Betta Barracks

[Mongwopman]

So, I need to build or construct some sort of Betta Barracks to house all my Betta's.

Does anyone know of anything i could use, or have any plans that i could construct? I counted my fry over the weekend and i got 58 of the buggers, all various sizes, but the bigger ones need new home.

I have searched online and i cant find anything good enough, most oif the ones ive seen all share the same water, which is pretty dangerous in terms of disease control/prevention.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[solex69]

Replied to your PM mate

Suggestion that I just thought of....why not build a custom tank for individual bettas? ie, build one tank but split it off into many section (decent sizes of course) and then you can house your males in there?

Chiao
D

[Mongwopman]

Hey Dale, Im actually busy designing something right now.

Thanks for the PM

[solex69]

Cool

BTW, come and post here more often...come & see what a real forum is like :D lol

[Mongwopman]

LOL!

Will see what i can do man, work has been a BIATCH lately!

[Mongwopman]

So this is my plan that i have come up with.

[Carping]

Mongwopman, how are you going to ensure the water to flow through all the compartments? Are you going to be drilling holes in the devider pieces?

[Mongwopman]

The compartments glass/perspex/wadeva dont touch the base of the tank, there will be a cap around 2mm from the floor of the tank, enough to allow water to flow through each chamber, but not wide enough to allow a fish through.

If i do decide to go perspex i can drill holes in the persepx, but with glass it's a bit harder. i might be at the glass place that day just to show them what to do and where to drill, but that might prove to be a but hard.

[Carping]

If you can get them to drill the holes for you it's fine, alternatively, rather go for perspex then. It drills a lot easier. 2 mm at the bottom for waterflow seems a bit on the limit. Holes on the sides sounds better IMHO.

[Mongwopman]

Yeah ideally hole in each chamber would be best.

but depending on wether they can drill holes or not its another story!

[Carping]

They can, the real question is, do they want too ..... Hahahaha..... and offcourse, at what price......

[Mongwopman]

Yeah thats also true!

[veegal]

It looks good - I agree a whole in each chamber would be first prize. Would you place the hole at the back or side of each chamber? You could use the outlet from the sponge filter to create the flow into the first chamber by repositioning it and then strategically place the holes to force the water from one chamber to the next.....hmmm, a good idea you have there.

[Mongwopman]

Update!

Well my tank is in cnstruction. i was hoping to have it tomorrow, but seem saturday is more than likely on the cards, each chamber piece is cutout and drilled. So just assembly.


Alas i dont have any "during construction" pic, but will post pics when it's complete!

@ veegal, yeah thats more or less what im going to be doing, i gotta experiment a bit with the flow while it cycles and so on!

[Zafgak]

Guys and gals - if you holes drilled in glass, your friendly glass shop MAY do it for you. If you want a NUMBER of holes drilled it is certainly cheaper to buy a diamond glass drill bit and DIY..

But remember Practise Practise Practise.

There is a method the lapidarists use to drill gemstones cheaply etc. IF you want a short description of how - just ask.

[Mongwopman]

So...update time. My barracks tank is now sitting at my house, ready to be cleaned up and filled up!

Will post some pics later

however....on inspection, seems the did a bit of a kak job and some glass is skew, making 1 side higher off the floor than the other side.
So i can see myself having to put a thin layer of substrate in just so the Betta dont decide to swim under the the glass. I have read online of similar tank made and there being enough flow between the substrate to allow this.Anyways, will test it beforhand with 1 fighter and see what happens.

Also i think the holes that were drilled are a tad big (5mm), if that is the case then i'll just silicon some netting over each hole.

[Mongwopman]

Well a bit late with the pics, but here is my constructed Betta Barracks.
I got a paintball event tomorrow so alas i cant set it up, but should be operational by Sunday.
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/mongwopman/GEDC0251.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/mongwopman/GEDC0252.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/mongwopman/GEDC0253.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/mongwopman/GEDC0254.jpg

[solex69]

very nice meneer!

[Dolphin]

yep, very nice!

[veegal]

Nice one! How large is each 'compartment'?

[Mongwopman]

Got some newer photos with fish in!

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/mongwopman/GEDC0255.jpg

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/mongwopman/GEDC0256.jpg

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/mongwopman/GEDC0257.jpg

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/mongwopman/GEDC0258.jpg

Not the greatest photos im afraid! Still need to get more substrate to finish along the bottom!

@veegal, cant recall from the plans, but it's 10cm x ??? Will check at lunch time today and get back to you!

[chas84]

Your Betta barracks are awesome! If I may make a suggestion... I would opt for a darker (preferably black) substrate. The sides of the sections seem to reflect the light, and with the beautiful colors of your bettas, a black gravel will enhance your entire setup.

I use very fine black (i think silica) gravel. I'ts a tad more expensive than regular sand, but absolutely worth it.

Well done!

[Mongwopman]

Yeah i thought about about that, even painting the back of the tank.

However, where i live (mordor) we have VERY little access to decent stuff, so finding black substrate will be next to impossible.

[chas84]

Mordor - The land of shadows...

Go have a look at a decent nursery, they'll probably have some things you can use as substrate.

[Mongwopman]

Hmmm, not a bad idea, thanks man.

Will try a place here in Mordor (mthatha)

[chas84]

Remember to test before you use. Testing can be as simple as placing a few drops of vinegar on the rock or gravel you are considering using. If it fizzes or foams, don't use it, as it contains calcium deposits. Another way of testing rocks and gravel is to place them in a bucket of the same water that you use in your aquarium. Test the pH and hardness, and then let it sit for a week and test again. If there is a significant change, the rocks or gravel are likely to cause problems.

What to avoid are rocks that are highly calcareous (unless you keep fish that need hard water and high pH) – meaning they have a large amount of calcium. Calcareous rocks and gravel will alter the hardness and pH of your water.

Rocks to Avoid include:

Limestone
Marble
Geodes
Dolomite
Shells or crushed coral

Safer Rocks Include:

Granite
Quartz
Slate
Lava Rock
Onyx
Sandstone (should always test before using)

Regardless of the type of rock or gravel, you should test it to be sure.

[Mongwopman]

Hi Chase, thanks for that, but I already knew all that. LOL! But good info for others reading.

After doing some phoning around, seems that pool filter sand is the only stuff i can get, unless it's the bigger size substrate, which i dont like at all!

[chas84]

Hi Chase, thanks for that, but I already knew all that. LOL! But good info for others reading.

Pleasure. Let's hope it prevents somebody from putting seashells in with their Discus, lol :p


After doing some phoning around, seems that pool filter sand is the only stuff i can get, unless it's the bigger size substrate, which i dont like at all!

Don't you know somebody up here in Gauteng that you can send to go get some gravel and post/courier it to you? The Post Office is quite cheap (and fairly reliable)...

[Mongwopman]

HAHA!

Nah it's cool dude, I'll just plod along. besides they fish wont be in that barracks for long. thats just a housing tank for them anyways.

[veegal]

It's looking really good man! So how is the water flow through the compartments working?

[Mongwopman]

Thanks man!

It's not very strong, but it is there!

[veegal]

As long as it's flowing then it's all good :)

Sound like one of those hippies from the 60s - it's all good man :cheers:

[f-fish]

Mongwopman - you beta barracks still working/exists?