I got Angron as a baby betta from Petco back in November. He was the last addition to my 20g tank (rasboras, snails and shrimps). I thought since the tank is heavily planted and he was a baby, he'd be less of a jerk. After hemming and hawing and denying his aggressiveness, I finally re set up the tank with a proper divider. My husband says Angron got the butt end of the divorce proceedings. His side of the tank is on the left with the hardscape.
https://i.redd.it/4bp4hcjsjgmg1.jpeg
Posted by minervafoxart
5 Comments
Hope he stays over there! My attempt at a tank divider was unsuccessful, but it was 2 bettas so they were very persistent with wanting to get to each other and fight. One got into the other side twice before I gave up and got a separate tank.
The issue here is that the tank is wide open. Betta communities rely on heavy planting to break lines of sight and allow the betta to establish a territory (usually 3-8g of space in the wild).
Instead of a divider, I would highly recommend adding ~$20 of large plants that will break up the tank. I would do an Amazon Sword, a fat hornwort bunch, and an anubius bartei somewhere to act as a perch. Maybe find a piece of spiderwood to take up some space in the tank too
What has he done to deserve that?
That is not what I would call an heavily planted tank, Betta need a lot of cover and features right at the surface of the water, that’s pretty lacking.
Bettas with tank mate is a tricky thing, if you put them in the tank last it can help, if you got the Betta young it can help too. But by no means it is an insurance that the fish will not get aggressive once he reach sexual maturity. When attempting Betta with tank mate you should always have a plan b on hand, namely another well planted cycled tank you can put the Betta alone if needed.
Your husband is not wrong here, but it’s not the Betta that lost its all the fish that have less space. The Rasboras should not see their space reduce and pay the price because you didn’t have a plan B for the Betta.
I’m sorry to tell you this babe, that tank is most definitely not heavily planted. Bettas are a mid to top tank swimmers, they do go to the bottom but prefer to spend their time more towards the top. Since all your plants are small, he doesn’t have anywhere up top to hide and thats probably why you’re seeing so much aggression.
I personally would work more on finding taller plants than cutting his swimming space down 75%. Bettas are also well known for jumping so once he realize theres more room across the wall from him, he will get to the other side. Good luck.