Strange Betta Behavior

[poopsydrew]

Hey friends,
Drew here, As you may know i just recently aquired a betta. well all is fine, excpet i notice that he seems to be trying to bury himself or something near the bottom, i thought maybe he was hot, but the temp is at 72. before you ask i dont know the waters stats but considering i do bi-weekly water changes and he is by himself and only fed once a day. i dont think there is a water issue here but i could be wrong. is this normal? Is he maybe trying to attack the gravel or something? he seems to dig into it and then lay there to rest...im confused, so any help? thanks everyone.

 

[Amunet]

Well 72 degrees is much too cold for a betta. I think 75 is the coldest a bettas tank should be but 80 would be the best.
And by bi-weekly.. do you mean twice every week, or once every 2 weeks?

I'm no expert in bettas since I've only owned bettas for a few months now but I can say that my own have never tryed to bury themselves in their gravel. Maybe your lil guy is trying to get something that's in the gravel? Like food? I dunno why a betta would try this unless he's after something or something is wrong.

Is his tank cycled? How large is the tank? If it's not cycled, then I would be doing 50% water changes every other day to make sure ammonia stays as low as possible.
You really need to get yourself something to test the water.

 

[poopsydrew]

Well 72 degrees is much too cold for a betta. I think 75 is the coldest a bettas tank should be but 80 would be the best.
And by bi-weekly.. do you mean twice every week, or once every 2 weeks?

I'm no expert in bettas since I've only owned bettas for a few months now but I can say that my own have never tryed to bury themselves in their gravel. Maybe your lil guy is trying to get something that's in the gravel? Like food? I dunno why a betta would try this unless he's after something or something is wrong.

Is his tank cycled? How large is the tank? If it's not cycled, then I would be doing 50% water changes every other day to make sure ammonia stays as low as possible.
You really need to get yourself something to test the water.

I dont think 72 is way too cold. I know they dont even require heaters as long as you can keep the temp above 70. And by bi-weekly yes i meant twice a week. Yes the tank is cycled and i get it tested at my lfs. I am saving up for a test kit, but for now the lfs will have to work, because i am a broke college student in the middle of finals. the tank is 2.5 gallons. anyway, thanks for the advice, hope the info i gave you helps. I dont mean to sound mean or anything with my first sentence, but from all the research i have done, 72 is by no means way too cold. However, since i am asking for help i will heed your advice and turn up the heat to 78 degrees. Once again thank you for the input.

Drew

 

[knt5005]

One of my males did that too. He had his normal gravel and a nice sized river stone in his tank (it was probably about the diameter of a golf ball) and one day I saw him sticking his head under there. I watched him and he seemed to lose interest. Maybe it's just a phase? I have heard about bettas moving their rocks around to a place which suits them. Maybe he's just redecorating? I guess I would just keep an eye on him; he may stop on his own.

 

[girl4God81]

I am in total agreement that their water should be kept warmer than 72. Good that you bumped it up a bit.

 

[HODDY]

72 is way to cold.In tailand they can be in the mid 80's.I would consider investing a heater so you can keep your betta alive long er than a month.

 

[poopsydrew]

72 is way to cold.In tailand they can be in the mid 80's.I would consider investing a heater so you can keep your betta alive long er than a month.

yea umm like i said i bumped the heat up so yea....hmmm....i have one. Thanks everyone.

 

[Phaedra]

Aside from the obvious water temp thing, could he be itching himself in the gravel? Does he have any white spots showing on his scales or fins?
I know that lots of bettas are curious creatures and will stick themselves wherever they shouldn't be, but if he really looks like he's trying to bury himself, you may want to check for other possible causes.

 

[poopsydrew]

Aside from the obvious water temp thing, could he be itching himself in the gravel? Does he have any white spots showing on his scales or fins?
I know that lots of bettas are curious creatures and will stick themselves wherever they shouldn't be, but if he really looks like he's trying to bury himself, you may want to check for other possible causes.

hey phaedra!
hows it goin? He doesnt have any white spots or any other sign of infection or disease. I think he might just be a lil strange... I have seen him attacking a few of the large marbles at the bottom of the tank. Also, as i am quite new to bettas, i freaked out when i walked in and he was sleeping with a little of his body out of water on top of a floating plant scared me half to death. Say hello to phergy! Tell her if she stays healthy you will give ehr extra shrimp pellets
Thanks for your help.

Drew

 

[joycould]

I have one betta that doesn't like bright lights and tries to get under his marimo moss balls. I put a lot of floating plants in his bowl since it is under a light. The other bettas seem to do fine with lights.