With more and more fish keepers starting to add betta fish to their tanks, we have noticed a spike in people asking questions about making a DIY betta hammock.
Betta fish love to have places to lay in peace while the rest and the “betta fish hammock” is definitely one of the better options that tends to make a great addition to your tank.
The problem is, you are able to purchase a pre-made betta hammock that tends to work out cheaper than making one yourself unless you have the required materials.
The pre-made betta hammocks are arguably more comfortable for your betta too while also being much easier to fit to your aquarium so they will be a better option for the majority of our readers.
Due to seeing so many different questions being asked from the community about using a betta hammock in their betta’s tank, we have also decided to answer as many of them as possible in this article.
Our hope is that we will be able to help as many of our readers as possible who have questions about using a betta fish hammock in their betta’s tank to make sure that your betta gets used to the hammock quickly and is able to use it to rest on safely.
How Do You Make A DIY Betta Hammock?
There are a number of different ways that you are able to make a DIY betta hammock but we would not recommend that you use the methods using cloth or gauze as your betta’s scales can have issues.
Making a DIY leaf hammock using a suitable leaf, usually, Indian almond leaves is usually the best option.
You are able to purchase clean, safe, and ready to use Indian almond leaves online to use when you make your bettas hammock to make the process as easy as possible.
Although Indian almond trees are originally from India, there are now wide spread throughout Europe and North America making it easy to go out and find the leaves in your local area if needed.
The problem with making a natural betta hammock is that some of the leaves that you choose from your local area may contain toxins that will cause problems with the water parameters in your betta’s tank.
Always check that the leaves are safe and clean before you add them to your tank but for the most part, once you have a suitable leaf, you can add it to your betta’s tank for your fish to use to rest on, you can even just let it sit on your betta’s substrate if needed.
Where Should You Put A Betta Hammock?
You are able to place your betta hammock in a number of different locations within your tank depending on its setup.
The most common areas to place a betta hammock is to lay it on the substrate of the tank or to attach it to the aquarium glass around two inches below the waterline.
The type of betta hammock that you are trying to use will usually dictate the location where you have to put the hammock.
Most DIY betta hammocks won’t have a suction cup to mount the hammock to the side of the aquarium glass making you use it on the substrate in your tank.
Thankfully, though, suction cups are cheap and can be purchased online to let you place your DIY betta hammock where ever you need it.
If you have purchased a silk pre-made betta hammock then they usually come with the suction cup as standard.
The spine of the leaf in the silk hammocks is usually stronger allowing you to place it anywhere you want in your betta’s aquarium.
If you have noticed that your betta likes to relax in a certain part of its aquarium then this lets you add the hammock to your betta’s favourite place to make it even more comfortable.
How Do You Install A Betta Hammock?
There are a number of ways that you are able to install the betta hammock in your aquarium. The more common methods range form simply laying the hammock on the substrate of the tank to using suction cups to secure the hammock to the since of the glass.
We have seen some people come up with some truly ingenious ways to install their betta hammocks into their tanks by integrating it with suitable live plants too.
Although this really does look good for any aquascaping efforts you are making for your tank, it will take too much time and effort for the majority of our readers.
Provided you are using a leaf rather than a fabric, your betta probably doesn’t care where its hammock is either. It simply wants somewhere comfortable to lay and rest on a smooth surface so a hammock on the substrate of the tank can work just as well as any other.
That said, the general consensus is that most betta fish do tend to prefer to have their hammocks around two inches below the water line in their tank.
Are Silk Betta Hammocks Worth It?
Pre-made silk betta hammocks are an excellent option to take when it comes to adding a hammock to your bettas tank as they are cheap, ready to use, and come with a suction cup.
This allows you to add the hammock to any area of your aquarium that you want and this can be a pain with a DIY hammock with no suction cup.
This is why the majority of people who have a betta hammock in their tank use a silk betta hammock. There are a number of different styles of betta hammock available too so you are able to find something that is perfect for your tank.
As we touched on earlier in the article, we see some people trying to go out of their way to make an all natural DIY hammock for their betta fish only to realize that they have used a toxic leaf for their hammock.
Using a pre-made silk hammock totally removes this worry too and allows you to get the hammock into your bettas tank quicker with zero worry about toxins.
Do Bettas Need A Hammock?
Although betta fish do not need a hammock, they can provide a safe, comfortable place for your pet betta fish to rest.
If you notice that you betta fish is taking little “naps” on other surfaces in its tank then adding a hammock is probably a good idea as they are safer for your bettas scales.
Some betta fish love to take their little naps multiple times per day and you will often see them resting on different surfaces in the tank.
This is probably the quickest and easiest way to gauge if your betta fish would actually use a hammock or not with th chances being much higher of a betta fish actually using a hammock if you have already noticed it resting on other surfaces.
Due to the majority of the good betta hammocks only being around $10, the majority of people do tend to purchase one to try it with their betta anyway.
Even a betta who you have not seen resting on other surfaces in its tank may still use a silk hammock when it touches the material and realises how smooth it is.
How To Get Your Betta To Use A Hammock!
The easiest way to get your betta fish to use its hammock is to place the hammock around two inches below the water line of the tank and then feed your betta directly above the hammock.
This encourages the betta to get close to the hammock and realise that it is not a thread to it and to try laying on it.
We have seen a wide range of different methods from people on how they got their betta fish to use its hammock but we still think that the feeding method above is the best option on the market by far.
That said though, if you do have a betta fish who likes to rest then there is a high chance that your betta will simply take to the hammock without you having to do anything.
If you are wanting to use a DIY hammock then we would highly recommend that you stick to using Indian almond leaves as your hammock base as they tend to have the highest success rates of betta fish actually using them.
The majority of people choose to use a silk betta hammock due to their convenience though and their ability to get your betta fish using the hammock quickly.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over hammocks for your betta fish as well las how to use a DIY betta hammock to an end. We hope that we have been able to help you better understand how you should be integrating your hammock into your bettas tank as well as what you are able to do to increase the chances of your betta fish actually using its hammock too.
