So, I went ahead and divided my new ten gallon tank and have Wraith on one side and Pewter on the other. And, while watching Pewter try to make himself look big and scary (he is half the size of Wraith) is quite entertaining, I'm wondering with all you experienced folks, how long it took your guys in divided tanks to settle down.

Here they are posturing:


They are biting at each other and flaring and all the rest. The divider is doing it's job though, seems to be working well.

It is not advice to dividing two males like this. Sooner or later, they will be shorten their life expension. Too exhausted because both wants to fight. You need to cover it up so both can't see each others. You only let them see each other 15 minutes only twice per day only. Other time you only let them be alone. :)

I am honestly inclined to almost disagree... I see what Yeevia means, but at the same time, mine are in divided tanks and they just let eachother chill.

They sleep nearby, show off sometimes, and really don't flare as often as one would think. When they do flare, they swim off in a few seconds somewhere and find something else to do :)

They are quite desensitized, so it works out, but it is just enough stimulation to keep them excited for bubblenests.

Well, I can see that it would be unhealthy for sure if they keep at this pace. They have slowed a bit and have each "gone to their corner" but they come back at it after a rest. If they are still at it tonight I'm going to put a blue tupperware lid against the divider so that they will at least have a break through the night. I think I will plant along the divider on the larger side so that they won't be able to see each other so much and will have to work around the plants to fight.

I took Pewter out and put him in a bowl for a while to rest. He looked exhausted, was starting to rest on the ground and then come back up to fight more. Poor guy.

I think my dividers are a bit more "frosted". Sometimes they don't notice eachother, so it is a combination of plants and tint I think.

Yours seem aggressive. Though mine probably are as well and I just don't remember, since they've all had a partner for over 6 months now :)

I agree with Yeevia on this one. It is not advised to divide them with a clear plastic divider because it will cause them great stress and might even blow their tails. Just get those plastic canvas sheet which are extremely cheap and most people had had success with them by planting plants along the divider.

*shrugs* Guess I just lucked out with my 6 :D

Oh yes. You can defrost that type of clear plastic. Mine do turn to blur and you can't see the other side too after long wear. Do turn off the light so they can see each other and go to sleep at night just like normal.
In Thailand or halfmoon breeders, they do card each compartment. That is why they only let them see a while and card them back to let them rest and stress less. :)
See is this work or not. Take out the screen, untach all the green holder. Take that clear plastic and put on the concrete floors and sand it like sand paper. Round cycler motion. Do both side and I hope it will turned froasty. :)

It's pretty safe to say that they'll eventually come to almost ignore each other.
That's happened to me every single time I've had fish either in divided tanks or sitting next to each other in side-by-side tanks. As SH already said, they will become desensitized to it.

I'd give them breaks, but eventually they'll calm down.

Lots of people on this forum have divided tanks just like that and it seems to work out just fine. Just keep an eye on them until they do start to calm down.

Yeah, it takes a while for them to acclimate to having a mate right next to them. They chill... or chew their tails off... lol.

You could always take a bit of fine sand paper to the divider to frost it. I don't know if I'd trust using the window frosting stuff for my tank. It hasn't been tested for aquarium use, you know? Either that or replace the clear plastic with plastic canvas... with really small holes.

I hope the boys settle down a bit soon... heh.

Yeah there is only one LFS near me that cards they're betta and those are the only one blowing bubbles. The others just left them there and they began to become stressed out.

Thanks for all the input guys! I did take Pewter out last night and let him sleep the whole night in a bowl by himself because he'd exhausted himself to the point of collapse. Today I'm going to find an old binder that I can cut the cover off and I'm going to put that on one side of the clear divider with clips. That way I can remove it on ocassion to let them see each other. Maybe someday they won't fight and I won't need it so much.

I never would have thought my little Pewter had so much fight in him.

Here's an update. I put Pewter back in yesterday after a day of rest in a bowl. They have ignored each other ever since. Wraith is too busy building the biggest bubble nest on God's green earth (or at least in His waters) so Pewter is just exploring his side of the tank. He was still wearing stress stripes this morning and I believe it's due to the current so I did the pop bottle trick on the filter and I think it'll be just the thing. Poor guy was getting pulled all over, now he looks to be enjoying himself a little more. I think he's a worrier. He had stress stripes when I brought him home and they lasted three days. Silly guy.

Good to hear that. jay jay jay