if your betta fish tail is down does that mean his sad?

Question

because i have a boy and he's tail is always down, and i feed him 3 times a day?

Answer 1

The photos you usually see of bettas with their tail and fins spread ( example: http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y38/lionel319/betta1.jpg )ISN'T how they normally appear. The photos are taken when there's a mirror nearby and the betta is "flaring" or challenging what he thinks is another betta. Notice that their nose is usually right up against the glass in the photos - he's looking at a mirror just out of sight!).

The normal position is for the tail to be slightly drooping: http://www.care.betta-fish.com.ar/images/betta-fish-12.jpg

Just be sure he doesn't have any dull coloration, which could be a sign of illness. They shouls also have a heater (water temperature should be 76-86o for bettas) and a small filter is also good. I keep mine in a 2.5 or 5 gallon tank so they have plenty of swimming room - the bowls are harder to maintain the temperature they need and require changing the water every 2-3 days to keep the water quality good.

Three times may be too much food for your fish - twice a day (4-5 pellets each time, or the equivalent in bloodworms, daphnia, or mosquito larvae) should be plenty.

Answer 2

Wild Betta's live in shallow pools or puddles. That's one of the reasons why they don't put them in big containers at the pet store. Also don't put two males together because they will fight each other. And in case you didn't know the males are really pretty and have long fins and the females have really short fins and they aren't as pretty. When I change my betta's water I always try to keep it about the same temp as before I changed it. If the water from the pet store and the water that you have ready in the tank are two different temps, then you should put the betta in a bag full of the pet store water and put the bag with the fish in your tank for 15 min. This will let it get used to the water temp. After about 15 min just put the fish in. you can put the pet store water in too if you want. If you want to get a healthy fish make sure that they dont have any ick on them. Its a fish disease. Ick makes the fish look like its got algae on its body. Most of the betta at the pet store wont look very perky. Its just the way betta are. They dont really get excited unless you are feeding them or another fish is in the tank (which is not a good idea). Keeping a betta is really easy. they dont take a lot of work. you feed them and clean their tank once in a while and they will be your fishy friend for a long time =] Also you seem to have a really great tank. Just make sure you dont add salt. they aren't salt water fish. Also dont feed them too much. All you need really is to feed him one or two pellets a day. Make sure he eats it though. Good luck =]

Answer 3

Male betta splendens often let their tails droop due to the size and weight. When displaying for females to mate with, or male rivals, or a mirror, then tail and dorsal will be straightened. (Sorry, can't think of the right words sometimes).
Sad, hard to say. How large a container and what's the water temp. Should be at least a 2 gallon tank, and temp at 78-82 F.

Answer 4

LOL, no it doesn't mean he's sad. =) I adopted a betta from a cousin a few years ago and his tail was always down. She kept him in a small, one gallon bowl (when I got him, he went to a 5.5 gallon tank). My other two bettas I had were in 5.5 gallon tanks and their tails and fins were almost always up and open (not completely flaired like when they battle, but still opened rather wide). The more room they have, the more their fins will be open and spread out. And I didn't have to put a mirror or picture of another betta near them to make them do it either - if they have the room to open up, then they will. BTW, you're feeding your betta too much. I always gave mine 3 pellets a day, 6 days a week and on the seventh day, I wouldn't feed them anything - they need a day for their digestive systems to rest and to clean themselves out a bit. That's more than enough for a betta - they don't need as much as people think. I've also read you should only feed them as much as they can eat in 2 minutes.
Check out this site for more betta info: http://www.bettatalk.com/
http://www.bettatalk.com/food.htm - info on feeding them

Answer 5

step 1: dont overfeed. if you are going to feed three times a day make sure that hes not eating more than a couple pieces. clamped fins can be a sign of stress or disease. bettas are very susceptible to disease and this could be why his fins are clamped. just wait and see what happens and dont do anything too fancy yet.

Answer 6

How big is his living space? if he tails are down, it means he has no room to swim and hes stressed. Just as if they were in the cup you bought them in