Such Character!

[castiel]

So I have some sinking wafers for the cories in the tank, but of course all of the other fish (the platys in particular) go crazy trying to pick at them long before they soften. As soon as their flakes are gone they swarm the bottom of the tank around them (I was getting worried the cories weren't getting any food, but thankfully tonight I saw them hustle their way in too).

Tonight I saw our betta learn two new tricks. First was to jab at the wafer, knocking it around the gravel, trying to break pieces off. Not just pick, like the other fish, but literally knock it a good 5cm away. Which I thought was pretty clever.

But a few minuets ago I saw him PICK UP the wafer, and somehow balance it in his mouth while he moved up the tank. Once he got to about two-thirds of the way up, he dropped it (seemingly on purpose), as if he was trying to drop it from a height on the gravel (like a #41#### crow!). He just had another lifting attempt as I am writing this, but wasn't so successful.

Tricks aside, he is the most inquisitive fish I have ever known. As soon as anything new goes in the tank, he has to go thoroughly investigate. The new slate cave? Guess who was first inside it. New plant? Guess who is all over it before my hand even leaves the tank.

Are all bettas so smart/inquisitive, or did we just get a good one? =0)

 

[Louiseness]

Are all bettas so smart/inquisitive, or did we just get a good one? =0)

Mine is pretty nosey! Whenever I open the lid he comes to the surface to see what's going on. He also likes to have 'stand offs' with the gravel vacuum, and I've seen him pick up giant pieces of food pellet and fly around with them in his mouth like a dog with a bone. So cute

 

[Athena]

Yes, bettas are known to be clever, personable little fish. You can't help but love 'em!

My female betta was one of the friendliest fish I've ever owned, although the male was also very lovable, but the female was very attached to me for some reason. You could see the excitement in her every time I walked in the room and I'd sit and put my finger on the glass and she'd swim next to my finger and huddle against the glass for ages, just watching me and whirring her fins quickly...then I'd move my finger along and she'd quickly rush to be beside my finger again. During tank maintenance she would swim over and rub against my hand, her little fins whirring round like a little wind-up toy lol.

Things got a bit out of hand, though, when in her excitement one day she jumped out of the tank at me when I took the lid off for maintenance. She was like a little torpedo being fired upwards straight at me. Frightened the life out of me, especially as she'd landed with a slap on the glass hood support, poor thing!

That game your betta plays with the algae wafer is something that lots of my fish have done in the past, not just the bettas but my convicts, sailfin mollies, platies etc.
Can be quite comical to watch, I know, especially when they begin a game of "wafer chase", where they snatch the wafer from each other and whoosh off around the tank with it in their mouth.

Great fun!

 

[Sacred]

My last Betta loved it when I put pieces of pea in his tank, he'd grab it and snack on the go, if he dropped it he caught it before it got too far. Any they say fish arn't smart.

 

[Fishy friend2]

When I clean my Betta tank he thinks I am food so he attacks my fingers

 

[castiel]

Pieces of pea, huh? Will have to try that!

 

[CrazyAirborne]

sounds like u have some fun fish.

ive noticed my corys wait for my rainbow cichlids to really start to break up the algae wafers so then they can sift thru the surrounding sand and get all the little pieces, its kind of like they have a system set up. fish are smarter than we give them credit i think!