Can A Beta Tell You What To Do And Appreciate What You Do For It?

[mr. beta]

sigh, hes terrorizing me now, i cant even watch tv anyore. he got done making the nest than he started staring at me, then swam back and forth lightly a few inches apart then went into turbo mode again crashing his head on the glass.. i walked over there and he gave me huge giant flares this time chest puffed way out and it went flare on flare off with big puffy chest. he has food and a bubble nest. i went back and sat down and he resumed the same back and forth pass then violent head crashing. i had to freaken move a chair over to the side of the tank where now he is happy again making some bubble and after every 3rd bubble surfaced he will go to the side of the tank and look at me for 10 seconds with no puffing then go back to make a few more bubbles then come back to me. i got up to go down stairs to post this and i saw him head banging on my way down, better come back up before the tank cracks =[ this is seriously making me upset i dont like attachment i dont like an animal crashing its head until im with it

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

It occurs to me that he has you wrapped round his tiny little fins. Maybe he's simply bored or lonely. How about a second tank next to his? Having someone else to flare at will give him something to do and think about. So long as both he and the other have plants in their tanks they won't freak out. I'd also suggest you don't always respond when he acts out to get your attention. If we did that every time a child went mental, just for attention, it'd be detrimental and I think the same applies here. He'll stop when he knows it doesn't work anymore.
You could try putting a table tennis ball (ping pong ball) in his tank for a while each day. Some bettas like to play with them.
P.

 

[branjie]

Maybe when he acts nuts, you can put him in time out. Put something in front of, or over the tank so he can't see you and he calms down. The more you reward this behaviour with food, the more he's going to do it.

 

[mr. beta]

you know it got to the point where sitting next to him wasnt enough, i had to actually get up and sit looking at him infront of the tank as he flares up and brings me bubbles. yes he was going up gulping air, going back down to eye level then shooting a bubble at me.. finally an hour ago he wanted the pump on and is sleeping on the floor now - honestly, it seriously felt like he was giving me signals to get into the tank with him and help him with the bubble nest =\ im going get toys tomorrow

 

[mr. beta]

oh man i got him up this morning and he was like morning groggy while he ate breakfast. went to job, came back to one with the biggest bubble nest ive ever seen, surounding the extra flaking grub food i put in. and he was so happy to show me what he built he was flarring at me 20 feet away it usualy takes 5 feet till he does it. i give him a pallet snack and ate it and the got some air, flarred at me and shot out a bubble. got more air and popped up more bubbles closest to me and he had to make sure i was paying attention by getting close and flarring. more and more bubbles - if he gets anymore more happy i might get happy and blow bubble lol, thats what hes good at unlike that stupid cat. He must be talked to, if you dont talk to mr. beta he wont flare again and he will stop blowing bubbles, destroy his nest, and start head banging. 5 minutes of talking to is all it takes i can leave the room and he will keep popping up bubbles.. ok well i guess my fishy is great, no need to keep bumping up a dead thread

 

[mr. beta]

Mr. Beta does not love me after all. bubble nest now consumes 1/4 of the front right surface area. beta was flaring and darting at glass when i approached that end. I am only allowed to feed on left side.. I dont know if I should be offended. My new theory is, after the bad cleaning experience, Mr. Beta is now attempting to do the only thing he knows how to do natrually to protect him self from being transported, build a shield. is that right? you guys say betas make a nest when they are happy, but I say they make it when they feel unsafe and need to hide them selfs because you cant see through it.. will be destroyed when pump turns on.. he will just build another one tomorrow like it was the first time.. probably will take a long time before he realises it is in vain.. lol atleast hes not bored now

 

[Phaedra]

He certainly sounds like quite the character! When do we get to see pictures of him?

I'm wondering if he's seeing something in the reflection of his tank when you're not right in front of it. maybe the shadow you cast when standing in front of his tank obscures his vision of whatever it is he wants to "kill". From what you've said about him flaring so much, he may be very territorial, particularly since he's started building the bubble nests. His instinct tells him not to let ANYTHING near that nest, and he sounds pretty capable of fulfilling his part of the bargain. He may even be seeing his own reflection. Is there a light above his tank? You may try turning it off and seeing if that calms him down.

Have you considered slowing down the current for Mr. Betta? You might look at this link:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=84710
I used it on Darby's tank and it works wonderfully.