Divided Tank Catastrophe

Swincess 01/22/20

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RIP Divided 10 Gal 1/21/20

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Yesterday was interesting :sweat_smile:

My 10 gal has started to bow in the middle, making the mid section (where the divided goes) wider. It made it so the divider was not wide enough to fully divide the tank into two sections. I didn’t realize that it was wide enough for the betta to slip though until yesterday. I saw Ace casually swimming around his side of the tank, and Deluca flaring up a storm and following him.

I quickly got Deluca back over to his side and I stuffed some sponge in between the divider and tank wall, hoping that would temporarily fix the issue. So I went off to shower and get ready to sleep anddd

Nope. Deluca still got through

So I put Deluca in a cup and rushed to clean out the 7.5 gallon. I hadn’t cleaned that tank for a couple weeks since it was fishless, so it needed to be completely stripped to make sure it wasn’t infested with whatever Vulcan had going on before he ed. That was a major pain in the butt, but I got it done. I took some water from the 10 gal and put it in the 7.5 for Deluca so there wouldn’t be a crazy shock to his system.

My back is killing me and I’m way overtired, but at least the boys are happy and safe now. Deluca made out like a king since he got to show Ace who’s alpha AND he got a whole new tank to himself. Ace made out alright, a little beat up, but now he has 10 gallons all to himself. He stood no chance since he’s not a fighter when it comes to bettas, but I’m sure he would kill a human if he was able to.

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10 Gallon Now

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I kinda like how it looks, but I can’t get over how it feels so empty for a single (non-king) betta. But at least Ace can live out the rest of his days peacefully! I’m not sure how much longer I have with him because small tumors are forming here and there on his body. They’re growing fairly quickly so I’m afraid I won’t have much longer with him :disappointed_relieved:

Rough lookin little guy, but he should heal up quickly like it never even happened! It definitely could’ve been much worse. I keep noticing how much he has aged, it’s crazy how old he looks. As you can see, he has some diamond eye that’s slowly taking over his vision. He should be around 2 years old in a couple months!

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7.5 Gallon

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I forgot how much I love this tank. It just looks so cleaannn! I hope Deluca likes it too...the little brat. His new nickname as of late has been “Deluca the Terror” because he’s been such a troublemaker.

Ace didn’t nip him at all. He’s got some growth from when he nipped in shipping though. I can’t wait until his fins are completely back!

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Lil Heads-Up

For those who have or plan on getting divided tanks:

Watch for bowing in the middle! I hope not all tanks do this, but the other 10 gal I had did it as well, so keep an eye out for that! Try to get tanks that have the black trim through the middle, if possible. Something like this probably would’ve saved my tank from bowing: