Help Me Design My Betta Home!

[ReMz]

Well.... I'm still looking at the same 'betta palace' i was so inclined to fully aqua scape b4 i found myself low on cash and taking exams. (Easy to be ambitious when you have nothing to do)
I'm bored of it... It was a piss-poor design in a treatment tank that i intended to decorate later.... i threw plants in there hopelessly because i hated it..... there is no background.... THE TANK IS BLAND!...

Tank pic (10gallon):

Need I say more?

I need some creative ideas and there are 2 options. Pick the one that you prefer or give me ideas for both. Up to you :
1) Rescape the whole tank
2)Divide the tank and create two very unique betta habitats

Now for the requirements for each consideration::
1) Betta tank with 2 otos
-MAIN point... give me a good layout for a small tank. Draw it, diagram it, explain it, and only if entirely too tempting.... reference photos, but if you HAVE to. I just want unique ideas
-I would like to try to keep the white gravel. Not necessary though
-rock or wood themed?
-what kind of plants (lighting is limited)
-decor?
-any input is good input. i'm looking for ideas

2) DIVIDE the tank and quit trying to convince myself I'm ok having one betta live at my house.
-Not looking for "YES GET ANOTHER BETTA!" answers here... although i do realize which forum i'm in
-Otos move to 30g
-Not looking for standard, "this side", "that side" sort of ideas
-i want something fun and aesthetic in this scenario.
-i'm not leaning towards this unless convinced that the logistics and appearance considerations can be fullfilled
-think im only mentioning dividing the tank cuz i miss my guys:

Basically I want a great looking 10 gallon and need some sort of direction

edit: i'm all over the place on this one lol.

 

[Spishkey]

i shall watch this with interest, my 60L is going to be a betta tank for the kids, i cant decide between 5 females or split it into two for two males....

 

[Netty]

Well I score nil on being creative but what about some wood like Carerra has in his new tank, and a coconut cave. I'm useless with plants too lol but moss balls look nice and also some floating plant like frogbit....it breaks up the emptiness of the top of the tank and Bettas love to hang around in the roots.

Maybe make the substrate more undulating so it's not just flat all over. As for background I'd go with a light colour so your little guy shows up better. I not a fan of picture backgrounds and we tend to use coloured card instead.

Sorry it's not a great help....but I did warn you

 

[newfishy]

well, I would divide it in two, but I would user black craft mesh and black binder spines and nicely silicone them in, to better match the black trim around the tank because I find the penplax dividers though they work well, not conductive to a nice looking showy tank.

I thought I would try and use paint shop to better get the idea

on the left side move the small rock more forward and plant something tall and almost wispy along the divider. in the left corner plant something very tall that will creep over the surface, like a bunch of onion plants. then just move around a few of the current plants to fill in the back and side.

on the right I would get ride of the turtle, unless you love it, move the rocks on the far right a little more forward and move that rock on the left behind them. then Id get a nice chucnk of drift wood and place it next to the divider.
some more of the tall wispy stuff in the back left. and a moss ball in grount of and slightly to the right of the drift wood. then move a few of the current plants to fill in.

 

[Honeythorn]

Ok sorry for the crappiness I did it in 15 mins with watercolour pencils and MS paint for the text but you get the gist.

Apart from Java fern I have all the above plants in my tanks with the basic stock lighting and all are doing fine, so low light is not too much of a problem. All are commonly found in fish stores.

I would get rid of that huge rock you have. It just takes over everything . I think the nice smooth piece of bogwood with java fern tied to it would look better. It's also not as heavy as that massive rock.

Those flat rocks I see in your photo can be used to tie java moss to, or you could use slate if you want bigger pieces that form a solid carpet for the bottom. Either tie it down with cotton thread or clear/green hairnet.


Mossballs are great looking things, and 3 or 4 dotted about the tank or clustered together give a nice effect. They don't get out of control and do fine in low light. I know I saw some on Ebay 5 balls for a £5 ( 2 large 3 small I think it was) a while ago.

Amazon sword has big broad-ish leaves which will hide some of the tank back and provide resting platforms for the betta.

Cabomba is soft and feathery and easy to grow, looks great in a solid clump in corners and sides.

Elodia is very easy to grow also, it will need trimming as it can get quite long, but just nip off the pieces just below where any new roots have come out of the sides, and replant those bits in any gaps you want to fill.

Any small nice rocks left over can just be dotted where you want them or removed completely.

 

[ReMz]

Thx for the responses guys!

Lol... I should resist making topics at 3a.m. after a night out drinking . Somehow, the initial post ended up being pretty darn good (despite the rambling).

I'm really looking for a complete rescape, and not anything based on what I have now. I really just threw some things in there thinking I was going to change it..... and then I got hung up scaping my 30gal (I've got some sweeeeeeet plans for this one).

I'm just a bit tied up on how make a 10 gal to my liking. The current setup is far from my style. Natual setups are certainly my preference, so the white gravel will prob need to go.

Newfishy, I certainly like the ideas for dividing. I'm still torn on whether I want to divide it or not.... as it really limits what I can do with the tank. Hard (or impossible) to have a good focal point.

and Honeythorn.... . Thx for taking the time to do that . Much appreciated. I was thinking about downward "right to left" design with the bogwood over on the right. However, I think using a good piece of wood in front of the all the equipment would be a much better idea. A picture says a thousand words. I'm certainly inspired by that. Although I'm not much of a moss ball fan (read-natural looks). You have certainly hit my taste for a great looking tank.

Of course I'm leaning towards the idea that I was pre-conditioned to like. Something entirely different (if well thought out) could certainly break me from the mold. Bit hard to do on an easy-to-setup, low light tank though. I'm not looking to construct crazy rock formations or build up large "hills".

Apologies for the delayed response on this one. I appreciate all of the input I've gotten . I'll keep this updated.

 

[ThePiggy]

I saw this one online and thought it looked neat. Maybe it will help inspire you

 

[ReMz]

I saw this one online and thought it looked neat. Maybe it will help inspire you

similar to the plans i have for my 30 gal actually

same sort of layout. just not nearly as high-maintenance as that . I'm still a noob with plants (well.... researched, but inexperienced).