I Must Have The Most Laid Back Betta On The Planet!

[lilacamy931]

If you have been following the other thread I got my first betta on Friday. The whole reason I got into fishkeeping was my love of pufferfish and finding out you could keep them as pets and since this has expanded. I went for a betta as they are beautiful! Well had him since Friday and he is just so laid back!

After reading about expect sulkiness etc and that they have different personalities I have been really pleasantly surprised. He is eating well though have not tried him on the pellets yet. He comes up to see me and Alex (funny he hid when we had visitors). When I did a water change he wrapped round my hand and generally seems unperturbed.

My other half did say he heard a splash the other night and thinks he may have had a little jump, otherwise than this perfect!

We are both in love (me more so) I have already run out of table and plug socket space which is a good thing otherwise would definately start getting loads of them.

What types of personalities do your bettas have? I would be really interested to hear on everyones

 

[Galanta]

Well, my Azumo is VERY curious and inquisitive and smart. He lives at the office on a bookshelf and we are not in the offi ce all the time (share a tiny office with a co-worker) so whenever the door opens he swims to the front to see who came in and what is going on. If I do any work on the filing cabinet under his bookshelf, he just floats there and watches. I presoak his pellets and when he sees me put down the little plastic cup in front of the tank he gets really excited. He tries to get to the part of the bowl the protrudes the most and swims down towards it in a zig zag making him almost look like he is wagging his tail. : ) I've had him for 2 months and so far I have not found anybody he didn't like - barring people who suddenly jab therir finger at him. (Sigh) He is hilarious in that people come to the glass to stare at him and he just swims right to the middle and studies them back most solemnly. He used to never flare but then he started building bubblenests and once he has a decent size bubblenest bulit he can get pretty protective and hover close to it and then shoot out flaring at anybody who approaches.
Oh, and he HATES red - anything red. He will flare at the red patch of his pellet tub or even just a red pen cap. We've tried green, yellow, etc - nothing. But you show the smallest item in red and he will come shooting out from the back in attack mode. One time we thought we could "trick" him with a bright pink thing. He just
looked at us disdainfully as if to say "People, I am NOT colorblind ...". : D
He has learned to snap food off my finger. Since I soak the pellets, they get soggy and stick to my finger . I let one pellet dangle off the very tip of my finger and hold it about 1/4 inch over the water surface and he backs up a little, like a dog preparing for a jump and then comes and snaps it off my finger...

We have another betta (George - who belongs to my friend) who lives in the dining room of our office building. He has the sweetest disposition. He has been with us for 3 months and nobody has ever seen him flare. He won't even flare at another betta who is flaring at him within close proximity. And he absolutely LOVES people - anybody. His home is a more elongated huge vase which rests on a chest high pedestal. He says hi to everybody who stops by and he always swims down to the level of your face. For short people he swims all the way down, for taller people he swims up. If you put your finger against the glass, he swims to your finger. And he is the biggest pig I have ever seen. He is much broader and stockier than Azumo and he NEVER stops eating. Everytime I feed. Him he devours the food with such desperation you'd think he had not eaten in a week and he will trick u into overfeeding him in no time. I literally have to check the look of his stomach as I go, so I know when to call it quits as he will never stop on his own accord. He was mishandled before (kept in dirty, cold water) and I am working on getting him restored to full health. I have at least 5 people a day inquiring about his health - he is very loved ...

 

[lilacamy931]

Aw That is really lovely to hear about them both! Azumo has got me thinking about colours will keep an eye out for that.

They both sound really sweet, sorry to hear that George was mistreated it must affect them when they perhaps don't know when their next meal is coming. Then again I have 4 dwarf puffs, one will stop the others literally would explode! I ve never mistreated them! Has George ever built a bubble nest in the 3 months had him?

 

[Galanta]

Dear Lilacamy,

Yes they are both great. No, George has not made a bubblenest as such. Both fish do not have the luxury of a tank and the containers they are in are round, which makes it hard for them to make a bubblenest since, if they make bubbles, they just spread around in a big circle around the edge. I only realized that after I got a big silk plant for my bowl and it was tall enough so that one of the leaves was level with the surface. Zumi had never made a single bubble that I had observed, but once the plant was added, he promptly used it as a stabilizer to make a big nest.

(If you have not seen my separate thread a little while back, here is the link to my photos: http/www.flickr.com/photos/39684179@N05/...7620172756462/)

So I think we will need to get a really tall plant for George at some point. For right now he just has his pebbles and a little cave and this makes it easier to see him and observe how he is doing. Plus I heard it said that they will only make bubblenests when they feel "happy and safe" which is probably not the case for George right now...

 

[Winterlily]

I love reading the stories of the various betta personalities!

I have 2 at the moment (more coming when I get the tanks up and cycled!!). I have Roo (whose actual and full name is - get ready - Stinkerooney. I did NOT name him - my 3-year-old did. I can't bring myself to call this gorgeous, placid, red and purple fish Stinkerrooney, so I call him Roo!) - who is sort of like George in the other post - in that he is SUPER sweet, gentle, and laid back. He will only slightly flare if something scares him, but he doesn't flare at other bettas - including that one in the mirror. He's really really curious and totally unafraid. When I do anything in his tank, he's got be right there, at my hand "What are you doing? Lemme see!" When you're near his tank, he follows you everywhere to watch what you're doing. He's really into me particularly (I feed him) and will wag his tail and dance when he sees me and will NOT let me out of his sight. Hysterical - when I put the mirror up for some flaring exercise (which he never gets because he won't flare!), he just keeps swimming around it, twisting his head around this obstruction, looking for me. I move the mirror, and he does the same thing on the other side! It's like you can hear him saying "What is this thing in my way? Let me get around it - I can't see! Where are you!? Oh there you are! Oop, hey! It's in my way again! Wait, I can't SEE you again! Where are you?! Ohhh there you are, whew!" He's really fantastic.

Then there's Buster. Buster is named Buster because he's a real little tough guy. He's spectacular when he flares (and boy does he EVER flare at the mirror!). He really protects his tank, and when you come up to it, he comes flying from wherever he was (like a little junkyard dog, my husband says!) to see WHO dares come to look at him. He dances a small bit when he sees me too. He's a bit more skittish than Roo - during water changes, for example, he mostly stays in his plants. He's VERY different than Roo (amazing the difference in their personalities), and is amazingly entertaining to watch. His flaring is SO impressive (he's a halfmoon with truly amazing finnage), and when I feed him, I first trail my fingers along the top of the water and he chases, fast! like you can't believe, then I let go of the pellet some ways away from him and he flies to get it.

Very very cool fish, these male bettas!

Samantha

 

[lilacamy931]

Galanta - I will have to try that with a tall flat leaved silk plant in his tank, his favourite spot is sitting on the filter of all things! He reminds me just like a cat.

Winterlily - LOL he sounds the stud! Mine does not seem to notice a mirror yet more or less admires himself!

Keep the stories coming! They all sound fantastic.

 

[saltynay]

I have Jack (Union Jack) a tricoloured crown tail, in red, white and blue. He is a thai import but he is learning his English quickly after spending 4 months with me.

Jacks personality seems to change every few weeks but so do his surroundings and tankmates. His home is my asian themed tank project and atm it is only planted by 5 bamboo plants as I am struggling to track down the rest of the plants I want. He shares it with 5 guppy/endler males, 4 African dwarf frogs, 50 Cherry shrimp, 3 apple snails, horned nerite, 4 corys and pest snails.

Jack loves attention if I am looking at something he will make sure that I can see him aswell, If he notices me looking at the tank he patrols the front with his fins fully extended, If I try and take a picture he will be there. He guards his food, if I add bloodworms the largest pile will be jacks and even if he doesn't eat them then he heards them together and lets his tail flop to cover them. He dislikes others eating food which is potentially his, actively stealing from the shrimp sometimes just to show dominance and not eating the food afterwards. He builds a new bubble neest in a new location every 3 days normally in a darker portion of the tank, he then stays there most of the time until it is destroyed and he moves on to a new spot. He never jumps and he doesn't like to be touched unless he swims against you not the other way around. He flares at any new tankmates as they float in the bag but once they are actually in the tank he doesn't bother them unless they come near his pile of food during feeding. He flares occassionally at the guppies which live in the tank next to him as he can see through the side into the side of their tank.

Jack showing that he must be in all pics by swimming from the other side of the tank to be in this one;

 

[lilacamy931]

I can see why he is named Jack he is absolutely gorgeous! That is a particularly good photo of him with the snail. I love the way every one has a wonderful but different personality!

 

[Galanta]

Yes, keep the stories coming! Winterlily and Saltynay, your fish sound AWESOME! I think we should encourage everybody who posts stories to include pictures of their bettas. If no photo, don't withhold a post. But if u can - that would be awesome. Winterlily...? ; )

 

[lilacamy931]

Good idea Galanta! Piccys are always appreciated as much as the stories

 

[Aussie_Dog]

Leroy is less active than other Bettas I've had, but then again, the others had shorter fins. One veiltail was even calmer/lazier. He's curious and always hangs around the corner of the tank that I'm at. If I'm at the far end of the room, he's hanging around the tank wall closest to me. If I move to the other end of the room, he hangs around the opposite end of the tank, keeping a good eye on me. The only annoying thing about him is his piggyness. I have ADFs in the tank with him, and he understands what the turkey baster is for, so when I pile some food down in front of the froggies, Leroy is right there slurping away. The offended frog may shoot at him and chase him off, but Leroy will then go find another froggy food pile. I always have to fast them for a couple off days afterwards because Leroy's belly is so big and I'm afraid it'll burst.

Sudoku is pretty mellow, for a boy. Like Leroy, I can't get him to flare, unless I show him another male, then the both would start flaring. Sudoku just isn't very aggressive, he's just very female, lol.

I have a new boy, a gorgeous plakat, in the 60gal community, and I can really see the Betta curiosity from him. He went from his little cup into the 60gal, and he was a bit stunned and freaked for a few days, which is understandable. He went from being alone to having strange fish swimming around him (by strange, I mean everything with weird shapes, including little worms (Kuhli Loaches) and even fish that suck on things, lol). But once he got used to the excess room, he started checking things out and seeing what was going on. One night about a week after I got him, it was meal time and he noticed the tetra food sinking, so he went over to check it out (and dine). Then he glimpsed the Rubbernose Pleco hidden behind the gaps of a couple bits of driftwood, so he tilted this way and that way, trying to get a better look of His Ugliness. Doing that, he noticed a couple of Yoyo Loaches fighting over a wafer, so he went down a little bit to watch them. Then he realized he needed some air, so he went to the surface and spotted some tetra food that was floating, so he helped himself. Nowadays, he seems to have gotten used to his new environment, and he spends his days just taking advantage, swimming around and checking out his reflection in the glass. I put a floating driftwood in there recently and he spent a little while swimming through it and hanging out in the shadows created by it. I'm trying to figure out the right name for him, but all my creativity got used up by the first fish I got, lol


The girls, having less fins, are more active, and have even learned (quickly, too) how to jump for pellets stuck to my finger. The first one to learn was Meg, and how it surprised me, and then the other 3 with her learned how to within the next day or two. It was kind of amusing, when I put 4 more girls in there, to feed them with the pellets on the finger, and I had my resident girls leaping and splashing, and the newbies kind of hanging dumbly around wondering where the heck the food is. But they caught on soon, and now everyone will jump for food. Meg, unfortunately, died earlier this week when she leapt for food and cleared the tank, landing on a towel that was on the floor. I wasn't aware of it, so eventually I shut the lid and went to bed, and Meg died. I still feel guilty about that. She was a plain little fish, but she had spunk.

Paprika is the biggest girl, a big bruiser, probably a couple of years old, and she's sooooooo calm! Occationally she'll leap for food, and then she'll slam into my finger and give me a start. A couple of times she'll grab onto the food, but sort of suck it in at the same time, so she'll be sucking my finger for a brief second (that's a weird feeling!). I never have to worry about her getting in fights or being the recipient of a fight. She does her own thing. Though I just remembered that when I first got Meg and two others, Meg seemed to bond with Paprika right off, and the two were always swimming close to each other. Then Meg gained confidence and weaned herself, lol

Monashee is a doubletail, and I recently got another doubletail, and I feel they must come from the same family, because they have the same personality and temperment. When I got the new doubletail (still unnamed), I was told to be prepared for grief, since she was hanging out at the bottom of the tank. I wasn't worried, really, because Monashee always hangs out at the bottom of her tank. Her reasoning is that it's safe (surrounded by tall plants) and food always sinks, so rather than get into the crush of fighting fish, she can just wait for food to fall and she'll suck them up from the sand. And that's what this new doubletail does as well: she hangs out at the bottom and waits for food to come to her. The new doubletail is a bit of a *****, though. She shredded the fin of another girl I bought with her, but that was a hierarchy thing, and the pack order was settled quickly afterwards. But with the loss of Meg, everyone has stress stripes so I think they understand they've lost someone, so they have to figure out the order yet again.

I have a couple others, but they fall somewhere in the middle. I haven't really noticed anything spectacular about them, except that they don't try to get themselves noticed, lol

 

[Galanta]

Dear Aussie Dog,

Thanks for sharing! You know, you can always put up a separate thread with pics of "the nameless" and I am sure plenty of people will be most helpful with suggestions..."

 

[CTlovesKS]

Bubbles. He was a nasty little thing but after killing 3 apple snails he seems to have settled down lol. But he seems to be getting slight agressive towards myself after doing the mirror.

Peach. I have never put him with any other fish including snails or corys. Though I do beileve he is laid back as he doesnt seem to bothered but the fish swmming past his box only flares when the big gouramis and catfish come near him lol.

 

[Galanta]

Bubbles is a BABE! When you are THIS good looking, who cares if you have a bad temper? : )

 

[Galanta]

OK. I just have to add that our George is an absolute RIOT!! I am not posting any photos right now as he is in such a miserable state, that it would not just not be fair to him.

As some of you might know from my other threads, he has some kind of fungus/bacteria growing all over his fins. In the emergency forum I was initially advised that it is most likely columnaris and that added aeration is an absolute must in the treatment. Well, George is a 2.5 gal bowl resident, and this was going to be temporary, so I bought one of these little battery run air pumps and got it going. At first the air flow was so strong that he was being pushed all around, so I regulated it to become less.

On one hand George does not seem to like the bubbles too much as he will go and hide in his cave to be out of the current, but on the other hand he has managed to make the bubbles become and endless source of entertainment for him. (Note - as the pump is battery run, there is some fluctuation in the output and strength of the current as the batteries only last 48 hours)

At first he just floated near the top and lazyily snapped at the air bubbles around him as if popping an airbubble was somehow better than just gulping straight air.

Then he started following columns of ascending air bubbles and investigating where they were coming from. He would swim against the current and just fight to keep his position at the bottom, and then just observe the bubbles bursting out between the pebbles at the bottom.

Last night there was some kind of kink in the line or something and very little air was coming in. The tiny air bubbles would accumulate here and there under the rocks and then suddenly come up in a little string. Popping up in different locations about 1-1.5 inches from each other. Well, I found George poised with an intense look staring at the pebbles. Every time some air bubbles shot up, he would whirl in that direction and snap at them and then quickly start looking for the next one. Soo cute!

Then earlier today I saw him hovering by one of the little bubble streams, right by the base and attempting to snap up every single air bubble in the stream without letting a single one escape. He was snapping in rapid succession like an automatic rifle for a second and then pausing as if to "take a breath" and then starting again. Then he switched to whirling between the different air jets and snapping at them in random order.

Just now I saw the most amazing thing. I walked by his vase and a weird reflection caught my eye. I stepped closer and noticed that the batteries had just about run out and there was practically no air flow happening. George was hovering very still in an exact spot near the bottom and when I got real close I saw that he was keeping his head above this stream of these tiny, tiny air bubbles, which were rolling down his chin and then coming up right in the crack where his gills open. He literally looked like he was enjoying having his cheeks/gills tickled by the bubbles.

As cute as it was, I had to fix/step up the air flow, so it first stopped all together and then started up again with quite some force. Since George was still hovering right above the location of the airstone, he got hit all around by the bubbles. For a second he looked as if he was going to swim away to get out of the current, but then he ended up staying and riding the bubbles all the way to the top at quite impressive speed. I swear if he would have been able to talk, I would have heard a loud "Yipeee!!"

Anyways - I could just sit there and watch him all day ...



L