My betta fish Murphy was rescued from Wal-Mart by my mother and sister-in-law and given to me as a Christmas present. I've attempted the "mirror experiment" several times to illicit a response from him, and he never gives me one! He either ignores the mirror completely or glances at it and swims away.
I have him in a one gallon desktop aquarium with a golden apple snail. I've had him for over 2 months and he seems to be doing fine--good color, nice fins, active, all that. He even occasionally pecks at Mookie (my snail.) Their water is changed weekly and I always make sure the water temp is where it's supposed to be.
What's wrong with my fish? Is non-aggression a personality trait that some bettas possess or should I be worried?
2007-03-01 17:06:48 · 10 answers · asked by Jennie V 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
flaring is healthy for bettas in controlled amounts. no more than 2hours a week, 15 minutes at a time.
however, so are just laid back and won't flare. I have four males that are right next to each other and never flare.
I do have a few concerns though, a one gallon tank is a bit tight to have an apple snail in with him, especially if there is no filter. snails eat algae but they are also little poop machines, so they really add more waste than they clean. so in the future you may want to think about upgrading to at least a 2.5gallon tank, which is the minimal you should have a betta in. my other concern is "the temp is where it's supposed to be" that's about 80° ideally, and no less than 75°F for a healthy betta. no don't get me wrong, you betta sounds very healthy and anything is better than a walmart cup, but ideally the temp should be around 80°F and in a 1gallon tank that's hard to achieve. just another reason I suggest having a 2.5gallon tank or more, then you can have a heater and control the temp.
anyway, he sounds pretty normal, I wouldn't be worried. if you'd like you can try to get him to flare but getting a crayon or something and slowly moving it along the glass he should see it an d chase it, but if not, he may just be laid back. as long as he doesn't show signs of illness I wouldn't be worried.
2007-03-01 18:44:46 · answer #1 · answered by Kylie Anne 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
it fairly is been shown that bettas (like each and every animals,fish etc.) earnings from "workout". so sure, some flaring or chasing nutrition, or being chased by potential of your finger (assuming you have not any cleansing soap/lotion etc. residue on your palms), for a jiffy is sweet for the betta and mimics the activities performed interior the wild. too lots flaring to a reflect, is stressful and may well be undesirable. I opt to chase the betta, or make him chase the top of a turkey baster for bloodworms particularly than making use of a reflect. be conscious: this information comes from learn performed on betta durability, the place researchers chased some bettas around their bowls with a small plastic stick, on a daily basis; the "exercised" bettas lived longer than people who have been left on my own and not stricken on a daily basis.
2016-10-17 02:00:55 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some of them just don't do it. The first one I had never did it and he lived 2 years (a nice life span for a betta.) The second one did it frequently. They're just different like people are different. If he saw a real betta he'd probably either flare or he'd be attacked and killed by the other guy.
2007-03-01 17:11:24 · answer #3 · answered by Behaviorist 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I wouldn't worry. Flaring also stresses the fish because they're being defensive, aggressive, showing off their alpha status and probably just gets them unnecessarily worked up. It looks cool, but they're probably more "well-adjusted" and healthy not doing it.
2007-03-01 17:11:39 · answer #4 · answered by Venice Girl 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I've had many Beta's in my life, and it sounds like your fish is doing just fine, as long as he's "acting" normal, no worries. Changing your water excessively isn't good for your fish though, you should change your water less and do partial water changes when you actually do them. If your not overfeeding your fish this shouldn't be a problem. One cool thing I did with Betas once was get a tank with a divider and have one on each side, this helped keep my Betas really active always checking each other out. Jay P.S. Walmart fish suck, they have no business selling them.
2007-03-01 17:21:03 · answer #5 · answered by Jay P 2 · 0⤊ 5⤋
When I first got my betta, he was like that too. perhaps it rally is a personality of some bettas... Oh well, everone's different.There is, though, nothing to worry about. there's no need to force it into him. Now, whenever my betta sees me, he starts flaring. Good luck to you!
2007-03-01 22:28:12 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
haha
i had the same problem over 3 weeks ago
and now i have eggs lol they did there breeding thing tonight
but anyways
my betta would never flare liek yours
untill
i showed him another betta and it was a female first
then a male(of different color)
and well now he mated so yeah you get it
you could try another male?
but then again your betta is probably aggressvie but has no one to show it to
its living with a snail haha
hope this helps
-Ivan
2007-03-01 17:21:27 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 5⤋
Not to be cynical or anything, but why do you want your betta to flare up? Doing this isn't good for the betta at all. If your betta isn't flaring, could it be a female? And yes, there are bettas that do not flare or aren't as aggressive.
It's not a game or fun for the betta to flare. It's a response to make them fight. Please be considerate of your fishie.
2007-03-01 18:20:42 · answer #8 · answered by onzanzabarsands@sbcglobal.net 2 · 3⤊ 6⤋
check the water temp. also, how old?? he may jst be a baby. try to polish the mirror you are using. are you holding it up right on the glass??
2007-03-01 17:11:02 · answer #9 · answered by hydez2002 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
you are wasting your time thinking about him.,.,.betta is fine and living with you happily.,.,you just cheers up and be happy.
2007-03-01 20:28:55 · answer #10 · answered by Sunny 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋