Which Betta Is Happier?

[guppy2002]

I went to the pet store a while ago. It was petco, I was only getting crickets. But it's just like me to stare at the bettas for 15 minutes. d: some of the bettas in their little cups had great finance and color. Then I saw a Betts in one of petcos bigger tanks with lots of plants and such. That Betts was clearly beaten up by a bigger fish, but he still swam around the tank normally.

So my question is which betta do you think was happier? Beaten up or in a cup? Hey, it rhymes!

 

[RRaquariums]

To be 100% honest I don't think fish have the brain power to know if they are happy or not they are just healthy or not healthy so I'd say the healthy one in the cup is better off

 

[PrairieSunflower]

I am quite sure mine seems more content under floating plants than without... must be some level of contentment there.
 
As for the pet shop environment... probably neither is feeling all that happy or comfortable... the cup battles with water quality and the one in the larger tank sounds like he was or is picked on... maybe the reason he was put in the larger tank to heal?  Neither sounds like the right life anyhow.

 

[dave840f1]

It's probably that the one in the larger tank is with the wrong species (tank mates).

 

[Wildbetta]

Neither is "happy".  There is a high chance that the ones you were seeing in the cups had not been there that long hence why they still looked and acted healthy.  The one getting beaten up by the other fish is under high stress with the other fish at all times and will have a much lower immune system.    In all reality neither one is in a good environment. 

 

[RRaquariums]

I think what we see as happy is just the fish acting more like what it would in the wild so really while they do act calm and act more natural when they are in a good tank there just acting like a healthy fish and we see that as happy.
Again just my opinion