Is It Normal

[kizno1]

i got a new betta a couple of days ago and he always hides in his coconut cave and comes up every now and again for air has a quick swim round and gose back. is this normal?
he looks healthy but he will only eat bloodworm ive tryed all diffrent types of pellets (i dont know what all of them where because i know the man at the lfs and he just gave me a couple of a load of diffrent types of pellets). but he wouldnt take none of the i tryed a couple of diffrent types of flake but know luck is there anythink else i could try.
hears some picks of his tanks its a little empty could this be why he hides, but im getting some more plants when i get money
http/img12.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00118lmk.jpg
http/img14.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00121odt.jpg

 

[Athena]

Hi - some bettas are just lazier than others, preferring to rest amongst plants or in their hidey holes than swimming about all day. They need a bit of stimulation to make them come out - if you talk to your betta and wiggle your finger at him, several times a day, he'll get to know you you will see how excited he gets whenever you go up to his tank. It just takes time to build up that friendship.

Now, apart from feeding him bloodworms (which really he shouldn't be having every day as he'll get constipated and that can make him feel lethargic) you can feed him on any other frozen foods - bettas love brineshrimp (especially if you can get some live ones from your LFS). If you can't get live, then frozen or jellied will do.

Bettas are quite fussy and not many of them will eat flakes/crisps or pellets. It has taken over a year to finally convince my betta, Sammy, that fish crisps are not so bad after all!

If he's had a lot of bloodworm recently, offer him a squashed up pea in case he has a bit of bowel problems. You can then feed him a little bit of pea ever week just to help his digestion.

I don't think the lack of plants in your tank has anything to do with why he's a bit of a couch potato LOL - some people keep bettas in tanks with no plants. In fact, they love to sit amongst the plants.

It might also be a good idea to check your water stats in his tank, just to ensure that there isn't a water quality problem causing him to be less active (although bettas on the whole are slow moving, restful fish).

Regards

Athena

 

[kizno1]

i cheacked the states yesterday and they where fine
hes only had a couple of blood worms because ive only had him 2 days
and what sorts of frozen foods

 

[Athena]

If you go to your LFS they should sell frozen foods such as brineshrimp, daphnia, tubifex, mysis - sometimes you can find a variety pack with a selection of some of the above foods (most frozen foods come in little cubes in blister packs). Or you can buy round slabs of the food and just break a tiny piece off the slab each time.

If you buy the little frozen cubes you should defrost one in a little cup of tank water and only feed your fish a small amount of it (using tweezers or a spoon to put some in the tank) - the rest can be kept in the fridge until next feed time that day. Make sure your fish eats what you put in the tank otherwise it will rot and cause bad water quality (high ammonia/nitrite).

Oh, and if you 've only had him 2 days then he's probably not settled in yet - it can take a week or so before they feel at home.

Regards - Athena

 

[kizno1]

are the dried foods any good because my mum wount let me put the freezer foods in the freezer

 

[LionMom]

How much water movement is there? If too much, he may not be comfortable. I see from your second picture you can aim the flow on your filter - or at least is looks like it. Maybe try aiming it at the wall of the tank instead of out into the body of the tank. Just a thought.

All of my bettas eat pellets. Maybe if you don't feed him for a couple of days he will be more willing to eat the pellets?

HTH & good luck!

 

[Athena]

Any particular reason your mum doesn't want the frozen fish foods in her freezer? It's not like it will contaminate anything - they are in sealed blister packs and you can put the pack inside a freezer bag for added peace of mind.

If she still won't let you use frozen foods then you will have to try the approach mentioned above - don't feed your betta for a couple of days so that when you do feed him on dried foods he may be more inclined to accept it - but be prepared because they can be very stubborn fish.

Yes, airflow (as mentioned by previous poster) could also be an issue. Don't have an airstone in your tank if you've got one - the less noise and bubbly things the better LOL

Athena

 

[kizno1]

ok ill make the flow a little less
and she just wount let me put fish food in the fridge we always arguee about it when i want to put boillies in it for fishing and she always says no so ill try not feeding it for a couple of days

 

[Honeythorn]

You could try squishing up a couple of bloodworm, and soaking his dry food in the mush for a minute or two , to give it the flavour of the bloodworm . It may help him to accept the dry stuff more easily.

 

[kizno1]

it desided to eat to day but the only pellets it will eat it seems to really struggle to swallow it sucks itin and then moves its head up and down but its body stays still is it ok. it wierd it rufuses all of them apart from these once it must like the smell of them

 

[Honeythorn]

Try crushing/breaking them up a bit if they are too big.

 

[kizno1]

he seems alot better now hes eating fine and isnt alway in his coconut cave he spends most of his time swimming around but hides in the cave at night