Questions About My Betta

[colorfulmusic]

I absolutely LOVE my betta, Bill. I just have a few questions....

1. I read that if you put your finger in the bowl, your betta fish might come up and rub against it. I tried this, and Bill just stared at my finger for a few seconds, then he became un-interested. Will he never rub against my finger, or does he just have to get used to me?

2. This sounds ridiculous, but are there any "games" I can play with Bill? He has a little ball that floats halfway in the water and halfway out of the water that he kind of likes, and he also has a little plastic palm tree.

3. Do bettas only like small bowls, or would he like a bigger one too?

4. His fins are kind of getting skimpy. Is this really bad, or will they grow back?

Thanks!

 

[Powie]

I absolutely LOVE my betta, Bill. I just have a few questions....

1. I read that if you put your finger in the bowl, your betta fish might come up and rub against it. I tried this, and Bill just stared at my finger for a few seconds, then he became un-interested. Will he never rub against my finger, or does he just have to get used to me?

2. This sounds ridiculous, but are there any "games" I can play with Bill? He has a little ball that floats halfway in the water and halfway out of the water that he kind of likes, and he also has a little plastic palm tree.

3. Do bettas only like small bowls, or would he like a bigger one too?

4. His fins are kind of getting skimpy. Is this really bad, or will they grow back?

Thanks!

Well I'm somewhat new to the fish scene myself.. But I'll do my best to answer what I can.

1> I have had a betta for about two weeks, he's very friendly and will actually jump out of the water 1/2" and nibbe on my finger. This of course comes from me "sticking" his food to my finger. I've read you can touch them, but mine is too shy so far.

2> Well until we can shrink ourselves and swim with them, not sure on the games

3> Fish are like you.. Would you like a small room to live in? My betta is in a 10 gallon, with a very aggresive guppy I had to remove from my main 50 gal. So far they just avoid each other. I've read sometimes betta's think Guppies are betta and will attack.. So far with me they get along well. (I also have another aggressive male with my female betta in another tank)

4> Keep your water clean, SLOW current, never add tap water w/o letting sit 24 hours. A cheap test kit which will test PH, Nitrate, Nitrite, etc is a must. Keep your fish on a staple diet of normal betta food, and once or twice a week a small treat.

 

[Rediahs]

Actually you should not just let your tap water sit for 24 hours - you should buy dechlorinator, which will get rid of chlorine, chloramine, and heavy metals.

Letting your water sit for 24 hours only gets rid of chlorine. The chloramine will not evaporate and is just as lethal to your fish.

You should only do the 24-hour sit thing if you are 100% sure that your tap water has no chloramine or heavy metals. You cannot taste, smell, or otherwise sense chloramine, and most tap water has heavy metals, particularly in places with older lead pipes.

 

[bamboo]

1) It depends on the Betta and the mode it is in. Sometimes my Betta rubs my finger, sometimes it don't pay attention and others it will nip my finger.

2) Try to put only smooth objects in with the Betta, to avoid damaging it's tail. You could put a mirror to the tank for a few hours a day. Your Betta will love it, he will puff up and wave it's tail around, it will give your Betta confidence and tends to promote it's health. I have read a marble in the tank lets the Betta roll it around but I never tried it.

3) I have ONE Betta in a 10 gal tank, which is a great size for a Betta, there is plenty of room to keep the Ammonia levels down and it gives him lots of swimming room which is great exercise for him. I would suggest housing your Betta alone they are very aggressive fish.

4) I have had good experience with a product called BettaMax, it will help your Betta's regeneration

You should follow Chrissi's advice and use the dechlorinator
Good luck

 

[colorfulmusic]

Thanks guys!

GAMES: Hey, we kind of have a little tag game! I have a little plastic rounded stick. I lightly touch his little mouth with it, then he chases it until he lightly pokes it, then he swims away. He knows it's me with the stick, though; it's so cute! I had to put his food by the stick to start it, though. I can tell that he knows we're playing now.