Very Bored Betta

[msasa19]

i have a male betta in a 28L tank, i moved his tank into the kitchen so he had something to look at, i have put a castle and a log shape ornament for him to play, and a bright orange ball that floats on the top and he doesnt even bother with anything, he just goes backwards and forwards, im also having a nightmare with algae!!
 
someone please give me some tips on what i can do! i have tried him in my community tank and he attacked my neons and took an eye out of one of them!!

 

[reggie]

Going backwards and forward seems to me, is normal betta behavior. Right now I DON' T HAVE any bettas but my past experience with them is just like you describe. I think you don' t have to worry. Algae?, check nitrate levels. mAybe your tank needs more frequent partial water changes. Hope this helps you. Good luck.

 

[Meeresstille]

Do you mean backwards and forwards or do you mean back and forth? Have you checked the levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? Ph could be important too just to see if it is very different from the ph of your tap water! How often do you change the water and how much each time?
 
Does your tank get direct sunlight? This can promote algae growth!
 
Living in the kitchen may be too busy for your Betta. A lot of clanging, opening and closing of cupboards and drawers may stress him out.

 

[msasa19]

he goes back and fourth along the front of the tank,
 
just did his weekly water change of 10L
 
ammonia-0
nitirite-0
nitrate-10-20 ( tap water is also high)
ph- 7.6
 
not in direct sunlight, dont use the light that much but still get algae, i have added a bunch of live plant from my other tank to see if it helps. will also try and get a moss ball to go in there aswell.

 

[frapadoodle]

Try changing things around when you do a waterchange.
I move the decorations and plop in new trimmings from the plants. Gives mine something new to explore.

 

[372xp]

Bettas dont get bored. They get stressed, sick and sometimes depressed( although this is a matter of opinion). The problem is we see our fish displaying unusual or unexpected behaviour and try to humanise it.
Did this behaviour start after you moved him to the kitchen? Is he doing normal things like nesting and feeding?
His tank is an ok size and it sounds like there is cover for him plants are good too. Try adding some chappata leaves, but most of all if he is well cared for he will be just fine.

 

[msasa19]

He is showing no signs of stress, no white spot or anything, he has always done it, I have tried putting things in the way so he can't do it, he seems to do it more if you are in the room so maybe he thinks he is going to be fed? He has made a few nests but not many, and he loves his food! I think overall he is ok I look after him well, always do his water changes and get him to follow my finger around the glass, I put a mirror up to the tank about once a month for a bit of stimulation but he doesn't seem to care once its gone

 

[Talfox]

You could get him a small snail as a tank mate. The snail will clean up the algea and give him something to watch/stalk.

 

[msasa19]

I did have a snail in there, but the snail didn't seem to like the tank and didn't move for days, I thought it had died, but it hadent so I moved it to my bigger tank and he is thriving in there, I also don't think I trust my betta, he doesn't seem to like other fish ect. The snail also found it hard to move over the gravel and kept getting stuck

 

[Talfox]

What kind of snail was it?
Maybe a larger snail instead of a small one, a type with a trap door like a mystery snail so you dont have to worry about him hurting it?
I have two and they are algea eating machines, fast, and all over the place.