A question for Betta (fish) owners?

S

suppppkayla

New member
I've had my Betta for a year and a half now. He's a great fish, he used to come eat out of my fingers and everything. But lately he's been so temperamental, flaring his gills at me, and he even tried to bite me. It's not like it would've hurt, but it's still weird, you know? I know they try to fight with other bettas (the males at least) and his bowl is by a mirror, so I had to put paper behind in to avoid him flaring his gills and banging into the glass, at his reflection. A few weeks ago, I put a new plant in his bowl since he kept knocking the old ones out of the rocks, but I think it might have cut his fins, so I took it out. What I'm asking is why the change in behavior? I know it's just a fish, but could him getting injured like that trigger this?

This may seem stupid, but I get extremely attached to my pets, even if it's just fish. I had sea monkeys when I was nine, and I cried when my dad dumped them in the sink. :/
I don't think it's the bowl though. In the time I've had him, I've switched his tanks numerous times due to various reasons. The strange behavior only started after he got hurt.
 
You would probably see a world of difference in his behavior with the appropriate habitat. A bowl is really not suitable.

About a five gallon aquarium with a gentle filter and an aquarium heater to maintain the temperature between 77F-82F.

It is not stupid to become attached to your pets. I think it's more worrisome when someone doesn't care.

~But because he is hurt he is now open to infection so he needs an ideal situation. He is probably suffering from stress. The correct temperature and aquarium salt should help him to heal.
 
Did he change before or after you blocked the mirror? If he changed after it could be that he was used to thinking he was "seeing another betta" and it kept him from boredom.
 
While flaring is a sign of aggression and I'm pretty sure they become more aggressive as they get older, some seem to just like to flare. Check out the link below, which explains that maybe your betta is seeing a colorful object that he thinks is another fish or maybe he's just "peppy"! I hope that his fin heals quickly!
 
Back
Top