so what would you do? test the water or... i dont know much about ph and so on so any help would be great this is what i do when i do water changes if that helps (i do them twice a week) -some times i age water some times i dont - i clean out the tanks with a cloth and then i fill them allmost to the top with tap water or if i have aged water i use that then i boil some water in the kettle and add that to get the water to the right temp -i add water ager (tap water conditioner) aquamaster is the brand it says it adds electrolytes i dont know if thats good for bettas? -i add 8 drops of ial extract that i got from someone to each tank -then put the cups that i have my bettas in when i do water changes in there tanks floating on top then 10mins later tip them in if i could sort out whats making them less happy i would love it because i would like to keep 6 males instead of 4 and have them happy and healthy instead of replacing them with new bettas every 5 months Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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