Betta Barracks Plexiglass display tank

[fishboy]

An idea i was going to try was to have a few 10 gallons aquarium with two dividers. Divide the tank into three sections. Place two female(s) in the center section and two males in the side sections. This will atleast give the bettas some space and also keep them from flaring so much, which IMO is stressful. Although this would also atleast get them in the mood to spawn. When you have a pair that is ready place them in the middle section and the other female(s) in the middle move to another section of the tank. This way you can have multiple spawns in one tank and also keep your bettas somewhat happy. Although when the fry become free swimming you will need to move them anyway because they can slip through the dividers. If you have 3 tanks like this you should be able to keep all your males and your females.


HTH,
Daniel

 

[colesea]

I don't think bettas being next to each other will stress them out. The simple reason is because they will get used to each other's presence. Yes they will flare and display for dominance, this is normal betta behavior. But they will only continue to do so until the top fish is choosen and the rank order established. Once the top fish is picked, the submissive fish will not flare so as not to incure the top fish's wrath, and the top fish will only occassionally flare if he feels challenged.

Of course situations occure where neither fish back down (if you go to Faith's bettatalk site, I think she has an article or something there that says she had two fish still going at each other over 24hrs). At that point you may want to seperate them to prevent stress.

It is kinda like being locked in a room with somebody you can't stand. Eventually they go away because you become used to their presence, and ignore them.

There are advantages and disadvantages to universal betta housing. The advantage is you can place the whole unit on one sump of filtration/heating, and do an "all in one" water change. Faith had a system set up (bettatalk again) if you go to the photos of her fishroom, that looks like a table-top. Another breeder I heard lectured used plastic shoeboxes divided into quarters set up in a rack overflow system. Breeding requires an optimal use of space, so good luck with your ideas.

~~Colesea