Can A Betta Have Too Much Room?

[seizethecupcake]

When I brought home my male HM a couple of months ago, he went into a 2.5 gallon (U.S.) tank and seemed happy. Normal, I guess. He ate well and interacted with me when I was nearby. Two weeks ago, I moved him into a 10 gallon aquarium, which he shares with a pea-sized nerite snail. Ever since, he's been very nervous. He darts off to hide when someone comes into the room. In fact, he spends nearly all of his time hiding in an ornament. He's changed SO much since I moved him into the larger tank! Could it be possible that he has too much room, that all of the open space is making him anxious? I know, it seems ridiculous, but I can't think of another reason for the drastic change in his personality. The temperature is spot-on, and the filter flow is super gentle. I want him to feel safe and comfortable. I've got two other boys, and I was considering shuffling them around so that my HM would be in a smaller tank in a quieter, less used section of my apartment, leaving my bold VT to take over the 10 gallon. Thoughts? Am I crazy?

 

[LadyDragon]

Crazy people almost never ASK if THEY are crazy... They just assume EVERYONE ELSE IS!

So I think your probably safe there...

I had a similar experience with my Melano (Black) male who recently passed away, sometimes they like their lives the way they are. Disruptions or major changes... Well some individuals "deal with them" better than others. My whites are happy go lucky and intrepid little things that seem unbothered by most things... My black was a shy and delicate personality type that didn't I guess. I always kind of wondered if he had PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) because all my others are cheeky and flirty... Anyway, I am a big fan of "if it isn't broken, dont fix it!" if they are happy with things a certain way, that's probably the best way for them to be!

Mine are in 1gallon apartments... The whites don't mind moving around, but the black male spent a couple days in a 30gallon Long and it everything was "big and scary" to him after... Except for feeding time, when live mosquito larva were on offer, he was the biggest clown and the most enthusiastic.

Anyway if your HM was happier in a smaller tank, I say that's the way to go for him, and give him a little time to settle in to a routine... Hopefully he will return to his old self after a week or so

 

[Devilish Angelfish]

He could be just sulking and considering things. They do that. I would think that yes, they can become frightened in a larger area. Their natural domain in the wild would be a small puddle or pool. They aren't built for speed - for either attacking (like pike) or escaping (like sardines) - or for long distance travel (like salmon). They are built to hover and flow beautifully thru their little territory and I am pretty sure that most of them suffer "agoraphobia" when placed in a space that, to them, has too many places a predator could hide in or has shelter too widely spaced for them to swim to if an escape is needed. Hence the hiding in a single safe place. You could try adding more plants or rocks or logs to make him feel more secure but personally, I would just return him to a smaller tank.

Crazy people almost never ASK if THEY are crazy... They just assume EVERYONE ELSE IS!

So I think your probably safe there...

I had a similar experience with my Melano (Black) male who recently passed away, sometimes they like their lives the way they are. Disruptions or major changes... Well some individuals "deal with them" better than others. My whites are happy go lucky and intrepid little things that seem unbothered by most things... My black was a shy and delicate personality type that didn't I guess. I always kind of wondered if he had PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) because all my others are cheeky and flirty... Anyway, I am a big fan of "if it isn't broken, dont fix it!" if they are happy with things a certain way, that's probably the best way for them to be!

Mine are in 1gallon apartments... The whites don't mind moving around, but the black male spent a couple days in a 30gallon Long and it everything was "big and scary" to him after... Except for feeding time, when live mosquito larva were on offer, he was the biggest clown and the most enthusiastic.

Anyway if your HM was happier in a smaller tank, I say that's the way to go for him, and give him a little time to settle in to a routine... Hopefully he will return to his old self after a week or so

Is that a photo of one of your white's in your avatar? He's gorgeous!!!

 

[Fishball7]

He could be just sulking and considering things. They do that. I would think that yes, they can become frightened in a larger area. Their natural domain in the wild would be a small puddle or pool. They aren't built for speed - for either attacking (like pike) or escaping (like sardines) - or for long distance travel (like salmon). They are built to hover and flow beautifully thru their little territory and I am pretty sure that most of them suffer "agoraphobia" when placed in a space that, to them, has too many places a predator could hide in or has shelter too widely spaced for them to swim to if an escape is needed. Hence the hiding in a single safe place. You could try adding more plants or rocks or logs to make him feel more secure but personally, I would just return him to a smaller tank.

I beg to differ. Wild splendens are fast fish like all others with their streamlined bodies, unlike these 'domesticated' splendens type we are used to. Their wild territory is rather large, I guess, from what studies and articles I've read, an average of 4x4x2 ft of space for one betta. It's only during the dry season they survive in small puddles during which time to mate. Even then, I imagine it would still be bigger than the containers we put them in.

To the op, I think it's a sudden new environment that he needs time to get used to. More decor would help. I'm a fan of more space for fish and would leave him in the bigger tank.

 

[seizethecupcake]

Thanks for the advice! I'll add a couple of plants, and leave him be for a bit to see if he starts to acclimate to his new environment. If not, back to his original, cozy little tank. Crazy fish My husband thinks I'm a lunatic for swearing he is having anxiety issues! LadyDragon, it's hilarious that your whites are so bold. My neurotic HM is solid white! He was the pet shop find of a lifetime, so I paid a fortune for him and gave him a ridiculously fancy name. So far, he's NOT living up to it!

Ahem, introducing The Chevalier Aubin du Poisson:

 

[LadyDragon]

Nice find!
My whites all got pretty easy color theme names LOL
Here in Hawaii we tend to get long and complicated/confusing names... And it's got a cultural component to it: a name says who you are and how you belong to the world, you belong to it as much as it belongs to you. So many names are actually a similar equivillant to "full pedigrees". Relatedly, one of my clients believes that the name determines who you will be... She has a horse named "Dancer" who is nervous and can't stand still... So she decided after that, she was naming her next horse "placid" hoping for an opposite kind of problem! Lol

Perhaps he went Neurotic because he has such a long name! Lol

I feel so much better about the overly simplistic name I gave my prized Thai import white: Winter

I figured he was so brilliant that his name should be simple, so it doesn't distract from him, because, he is as uncomplicated as his name: simply splendid!

Devilish Angelish:
No the avatar is from the breeder I got Winter from, he is closely related though. That one has black pelvic fins, and Winter is solid platinum white. I think I actually got a superior fish, but when I was setting up my account I didn't have photobucket set up from my phone yet. one of my American bred Platinum Whites has the same black full covers and pelvics... He is still growing out his fins though

 

[Willdrafter]

I have a single male in a 10 gallon planted tan, and he absolutely loves it in there.

 

[Liquid skills]

I personly think the larger the better except when it comes to hight i never go higher for male bettas then 1-1.5ft high

Ive lost males in my 2ft high tank before due o suffercation
Length is better then hight when i comes to males imo

 

[seizethecupcake]

Update: He's out and about today--he even ate his breakfast right in front of me I'm adding two plants this evening in hopes that this bit of good luck will continue!

LadyDragon--Winter is gorgeous! I've been looking for a solid white for over two years, but my husband said I couldn't import a fish Little does he know...when the tank space becomes available, I'm headed straight for AquaBid!

(p.s. If his fancy name is causing this behavior, I'm going to call him Twitch!)

 

[Liquid skills]

How much does it cost to import fish from other countries? On aquabid

 

[seizethecupcake]

I'm not sure exactly. From what I've read, the breeder in Thailand charges $5 to ship the betta to the trans-shipper. Then you pay shipping costs from the trans-shipper to you, but I'm sure that fee varies.