Weird Behavior

[DaveR]

Hello, I am new to the world of bettas but not to fish in general. I have a really weird question about my betta's behavior. I have only had him for about 5 days, and he is in a 3/4 gallon fish bowl. I have read in the forums that I am to feed him a very small amount twice a day (I am feeding him Tetra BettaMin Flakes). Okay here is the weird part, I may be way off here because I am new to bettas, but the uneaten food eventually sinks to the bottom. Somehow the majority of the uneaten food is collected in the same spot which seems to be encased in this clear "jelly-like" fluid that seems to be getting larger and collecting more food. The betta is not very active he just lies next to the "Junk" and acts like he is watching it or guarding over it. I'm thinkin he is just really confused and is fertilizing the food, thinking that they are eggs or something. I'm open to any suggestions, again I may be way off in my assumptions this "Junk" may be completely normal. If that is the case then i guess my question is why is he so inactive and how can i get him to eat?

 

[cherrylt04]

I don't know about the whole fertilizing the food thing , but I do know that bettas tend to be picky eaters. Bettas tend to only eat food that is feed to them most commonly. Most bettas that you buy at stores are normally already around a year of age, so therefore have been fed mainly one type of food. You might want to try a pellet food like Aqua Culture's Betta pellets. Another thing I've noticed about bettas is that they tend to be picky about mates too. For example I have 1 male and 2 females (had another male but died of old age) and my male will only breed with my green (turquoise) betta, and doesn't care any about my blue female. That is just a lil interesting addon I guess.

Peace,
DPS

 

[DaveR]

Thanks for the info, I guess i'll try some new food. Anyone have any idea what the clear jelly is that gathers at the bottom of the bowl? Its only about 5 days old and i'm using spring water.

 

[cherrylt04]

I just thought of something I left out. You should try to remove the uneaten food after 12 hrs, if it is possible. If you leave uneaten food in your tanks it will make you water cloudy and might cause illness. Plus you need to do weekly or bi-weekly water changes in that small of a bowl (unless breeding, going to breed soon, or have fry).

Peace,
DPS