What are some fun things you can do with a beta fish?

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Chassidy B

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I have a beta fish at home but it won't do anything. It just lays at the bottom of the tank.
 
I love betta. He's depressed. Yes, fish can get depressed. First off, what size tank is he in, how are the water levels (ammonia, Nitrates, etc), and is he sick? Does he have ich or a fungus? Does he have spots or is his tail looking ragged? Is he bloated? Anything hanging off of him? Are his scales sticking out like a pine cone? If the answer is no to all of these, and nothing's physically wrong with him and he has a healthy environment that's atleast a 2 to 5 gallon tank with weekly water changes and delicious food, then he's depressed. I had one that was like this. He moped around, he just sat at the bottom, only came up for food. I moved him to a ten gallon tank, got a tank divider, and another betta. He then went from sad fish to I'm going to show this guy my moves and to an active and happy male betta. You can ONLY do this if you keep them separated though. If they actually can touch each other then there will be blood. But in the same tank (10 gal or more) two males still can establish territory and still meet up in the middle for a flashy showdown. (keep in mind the tank divider- a clear plastic one is best). If you do not want another betta, then a mirror works, but they tire of it quickly and eventually go back to moping.

But if you have him in a tiny tank, less than 2 gal, then he's really bummed. Get a bigger tank with aquarium plants at the very least, you'll be happier that you did.
 
Beta fish are not very interactive. There's not much of anything you can do with them.

If it's laying at the bottom of the tank, it might be dead.
 
If he's in a bowl ad not at least a 2.5 gallon, heated tank, you won't see him do much. Bettas love warm water, around 78-80 degrees F. And a steady temp at that. Colder water will over time, stress him and he will become unhealthy. Check and make sure there are no little spots of white on his body or fins, this is ich and can show up when temps go up and down. This will also make him inactive. Do not overfeed. if he is overfed, he will get constipation and bloat. The main thing here, though is the size of his home and heated water.
 
hold a mirror up to the glass and he'll puff out to defend his territory. don't do it for more than a few min or you'll stress him. Sounds like yours is sick though. My healthy bettas always come to the glass to see what im up to.
 
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