Hi all! I don’t have a betta or even a tank yet! I’m planning to get a tank/plants/etc at the start of May and a fish at the end of May/start ofJune depending on how long it takes for the tank to be cycled properly.
I make some pottery and was wondering if this little mushroom house could be a hide? the door and chimney would definitely be safe exits, but are bettas prone to trying to go through things they shouldn’t, even when there’s safe exits very nearby? I’m just worried that the little “windows” would be too small. I haven’t glazed the piece yet but it will be a totally food (and fish) safe glaze, but I’d like to know if it’s even possible for it to be a tank decoration eventually or not. There’s photos with my hands by the openings for some reference. Thanks everyone!
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1spd7z0
Posted by AdventurousAd1391
17 Comments
I’m not sure, but I think if a betta tried to go through the window it would almost certainly get stuck and like get injured. I personally wouldn’t recommend, but that is just my opinion.
I think your instinct is correct in not trusting those windows.
I’m actually going to stay from the consensus here and say that its actually the chimney that worries me the most. It looks like a betta could just barely squeeze through and honestly it isnt worth the risk.
Fill any holes with glass/glaze/resin and violá
I agree, a betta will 100% find a way to get itself stuck somehow. You could try adding a piece of clear plastic behind the holes to block them off. Acrylic would work well for that. That way the openings still look like “windows” and you could probably clean them with something like a toothbrush if needed.
Chiming in as a betta owner and potterer: careful about your glaze choices if you decide to use your pieces in an aquarium. Lead, zinc, and other heavy metal leeching may be an issue. I haven’t done the research into safe vs not glazes, but came across the warning when I was curious about making some pieces for my aquariums. I’m guessing “dinnerware safe” is probably fine, but I’d look deeper to confirm that before putting it into a tank. It’s an adorable piece and i think others are correct in that the holes may be just big enough for a betta to think they can get through, only to end up stuck. You could totally go with the same concept/design, just make any holes exaggeratedly big so theres no question if they’d fit through. Maybe just the chimney a tad larger and remove the window “panes” and make one bigger window?
I’d put some plastic wrap over the windows and then do the glaze, it’d be fine!
I’d probably silicone the window and chimney shut (potentially with a little piece of mesh to still let water through).
if you want to use it, i would super glue a mesh behind the windows & over the chimney. like a clear/white net so that they cannot get into it. plus double check if the ceramic is safe for aquariums
As someone who has worked in ceramics, my suggestion would be to remove the cross pieces from the windows while the piece is still greenware.
I would probably also enlarge the round window/windows on the sides, and make sure the edges of the openings were well rounded and smooth.
I would definitely screen off or even completely block the chimney, since I don’t think you could widen the opening sufficiently, without destroying the chimney as a result.
I don’t even think the window would be the issue, I’d imagine the ceramic would be farrrr too sharp, no?
It looks fairly rounded off but there’s a few spots that still give me worry
Yes but glue moss to the inside of the windows to be safe ❤️
No! I had a little castle in my tank as a kid and mine got stuck in a window and died.
The windows are definitely too small imo. But, I recently got decor that had small holes in it too. I did two different things depending on the spot; I used water-safe reef glue (p much just super glue from my LFS) to fill the holes with filter floss, or I also just stuffed some baby rhizome plants in the holes.
With reef glue, you could cover or fill the windows with anything aquarium safe. Small pieces of filter floss, filter sponge (which might be fun in this case bc you could use different colors and make stained glass windows!), thick pieces of moss like Christmas moss, whatever you want!
If you can I’d actually just cut the window pieces out, especially if you haven’t fired it yet. Or cut it out and slip it and do another fire?
I am however unsure if glaze is safe.
If you can make that (very cool, btw) then just make something like that but with holes he can swim through. He should love it.
I don’t think so unless you know /trust the betta won’t hurt itself. Maybe if you put plants thru the windows that don’t need rooted in the substrate