divy Posted May 28, 2008 Report Share Posted May 28, 2008 ive been told different things about my tank set up and figured a poll would help me figure out what to do my tank has glass dividers and ive been told that i dont have to card them the males will be ok to see each other 24/7 because they will get use to seeing each other and because i will have a few plants in there they will have a place to hide if they get stressed and others are saying yes its a must you have to card them or they will get too stressed out and die i would personaly like not to have the tank carded off i like the look of glass dividers and being able to see all the males no matter what angle i look at the tank so any advice would be great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divy Posted May 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2008 oh damn the poll didnt work does anyone know how to add a poll to my thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beano Posted May 28, 2008 Report Share Posted May 28, 2008 They do get bored of each other, but you can swap their positions in the barracks around and that will get them interested again. Michael is a pretty successful breeder and he doesn't card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghengis Posted May 29, 2008 Report Share Posted May 29, 2008 Heya, Divy. Glad you asked this question, cos I have been wondering much the same thing lately... Some people seem to leave their tanks uncarded, whilst others shudder at the thought. Sorry, I don't have any constructive reply for you. Just thought it cool that someone was thinkin what I was. On ya! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara_01 Posted May 29, 2008 Report Share Posted May 29, 2008 I usually tell people to card their bettas (Do as I say, not as I do) but honestly I get pretty lazy with it. My experience with it though is that import bettas do benefit from the carding, I've had a few males I didn't card (or forgot to re-card) and they've lost heart and wont flare or breed anymore. on the other hand I have 2 LPS bettas that havn't been carded in months and the still flare at eachother. I think that becuase imports usually come to us pretty young it's easy to learn them new behaviour (eg, don't bother flaring, he wont go away) I think it's not a major health concern to not card, but if you want to keep them "sassy" I'd card them. beano could be right as well, but that hasn't helped my boys anyway, that's just my experience and it's obviously different for every fish so maybe card the shy ones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted May 29, 2008 Report Share Posted May 29, 2008 I usually card my fish but currently they aren't carded because when my drip system leaked everywhere I threw out everything that got wet in a fit of pique and the manilla folder cards got chucked out as well. Not that they'd be much use in the drip system but the fish that aren't in the drip system aren't carded either at the moment. I'm intending on getting some plastic corrugated board that I can make cards with. The only reason I card mine is because it's hard to get them to flare on demand when I want to take a photo. BTW: I'm not the Michael that Beano is talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y2jdaze Posted May 29, 2008 Report Share Posted May 29, 2008 I've only carded my fishies once and I didn't really like it. I found they kinda got bored and just kinda sat there doing not much while they were carded. They jsut didn't seem as happy as when I've left them uncarded. I've always found that while they most fishies WILL get used to each other there are a few that will flare no matter how long they've been next to each other... If you're worried about taking pics on demand, well I learned this little trick out of experience.... if they've gotten used to each other all you have to do is card them for a couple of days (or seperate them somehow) and then uncard them again and they'll flare madly for a while (long enough for a few pics) before going back to being complacent... either that or just switch a few fishies around so they see someone new :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted May 29, 2008 Report Share Posted May 29, 2008 But having to card them for a couple of days means not being able to take a picture on demand. When my fish are carded they are also uncarded for short periods twice a day. I think the whole idea of carding is so that they're not flaring the whole time. And by that definition I guess that means they're not doing very much while they're carded. All the Thai breeders and sellers I met kept adult show bettas carded. I guess, Steven, it depends on what kind of behaviour you want from your fish. Just try it and see what you're happy with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mythicbetta Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 Hi Divy, Well I kind of card mine ..... Like you some of my tanks/barracks have glass dividers the catch is they also have a flow hole to allow the water to circulate from 1 tank to the next 'cause I'm only using 1 filter in that tank. What I did was Kmart $1.50 a pack plastic coloured dividers the ones you use in A4 lever arch binders. I just trimmed the up and cut a hole roughly where the flow hole was and slid them down the glass now the boys sort of exercise themselves & when they've finished pulling faces they move to another part of the tank. It's become a game with them to see who can "hide" just outside the line of sight and then pop out and scare the other. Mike these might work for you and best of all you don't have to throw them away if they get wet The other barracks have opal perspex however I've used fly screen ( the non metal one) in a strip at the rear of the divider to allow the boys to choose when they want to pull faces. I also use th fly screen in the tiny 5 bay they can still see each other but it creates the illusion that the other guy really isn't there. Maybe you could look a partial carding of the glass divider Divy, that way you'd get the best of both worlds you could still see them and they can get some respite from the opposition. Just some thoughts, Jane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 I went and bought some plastic corrugated board to make cards out of. $2 for a 50x70 cm sheet. I had considered the plastic coloured dividers but they're flimsy and in my situation I want to be able to remove the cards at will. But I might also put a small spy hole in the dividers. That will be good for keeping them active when I'm too lazy to uncard them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 Where did you get the plastic from Michael?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 Aus Twin Plastic Board, phone 03 9774 8303, jack@afb.com.au, www.afb.com.au. They wil post but I don't know how much because I went and collected it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y2jdaze Posted May 31, 2008 Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 I've used the plastic dividers and cut them to size as well... only problem I had is them coming away from the glass and then taking up half the tank... how'd you solve thatproblem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mythicbetta Posted June 1, 2008 Report Share Posted June 1, 2008 y2jdaze, I cut my dividers the exact size as the glass and slide the whole lot down the channel that supports the glass so it stays in place Jane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted June 1, 2008 Report Share Posted June 1, 2008 it depends what you want to achieve. They are fine if they can see each other 24/7, they won't die. But if you're raising spawn of show quality HMs, you'd want to card them to maximise their potential, including their willingness to flare 'on demand' in a show. IME they do get bored if they can see other bettas all day and they stop flaring, which would mean your juveniles would not develop the same caudal span as they could if carded and exercised for certain periods during the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divy Posted June 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2008 well the males that im puting in the tank are just too look at, i dont plan on putting fry or breeding males in there so from what i read they will be ok wwhich is good news cause i really didnt want to card them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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