5gal sitting sideways across tops of 2x4's?

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knifegill

knifegill

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
Sep 19, 2005
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Oscar Tummy
I might be getting a special paralyzed giant betta if my LFS will take the trade for a healthy silver angel. I've got little space and am wondering if the 5gal will be fine about 3/4 full sitting lengthwise across the thin edge of two 2x4's on the stand under my 125g. So it would be as if you drove up to your average tank and picked it up with a forklift.
 
Will be fine. I've seen 55gal tanks supported on only the ends hold water for years.
 
I don't get it. Why are you trading a healthy fish for a half dead one?


Or is the betta suppose to be paralized? If so, I still don't get it. :(
 
5 gallon tank would only be about 50 pounds water weight, with the tank, substrate, filter, etc adding very little weight on top of that. the set up you described to put the 5 gallon will be fine. i might add a piece of plywood across the 2x4's just to create a broader surface area for the weight distribution.
 
Plywood or plank...I'll add that next w/c! Good call. I should have thought of that!
I don't get it. Why are you trading a healthy fish for a half dead one?


Or is the betta suppose to be paralized? If so, I still don't get it. :(
Click to expand...
Half dead? No way. This guy hits food like a snakehead and is very alert. Just picture roger rabbit with his legs chopped off. Still a spunky rabbit. In a wheelchair. Different care requirements, but otherwise healthy. Did you see the video I made? http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4075079#post4075079 This betta is a champ aside from swimming like a seahorse and getting exhausted quickly.

He's not supposed to be paralyzed. Nothing with a vertebral column is supposed to be paralyzed.

I traded one of the angelfish so they would stop killing each other. I only had two. I would have moved her to the 125g, but I didn't think five sunfish and a big old oscar would make the best company for a neotropical fireball.

And, to defend my LFS, he refused to call it a trade. He said, "Well, you can HAVE the gimpy betta and if you want to bring in the angelfish, go ahead". I found that to be fair for all involved.

I've always wanted a giant betta so when I saw a disabled one that might need special care, it just felt right to provide that. I wasn't looking for a disabled betta, I just found him! I'm pretty sure everybody won in this scenario.

The angelfish is now in a big group where she can find her spot in the pecking order.

The betta is in a home perfectly adapted for a fish with his needs.

The LFS got a good angel to sell so they won't lose money on the sinker betta.

I reduced the aggression in my 55g and finally have one of my dream fish.

Seems to add up pretty well.
 
very cool dude, I like what you're doing . . . at my LFS, there is one betta that is similarly handicapped (differently-abled?), and they won't sell it or give it away, it is personally cared-for by the FW manager . . . has a little sign on his tank explaining the situation . . .
 
Structurally speaking I think a 5 gal spanning between 2x4s on end is just fine and poses no risk...

Practically speaking I would add something to stabilize the 2x4s removeing the risk of them rolling. This could be done by adding a single 2x4 between them making the the overview of the structure look like an 'H'... of by adding a piece of plywood to either the top or bottom of the 2x4s...


I personally feel that keeping a 'deformed' fish alive is a bit sappier than a project I'd undertake... But I have other areas of life I tend to be a bit sappy about so I can't criticize anyone who chooses to do so by any means... excuse me while I go hug a tree, lol :D
 
yes, but only because we are not used to seeing this. doesn't mean the stands are not safe. but it illustrates the point that the manfacturers are telling the truth.

glass tanks only need end support.

if you tried this with an acrylic tank however, the tank would fold and you would have a big mess.

but not so with glass tanks.

there is a thread somewhere on cichlid forum that explains the physics behind why this is so, something about how the bottom glass panel acts as a girder and becomes extremely difficult to break.
 
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