# Betta Keeping Ideas - Tanks!!!



## Oneglove (Mar 1, 2012)

Hi there. I'm relatively new to this forum. I've been lurking in the shadows reading many of the posts that are helping me gain some valuable knowledge as I re-enter this hobby. As a teenager, I kept a couple of community tanks and I loved my Bettas. But that was a little while ago.....

I've noticed that there are members here that involved with breeding and/or have multiple Bettas. I'm just curious if anyone could share what kind of setups they have for their Bettas. Do you keep them in multiple tanks and what size? I'm very aware that how you keep a Betta is a contentious subject. I plan on keeping any I acquire in heated tanks. 

Any pictures and advice would be greatly appreciated!


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## theeyrietrainer (Dec 9, 2010)

I used to keep them in a couple of nanos but then when my betta numbers quadrupled, I just set up a 55 gallon that was divided for them. Of course, that was almost a decade ago when I was setting up breeders...


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## Oneglove (Mar 1, 2012)

Yeah, I've seen some pictures online where people have put them in larger tanks and divided them. That is an option. I wonder if that's how people who breed them here keep them.


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## Smashy (Dec 11, 2011)

Right now I just have one betta in a big community tank but I'd really like to breed a pair or two of halfmoons in the future, and was planning on doing the large tank divided up. Females might be able to live together, depending on the fish. 

I know I read somewhere about a big betta breeder using 2l coke bottles to keep the fish in.


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## theeyrietrainer (Dec 9, 2010)

Well a lot of breeders use racks, where their fish are usually kept in containers reminiscent of those Beanie Baby containers (though usually not that large). And each one will have clean water dripping down into each container which also empties out at a certain water level. The excess water is diverted and runs down to a bin where the water is filtered and cleaned and also warmed up and travels up and drips back down into the containers.

Females will typically live together if introduced into the same tank at the same time. If another female is added into an established sorority, they may kill her (a high probability). Also, I wouldn't recommend using a 2 L coke bottle to breed bettas in. The male will need to court her and during courting and mating, the female will get battered and needs space to run and hide. A 2 L bottle will be too small for her to get away when she needs to.


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## Smashy (Dec 11, 2011)

^If I recall correctly it was just the males kept in the 2l bottles when not breeding.


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## bettasandbeads (Aug 18, 2010)

*bettas*

Hi 
I have seen the coke bottle set up and it works well if set up right.
Would like to try it sometime.
You have pieces of wood with holes cut out the size of high way up the neck of the bottle. The bottom is cut off the bottle and a drain line is placed in the cap. The bottles are set up in rows with drainage lines running from the caps.
You can have a continues drip or have a clamp on each drainage line and change the water every few days.
Works well for growing out males. 
I keep my boys in 2.5 gal tanks divided or individual 1.5 gal hex tanks. with a small sponge filter.
My girls are in several 5 and 10 gal tanks with filters. Lots of hiding places and plants. I find an odd number of girls works best??? When ever I have an even number together there is always fighting. They work out a picking order. There will be some fin and tail nipping at first but usually they work it out.
I spawn my Bettas in a 5 gal bare bottom tank. Lots of hiding places and java moss. Small sponge filter ( turned off until the fry are bigger, about 2-3 weeks) and a heater.
I introduce the male and female by showing her to him for a few hours a day and then place her in one side of the tank. A divider between them. When he starts to show interest and she does too. Then I release her. Remember to keep an eye on them. If they haven't spawned before you go to bed put the divider back in. The male sleeps later then the female and she can do some real damage before he is fully a wake.
Almond leaves and almond exact works great for setting the mode.
There are a number of ways to keep Bettas and spawn them. It's hit and miss until you find what works for you.
Good Luck.
Catherine 
President
Betta Breeders Canada


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## Oneglove (Mar 1, 2012)

Thanks Catherine! Your description on how you house your bettas is much appreciated.


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## iBetta (Jun 19, 2011)

i keep all of mine in 2.5g. right now, i have a sorority of about 6 females in a 75g community tank


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## fishclubgirl (Mar 4, 2010)

I use canning jars and they're kept in the laundry closet which is quite warm. When I do my water changes, all the jars go through the dishwasher to keep them clean. Currently I have approximately seventy "jarred' bettas as well as 2 tanks of wilds and one spawn growing out so tank space is at a premium. This week I am getting in a shipment and there should be approximately 120 fish. Unpacking the boxes is more fun than xmas morning!! Then I also use my backup containers, clear deli containers from a restaurant supply house. And to think, I started with only 2 bettas...


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

When I am not getting them ready to sell or show, my Bettas are kept in 1ltr round jars (dollar store ones work great) these can easily be taken to the sink for cleaning and refilling. 

I train my Bettas to swim into the little cup things you sometimes get from petstores and I let them sit there while I clean and refill their tubs/houses.  some are quicker at learning than others, some just WON"T and those get netted 

I also breed using a 5 gallon with 5 inches of water and a divider for the female to see the male, when he's built the bubble nest I lift the divider and let her out.
once they are done its easy to scoot her back into her side of the tank and then take her out.

I don't ever use a heater even in winter as my rooms are 72F all year round and they are used to that temp, only when breeding I have a heater in the 5 gallon set to 80F

I have kept several females in a bigger 20 gallon tank with lots of plants and hiding spots, like Catherine said the uneven number seems to work best, they will develop a picking order after a while, and that keeps fighting to a minimum.


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## manmadecorals (Jan 17, 2012)

Damn that all sounds super fun and also sounds like it takes up a lot of space...


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## manmadecorals (Jan 17, 2012)

what type of betta do you guys all breed? seems like HMP are the more popular ones.


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## zenafish (Feb 20, 2007)

Here's a pic of one of my betta walls in my betta breeding hay days...the wall was connect to a sump, which was a community tank housing the females.


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## KaylaBot (Jun 21, 2011)

Awesome setup, Zena, wish I coulda seen this up and running! :O

While we're on the subject, has anyone kept shrimp with bettas?


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## Oneglove (Mar 1, 2012)

Thanks for sharing the picture zenafish. Very interesting setup.


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