I keep my male betta in a large community aquarium. I’m afraid he can’t build a bubblenest on account of the current. Is there any advice you can offer?
A: Hunny, I’ve got more advice then I know what to do with.
Because I don’t breed bettas I generally don’t bother worrying about bubble nests in their tanks, however I do breed Dwarf Gouramis (Colisa lalia), which are close anabantoid cousins to the Betta and I have fashioned a little nursery area out of tank dividers commonly found at many local fish stores.
I fasten the clips to the two perpendicular sides of tank opposite where I keep my filter. I then cut a 2 inch strip off the mesh divider and attach each short end to the clips so that 1/4 inch – 1/2″ sticks above the water, breaking the surface. In my 29 gallon tank it stops the current entirely in my nursery area so my male Dwarf Gourami can build his nest and tend the eggs. I keep the strip down to 2 inches because it allows him to easily enter and exit to get more debris for his nest. The photo above shows him in action.
If you’d like to read more about bettas and bubble nests visit the Bubble Nest page at Nippyfish.net.