How to train your betta fish

Bettas are among the most popular pet fish in the world, and many betta owners feel the same way about their finny friends as owners of more conventional pets like dogs, cats, hamsters and parakeets. As fish go, bettas are fairly intelligent. They are thought to be closely related to cichlids on the evolutionary tree, a very intelligent family of fish, and this is demonstrated by their high level of parental care for their young. On a more human level, bettas tend to be aware of their surroundings, like to explore their environment, claim personal areas, and they often develop amusing personality “quirks”. They quickly learn to recognize their human companions, they know when feeding time is, and they get excited when you approach their aquarium.

But did you know you can play with your betta and even train it to do tricks?

How to Teach Your Betta Fish Tricks

Training a betta can be fun for the whole family and it’s surprisingly easy to do. It’s also good for your pet as it keeps them active and helps prevent boredom (yes, fish can get bored!). With patience and a little persistence, you can teach him to do things like follow your finger, eat from your hand, swim through a hoop, play soccer, and even jump out of the water or come up to be petted.

Fish food is the best reinforcement for desired behavior. But just be careful not to overfeed your betta, especially in a small aquarium.

Start your fish’s first day of “Betta School” by:

• Moving your finger slowly across the outside of the aquarium or along the water surface, and drop a live blackworm, bloodworm, or food pellet in when your betta comes up to it.
• Once he’s mastered coming to your hand for food, use verbal commands to impress your friends!
• From there see if he’ll take the treat directly from your fingers or tweezers by sticking a pellet to your fingertip or holding a live blackworm below the water surface.
• In time, it’s possible to teach your fish to leap out of the water for a treat. After your fish learns to hand-feed in the water, gradually raise the food up to entice him to jump out of the water for it.
• Keep in mind bettas are natural jumpers, so it’s important to keep a secure lid on the tank, at all times, when you are not interacting with it.

Another fun activity is to fashion a hoop using a pipe cleaner or the plastic ring from a milk jug cap, hold it perpendicularly below the waterline and coax your betta to swim through it for a treat. You can do the same thing with a tunnel on the bottom of the aquarium. Or float a ping pong ball or other small plastic ball at the surface and see if your betta will push it around! There are lots of other fun activities you can engage in with your betta by using your imagination or doing a little online research.

Bettas have different personalities and abilities, which makes it difficult to predict what each individual fish can be trained to do.

As you start your training, consider these tips:

• Start out slowly and be patient.
• Spend 5 to 10 minutes a day working with your fish and then stop.
• Remember not to overfeed, you don’t want poor water quality that can cause other health problems for your beloved fish.
• Watch for other interesting behavior and encourage it by giving your betta a treat whenever the fish does things that make you smile.
• Finally, talk to your betta. Call them by name and treat them like any other pet. Those who do this will tell you it makes a difference and they respond to it.

How to Choose the Right Habitat for Your Betta

One of the reasons bettas are so popular as aquatic pets is that they’re relatively easy to take care of and they don’t require a massive amount of space. When deciding what to place your betta tank on, remember that the full weight of a decorated and filled aquarium is approximately 10 lbs. per gallon. Your betta will be happiest and healthiest in an aquarium with a filter and heater. If you want to teach your betta tricks, you will want them at their most active, which means keep the aquarium water clean and between 76° and 84° F, as they are native to tropical environments. Unfiltered habitats in warmer environments can work, but they are more susceptible to water quality problems and may require partial water exchanges 2 to 3 times a week. There are many philosophies on what constitutes the ideal aquarium size, but bigger is always better (and less work for you as more water is more forgiving!).

No matter what type of fish tank environment you choose, use plants and other decorations to make your fish feel safe and at home. Aquarium lighting for betta should be somewhat subdued to simulate their natural habitat and reduce stress. Use a timer to maintain a consistent day/night cycle. In nature bettas live in relatively still water, so the filter should have a gentle flow.

A frequently asked question is “Can bettas be kept with other tropical fish?” A truthful answer is “It depends”. Most male bettas will peacefully co-exist with other mild-mannered fish species as long as there is adequate space, enough decorations and they aren’t extremely fast swimmers. That said, male bettas have individual personalities and occasionally you’ll encounter one that doesn’t play well with other fish and must be kept by himself. Aside from never putting two male bettas together, avoid fin nippers like tiger barbs, other anabantids (gouramis), large predatory fish and tiny fish that your betta might go after. Some betta are also known to eat small shrimp, so you don’t want to pair them together in a fish tank or your shrimp may start to disappear! Female bettas can often be kept in groups and with other peaceful community fish, with ample space. A group of female bettas is often referred to as a “sorority”.

Why Betta Fish Make Great Pets

Bettas make great pets for beginning and experienced aquarists alike. Unlike some fish species, they are highly interactive and you can truly “bond” with them. The beauty of bettas also rivals many saltwater fish. There is an endless variety of colors and fin types which means there’s a betta for just about everyone!

A betta fish tank is affordable, fits almost anywhere, and is easy to take care of. In addition, there are typically no vet bills with a betta, they’re not demanding, don’t make noise, and they don’t need walks. Plus, you can go away for the weekend and your betta will be just fine. A betta fish is also a great way to teach kids about nature as well as the responsibility of owning a pet. On average, bettas live 3 to 5 years, but reports of them occasionally living longer are not uncommon.

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Betta fish are betwen the most popular pet fish in the world, fairly intelligent and they rapidly learn to recognize their human companions, they know when feeding time is, and they get energized when you approach their aquarium.
These fish can be well trained, in fact, training a Betta can be fun for the whole family, also it’s good to the fish to keep them active and prevent boredom.

It’s surprising how easy to train Bettas, you can easly teach you pet to do many tricks, and with patience and a little persistence you can instruct him to do things like pursue your finger, eat from your hand, or swim through a circle.

If you want to help your pet exercise and escape boredom. Here 5 different ways to play with your Betta fish.

Place a ping pong ball in the aquarium
You can add a ping pong ball to the aquarium, to give your fish something to push around and amuse themselves with.

Use a mirror to watch your Betta flare
It’s an easy way to play with you Betta, Betta fish react to their own reflections by flaring and becoming particularly active.

Train you Betta to jump out of water
In the wild, These fish tend to do this naturally to attack food on the water surface.
In aquaruims Betta can do this by give them rewards, so they will continue to jump as long as they get a reward.

Add objects to the bottom of Betta tank
These fish are very curious by nature and they are entertained by new things they can explore.
They like to have spots to hide and spots to unwind in their tanks, so adding objects to their tanks is a key to their happiness.

Train your Betta to swim through hoops
Training hoops can be acquired for relatively cheap on the web and incorporate a few unique sizes and shapes.
Betta fish are naturally very inquisitive so they take well to learning new tricks such as swimming through hoops.

Train Your Betta Fish – Betta Tricks Introduction
Most people (myself included for a long time) are under the impression that fish are not smart creatures. I remember when I got my first betta fish how surprised I was that he began to recognize me when I walked in the door! It honestly felt like he was happy to see me! Well, after doing some research I figured out that betta fish not only recognize you and form an attachment to their owners, they are actually smart enough to learn some really amazing betta tricks. You can train your betta fish to perform some amazing betta tricks that will astound your friends!

Train Your Betta Fish – Betta Tricks Foundation
So the foundation of any betta tricks will be to train your betta fish to eat from a small, thin feeding stick. A feeding stick has a curved end that you can attach food to. At first, he may be a little intimidated or not understand what you’re doing, but eventually he’ll be willing to eat from the feeding stick. You can introduce him to the stick during his normal feeding time (check out this post for tips on feeding betta fish. Place the stick in the water and gently move it around so he smells the food. Try to avoid moving or jerking it while he is eating. Soon he’ll realize that whenever he sees the feeding stick, it’s time for dinner! Congratulations – this is the foundation for almost all the other betta tricks you can train your betta fish to do.

Train Your Betta Fish – Betta Tricks – The Jump
One of the coolest betta tricks I’ve seen happened when a friend of mine trained his betta to jump out of his betta fish bowl and eat food from his fingers. You can train your betta fish to do this super cool betta trick with a little patience and perseverance. This is not as difficult as it sounds, since a betta fish will typically do this in the wild if they see food.

Start by using the feeding stick and constantly placing it a little closer to the surface of the water every time your betta feeds. Eventually you’ll be able to place the feeding stick right at the surface of the water. The next step is to steadily keep it just outside of the water and watch one of my favorite betta tricks – the Jump! Once your betta gets familiar with this trick, you can substitute your fingers for the feeding stick and train your betta fish to jump out of the water to eat food directly from your fingers!

Train Your Betta Fish – Betta Tricks – Other Tricks
This is just the start of all the betta tricks that are out there. You can train your Betta fish to do many more betta tricks, such as following your feeding stick and doing circles. You can even train your betta fish to swim through hoops – a really impressive feat. You can train your betta fish to chase his tail, roll over, and much more. I hope you enjoyed this introduction to some of the cool betta tricks out there. If you take the time to train your betta fish, the possibilities are endless!

Do You Want to Ensure Your Betta Lives a Happy, Healthy Life?

If you answered YES to the above question, then I highly recommend you get Caring for Betta Fish: a Guide for Betta Lovers by Marcus Song.

This regularly updated, essential guide includes the right plants to keep water clean and free from ammonia, ways to acclimate your Betta to other fish, and much more. Your Betta Fish will thank you for the rest of his life! Click Here to get it now!

Hello, There! Welcome to the World of Bettas!

About the author

International Betta Congress and Betta Breeders Canada member

Hello! I started this betta blog Jan. 21st, 2013. This blog was inspired by a red veiltail betta I owned named Ianto Jones (after a character from the BBC series, “Torchwood”).

Here, you’ll mostly find posts about bettas, as well as other animal-related posts. Now and again, I also share non-animal posts, such as resources for mental health, in case they may help followers/friends.

Please see MY PAGES below for my betta care articles. I highly recommend reading them first before sending me any asks.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a veterinarian — just someone that is passionate about fishkeeping. The information that I provide is through my own experience, the experience of other fishkeepers, and plenty of research. Always do your own research as well by checking with a number of sources. I can’t stress this enough — my content is just one source.

Also, please be careful when messaging me time-sensitive questions. I may not be around to answer them! This is just my hobby, after all!

Did you know that you can actually play with your pet fish?

Many fish owners do not realize that their betta fish can be played with just like with any other pet. Although your fish may not fetch like a dog, it can still provide entertainment as long as you take the time to entertain it as well. Fortunately, providing entertainment for your pet fish is also much cheaper than providing for cats and dogs.

So, if you want to help your fish exercise and escape boredom, here are 7 ways to play with your betta fish:

1. Place a ping pong ball in the aquarium.

If you want to give your fish something to push around and amuse themselves with, you can try adding a ping pong ball to the aquarium. Any ping pong ball will do as long as it is rinsed beforehand and is not damaged in any way.

If your betta is feeling particularly brave, the ping pong ball will likely be pushed around the surface of the water. However, it should not be left in there at all times because it could potentially cause stress or your betta may simply become bored of it.

2. Use a mirror to watch your betta flare.

One of the easiest ways to play with your betta fish and get them exercising is to hold a mirror up to the side of the tank. Any mirror will do, such as handheld mirrors or those made for pet birds, and bettas typically react to their own reflections by flaring and becoming particularly active.

There are also toys available that combine a floating ball and a mirror so that you can move it around the surface of the aquarium. Three of my late bettas loved to circle a Zoo Med betta toy I have (as seen in the videos below). However, because it can stress them out easily, it is highly recommended to only use mirrors to play with your betta for 5 to 10 minutes a day.

Encouraging your betta to flare also helps it to potentially defecate, so if your fish is constipated, just give a mirror a try! While they’re flaring, you can further see the condition of the fins to keep an eye on/spot any tears or infection.

Click HERE to see a video of one of my late bettas playing with an exercise mirror.

3. Introduce floating decorations.

To give your Siamese fighting fish something to play with, you can buy floating betta logs for your fish to swim through. Betta logs are not only fun for your fish to play with, but many bettas like to sleep in them because they are on the surface. Bettas have also been known to build bubble nests inside of floating logs. However, just be sure not to be too rough when cleaning betta logs since you can potentially remove the paint.

You can also buy floating decorations, like fake or real plants (such as wisteria), for your betta to play with. The fish will likely investigate the new items and swim around or through them. However, just remember to always leave room for the betta to easily reach the surface for air.

4. Draw on the fish tank with dry erase markers.

Bettas are really quite easy to entertain. If you have dry erase markers on hand, you can doodle on the outside of your aquarium. When your fish sees something different, it will likely come around to investigate. The best part about using erasable markers is that you can just wipe away any doodles after playing and start afresh another time. However, always test the markers out first before doodling since some dry erase markers erase better than others. If your marker doesn’t come off glass that easily, it may be a dry erase marker that requires a magic eraser or a permanent marker. In either case, a quick Google search will let you know your options for safely removing stubborn marks.

As you can see above, Cinnabar was quite intrigued by the very lovely heart I doodled for him.

5. Stick Post-its or other pieces of paper on the tank.

I have seen videos of people simply sticking Post-its on the side of the betta tank or cutting out shapes from paper to show the fish. Bettas are highly attracted to bright colours and movement, so you can (usually) easily tempt them to chase anything that you present to them.

I decided to try cutting out a fish for my late betta, Jack, to play with, but he didn’t much care for it. In fact, he ended up just swimming away.

6. Place new items outside the tank for your fish to investigate.

Another way to play with your betta fish is to place new objects just outside of the tank. For example, in the video below, I had papier-mâché placed outside of one of the tanks to encourage my late boy to “dance” for me. While it is extremely cute, you just have to remember to always play in moderation to avoid accidentally stressing your fish out needlessly.

Click HERE to see a video of one of my late bettas “dancing” for some papier-mâché birds.

7. Train your betta to swim through hoops!

When doing this trick, you will just need to ensure that the hoops are big enough for your fish to easily swim through without causing any injuries. You must also ensure that you train them safely since they can accidentally jump across dividers or out of the tank.

The key thing to remember when playing with your betta fish is that you do so in moderation. If your betta becomes tired, stressed, or fearful during any kind of play, stop the session. Some fish are more prone to becoming stressed than others, so it’s your duty as the caregiver to monitor your fish’s behaviour and ensure that it is always safe and thriving.

by Carolyn Barton

Besides being beautiful, with their large, colorful fins, betta fish are also among the most intelligent types of fish. Teaching a betta a few tricks is time-consuming and requires consistency, but the payoff is hours of fun for you and your betta.

Jumping for Food

Place his food on the end of a coffee stirrer or popsicle stick. Lower it into the water and be careful to avoid any fast movements that might scare him. Continue doing this for several days so he begins to associate the stick with feeding time.

Begin raising the stick a few inches higher each day, until it is resting on the top of the water. Feed him this way for several days.

Lift the stick, with food on it, a few inches above the water at his regular feeding time. Watch as he jumps to grab the food. Once he is accustomed to jumping to take the food from the stick, you can start holding the food in your fingers and allowing him to jump up and take it.

Flare on Command

Place a small mirror in front of his tank so that he can see it well. Because he will think he is seeing another betta, he will flare his fins in response. Once he flares, reward him with a bit of food.

Place the mirror in front of him several times a day, but now add a pen to the equation. Hold the pen in front of the mirror so he sees it as well. Be sure to use the same pen each time so that he will recognize it. Every time he flares, reward him with a food treat.

Place only the pen in front of the tank once he is flaring at the pen and mirror consistently. He will still associate the pen with the other betta and flare his fins on command.

i have a male veiltail betta . i want to train him

5 Answers

Just dangle some food just above the surface, he’ll soon learn! This was one of my little boys:

Most fish will learn to eat out of a human’s hand. This may not seem like a trick, but when you consider that, to fish, things coming from “Above Water” and reaching toward them are generally predators, that’s a pretty big deal.

goldfish and koi can be taught to jump through hoops for food.

Certain loaches seem intelligent enough that they might be able to learn complex tricks.

Bettas sure are bright enough.

Possibly the biggest thing you’ve got to get past when teaching fish tricks is that fish don’t think like mammals. Every step away from human you take, an animal’s thinking is more and more bizarre. Sharks are known to be extremely intelligent, but it took forever to determine this because they are wired far different from us. Likewise, I have to presume that tortoises are intelligent, but it would be nearly impossible to comprehend this because humans relate physical slowness with a lack of brains. vote best answer please

ONLY do that if you have a cover on your tank – if you don’t he’ll jump out and land on the floor and die. It happened to my fish and it really sucked. Here’s a website with info on how to teach them tricks. Good luck.

im sorry yet fish cant bounce 🙁 they dont fairly have muscle mass and they have a small and susceptible bone structure, so its bodily no longer a threat. attempt leaping out of water without your ft touching the bottom of the pool, its no longer as uncomplicated because it seems! and likewise, i dont imagine they prefer mild. or tapping on the fringe of a bowl. thats how my fish died 🙁 wish this helps!! xoxo, lauren

i have like 1 month (more or less) to train a betta fish for my school science fair, so what tricks can i teach to a fish that could be enough for a good place?

no, im not joking.

6 Answers

Bettas are smart fish. They can be taught, but it’ll take some work. i’m trying to get my girl to swim through a hoop. She shies away from it, but when she realizes treats come when she goes through, it makes her more willing. You’re going to have to work with your fish, but also keep in mind that since food is the motivation, you’re going to have to keep track so you don’t over-feed your fish.

That being said, may I direct you to this page:

Betta Care provides 2 pages worth of tricks you can attempt to teach your betta, and on the 2nd page there is a link to some video where you can see the trick being preformed.

When teaching your betta, take into account what it naturally will do on its own, and go from there. My gal jumps well and will go for anything over the water’s surface, so getting her to jump and touch my fingers for food is no problem. She can jump 1.5-2 inches and that’s most of the way out of the water for her (A male might no do as well since he has the longer heavier fins). Anything your fish is naturally inclined to do, it will be easier to teach them a trick involving that behavior.

If you look around on youtube, there is a kit you can buy to teach your pet fish tricks. It’s like “R2 Fish School” or something like that. If you look in the video they have a goldfish run through and obstacle course, go under a pole like doing the limbo, and the fish does soccer. What they use is a feeding rod with a bit of food stuck in the tip to guide the fish through the courses and then reward it. Even if you do not buy the kit, listen to how they worked on training the fish, and maybe try to build something like it yourself. The videos you can find are of various length, generally the longer ones have more details explained.

i have to fish and i want to train them 1 male and female bubbles is the girl and the boy is alvin and please no silly answers.

and please dont say whatever you whant them to do thats wat i whant to find out.

4 Answers

if you want to teach your betta to do tricks.

–to make him jump out of the water, just hold up a really tasty treat, like a bloodworm, just over the surface of the water. when he swims to the top, dont be tempted to put it in the water for him. eventually his curiosity will make him jump. he’ll remember this forever. so everyday, at about the same time, with the same conditions (light, sounds, etc) hold a bloodworm over his tank til he jumps for it. when he catches on and starts jumping out whenever he sees the worm, raise the worm a little higher. it is SO worth it. and the fish loves it!

–if you want your betta to be calmer when you change his water or move around his tank decorations and stuff, you have to expose him to what scares him, in a non-threatening way. for about an hour before taking him out of his bowl/tank for a water change, put the net in the water and let your baby poke around it and get used to it. when hes swimming around like normal when the net is in there, he’ll be half as spazzy as usual. do it everytime you have to take him out, its worth it. bettas are curious and brave, but theyre total fraidy cats so give them time.

I suppose it would depend on what you want them to do. Bettas are genreally very friendly to their owners and will eat from your hand or follow you about the room (as their aquarium allows) all on their own.

i thought mine to do a back flip by feed ing them by hand..

its a FISH. you cannot TRAIN them to do nething

Betta fish also go by the name of Siamese fighting fish for a very good reason. They, especially the males, are extremely pugnacious, scrapping at every opportunity. Two females may coexist, but two males cannot. A male/female pair will only get together briefly at breeding time, and then it’s back to fighting. This doesn’t mean you can’t keep two bettas, but you’ll have some work to do.

Emergency Action

If you already have more than one betta and they’re scrapping constantly, take immediate action. They risk seriously damaging, if not killing, each other. Buy or make an aquarium partition, which is simply a sheet of mesh or plastic with holes cut to the size of your tank. Ensure that water can flow through, but the fish are stuck with one on either side. Because they can see each other, they’ll still exhibit fighting behavior and will be stressed, but they can’t cause physical damage.

Get a Bigger Tank

To keep more than one betta, you will need the biggest tank you can find space for. Aim for at least 25 gallons, preferably more. Let it cycle fully as normal and include plenty of growing plants. Aquarium rocks and other shelters are also helpful. You need plenty of places that the bettas can take refuge from each other.

Two or More Females

Two female bettas may tolerate each other, provided they have sufficient hiding places. Try having them loose together in the large tank, but keep a close eye on their behavior. Some individuals are feistier than others and may never cope with having free access to another betta, although they’ll probably be fine with other fish species. If they carry on fighting, add a partition.

Two or More Males

Males cannot be let loose together, so you have two options. You could transfer one to the new aquarium and keep the other in your old, small tank. Otherwise, a partition in the new tank will keep them apart. Arrange the vegetation so that they cannot see each other easily.

Male and Female

A male and female pair may appear to get along just fine to begin with. However, they will probably mate, and then you have problems. The male looks after the eggs and fry — baby fish — and will try to chase off the female. In the confines of a tank, this is not possible, so he may kill her unless you separate her quickly. The male too must be removed after about a week. You will also need to find homes for all the juveniles once they mature.

Other Fish

If you are setting up your first aquarium and want more than one fish, don’t consider buying two bettas. Instead get one female and a few other tropical fish. A particularly belligerent male betta is best completely alone or with only invertebrates, such as snails, for company, but less aggressive individuals should tolerate other tropical fish. Look for companion species that do not have showy fins and are not fin-nippers themselves.

This is abuse you piece of shit. You should be banned from this sub.

Banned now, sorry this post stayed up as long as it did

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Ick on your bettas are unsightly to look at. They can take away the beauty that makes bettas unique. Take note that this can lead to your bettas’ last resting place if left untreated.

That’s the reason you must never overlook treating ick on your bettas. And if you’re struggling to get rid of betta ick or don’t know how to start, we are here to help.

In this article, we will tackle ick on betta fishes, how to treat them, and some preventive measures.

Table of Contents

What is Betta Fish Ick?

Betta fish ick (Ichthyophthirius multifiliis) is a fish disease caused by external parasites. They look like white spots that stick to your bettas’ bodies and can spread rapidly if not prevented.

Ick is highly contagious and you must treat it as soon as possible. Ick can attach and detach to your fish after four days. The ick then reproduces and swims around the fish tank and attach it to other fishes.

Symptoms of Betta Fish Ick

Spotting a betta fish that has contracted an ick is easy. Here are its common symptoms:

Itchiness

Betta fish ick is equivalent to skin conditions in humans hence the itchiness. If your betta caught the disease, you will often find them rubbing against objects. The itchiness will become severe to the point it can damage their scales when they rub their bodies against objects.

White spots

Ick is a very visual fish disease. They come in the form of white spots that you can find on your betta’s body. These white dust can turn gold over time if left untreated. When this happens, it can lead to a secondary disease called “velvet” which is fatal for your bettas.

Lethargy

Betta fishes that have an ick lose their energy. They will have difficulty swimming and they mostly spend their time rubbing on rocks and ornaments. Keep in mind that lethargy also occurs on other fish diseases too and not just ick.

Clamped fins

If you notice that your betta is clamping their fins, this is also a sign of ick. Clamping of fins is also a sign of stress.

Having difficulty to breathe

Ick can also affect your bettas’ gills. This can lead to them having difficulty breathing which can affect their respiratory organs and can eventually lead to death.

Is Ick Curable?

Just like any other betta fish diseases, ick is easily curable when you treat it as soon as possible. As long as you have the right equipment and medication, you can treat ick and keep it at bay to prevent it from coming back.

Treating Ick on Betta Fishes

There are three ways in treating betta fish ick and these are:

The Isolation Method

Ick loves to stay in an environment where they have already reproduced. So what you can do is to keep your infected betta away from this environment. This means setting up a quarantine tank where your betta can stay for days.

Removing ick on your fish tank is as easy as taking its means of survival. Ick can slowly die down if you isolate its favorite target, which is your betta fish. And while you’re at it, it’s best to clean your main fish tank to keep it away from ick and other bacteria.

The Aquarium Salt and Heater Method

Prepare your wallet because, in this method, you need to buy an aquarium salt and a heater in case you don’t have one. This method involves adjusting temperature levels and putting salt to your fish tank.

Keep in mind that you should never put table salt because doing so is a recipe for disaster. You may end up killing your bettas instead of curing them. That said, follow these steps below:

Step 1 – Raise the temperature

Begin by raising the temperature of your tank in a progressive manner. Do this every day, specifically 1°F or 2°F a day. Keep raising the temperature day to day until it reaches 86°F. Ick cannot survive in higher temperatures and will eventually die if they cannot find a host.

Step 2 – Add the aquarium salt

After raising the temperature, it’s time to put aquarium salt into the tank. Do this by dissolving one tablespoon of aquarium salt every one gallon of conditioned aquarium water.

Never put aquarium salt directly to the fish tank full of water up to the surface. Aquarium salt increases salinity that ick parasites cannot survive.

The Medication Method

If you think the aquarium salt and heating method isn’t enough, then follow the medication method. But, using too much medication can hurt your betta fish. So use this in moderation only if you notice no improvements to your betta fishes’ ick.

The best medication for betta ick is Rid Ich Plus or API’s Super Ick Cure. Both medications are effective in removing ick on your fish tank. Medications have different instructions on how to put them on your fish tank so check the label first.

Preventing Betta Ick From Coming Back

They say that prevention is better than cure. And this principle stays true in taking care of your betta fishes to keep it away from ick. Here are some prevention tips you can follow:

A quarantine tank is your friend

Before putting new bettas (or any kinds of fish) to your main tank, let them stay on a quarantine tank first. This gives you time to monitor them if they are healthy and not susceptible to fish diseases. Not to mention, it also saves you time and effort from managing your main fish tank.

Avoid buying unhealthy-looking fishes

This one is a no-brainer, and it saves you from the hassle of setting up a quarantine tank as mentioned above. There’s no denying that betta fishes are expensive.

But we always have this trait of not saying “no” to a cheaper offer. Always take a keen look at those bettas before buying it, especially if it comes at an affordable price.

Keep your bettas away from stress

Just like humans, betta fishes can also experience stress too. And when bettas are stressed, they will be vulnerable to diseases.

That’s why it’s ideal to keep them stress-free by taking stressors away from the fish tank. This includes removing objects that lead to them stress, test aquarium parameters if they are at an optimal level, and avoid overcrowding.

Tank overstocking is a no-no

There are several factors that come into play when we talk about tank overstocking. And these are putting too much fish, myriads of decorations, and planting too many live plants.

Keep your fish tank simple and spacious for your betta fishes. But if you want your creativity to shine in fish tank design, then get a bigger tank.

Isolation is key

If your infected betta is swimming along with other fishes in one tank, then isolate them as soon as possible. Ick is a highly contagious fish disease and can spread to other fishes in just a snap. So do your bettas a favor by making a quarantine tank ready for emergencies.

Conclusion

Betta ick is not tricky to cure as long as you have the right materials in hand. But, prevention is still the ideal way to go. By applying preventive measures, it saves you time and money spent just to cure the disease.

Let this be an eye-opener of how important it is to take care of your betta fish. So always do your best to tend them so they can nurture and develop healthily. Not to mention, having a clean and well-maintained fish tank also pays off too.

by Michelle A. Rivera

The male betta is much more colorful than the female.

Male bettas are colorful little gems that radiate personality. It’s not hard to tell if your male betta is happy. There are telltale signs that your betta is happy, healthy and loving life. If you see your betta exhibiting these signs, you’re doing something right.

Eating Well

Happy, healthy male bettas have a good appetite. Bettas are carnivores and require a high-protein diet to thrive. Bettas should never be kept in a vase with a plant on top with the expectation that he can thrive on the roots of the plant. A varied diet will keep your male betta happy. If your betta is eating his food, its a sure sign that he’s happy and healthy. Beware of overeating, however. Bettas will consume everything you give them at once because in the wild they never know where their next meal is coming from, so the typical advice about not feeding more than your fish will eat in five minutes does not apply to bettas. A betta’s stomach is the size of his eye, so don’t overfeed him or you will have a host of medical problems with which to deal as well as one unhappy male betta.

Engaging

Male bettas are quite engaging and love interaction. If your betta is swimming around the tank, watching you as you move around the room, coming to the top of the tank when you approach and generally spending very little time hiding, he’s a happy camper. Bettas are intelligent little guys and need variety and enrichment in their tank or they quickly become bored and depressed. You can keep your male betta happy by providing plants, decorations that allow him to hide, toys such as betta hammocks and floating mirrors. Some male bettas can be taught tricks such as taking food from your finger, jumping out of the water and flaring when prompted.

Bubble Nests

This is a biggie. Male bettas who are happy and healthy want to find a girlfriend and raise a family so they build bubble nests in an effort to coax a female into the nest to mate. It’s not necessary to actually have a female in the tank for your betta to blow a bubble nest. Some male bettas blow a nest every week, some blow a nest daily and some only once or twice a year. Not all male bettas blow bubble nests, so if yours isn’t building a nest don’t despair. But if he is, accept the gift of the bubble nest and thank him profusely, praising him for his industrious nature and architectural stylings.

Keeping Him Happy

Now that you can recognize the signs of a happy male betta fish, be sure to keep him that way. Always keep the tank pristine clean, don’t add fish that will stress your betta such as those with colorful fins he could mistake for an interloper, and don’t overfeed your betta. Learn the signs of illness and be vigilant about watching your betta for changes in personality. A happy, healthy betta that suddenly begins to hide all day in his cave, refuses to eat, floats on his side or seems to languish is in trouble and needs your immediate help.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ben Team

Also known as Siamese fighting fish, betta fish are popular pets found in pet stores and home fish tanks everywhere. No one knows what goes on in a betta’s mind, but since you are ultimately responsible for your pet’s quality of life, err on the side of caution and provide him with plenty of stimulation to ensure he is happy and entertained. Begin by providing your pet with a suitably sized habitat, instead of the tiny flasks in which bettas are often sold. After upgrading the tank, ensure his habitat contains safe items that he can play with, feed him a variety of foods, and learn how to interact with him yourself.

Provide a suitably large aquarium

While humans often enjoy being a “big fish in a small pond,” actual fish rarely agree with this sentiment. Small tanks not only limit your fish to unnaturally small activity areas, but they are also difficult to maintain. You should give your pet minimally a 10-gallon aquarium. Your fish will not only have more room for exercise in a large aquarium, but he will also likely enjoy better water quality, as larger tanks are easier to maintain.

When planning your aquarium, remember too that bettas don’t always make good roommates. Male fish will attack each other, fighting to the death. Males will also attack females when breeding season is over. You can house bettas with other docile fish, but avoid other colorful varieties like guppies.

Betta tank ideas

As well as sufficient space, provide your pet with a suitably complex habitat by adding live plants, caves, tunnels, and other items to his tank. These items provide visual barriers, which make your fish feel safer, and they give him something else to look at, smell, and nudge a little. Scientists have shown that fish are smarter than people often give them credit for, and fish raised in stimulating environments are smarter than those raised in bland ones.

Add unusual items to your betta’s tank once in a while, as they often serve well as betta toys. If you drop a ping pong ball in his tank, your betta pet will likely investigate, push it around, and attack it. You can also install interesting-looking items on the outside of the tank, such as colorful toys and candles.

Dietary variety is the spice of life

Feeding your betta stimulating foods will help keep his synapses firing. While you must always keep his nutritional needs in mind, and you should consult your veterinarian before changing his diet, consider offering your pet small insects, shrimp or feeder fish. These small fish have small mouths, so be sure offered food is small enough for your betta to swallow it.

Show some love

You can also stimulate your betta’s mind by directly interacting with him. For example, you can shine a laser pointer onto the surfaces of his aquarium. By darting the red dot around the tank, you can likely catch your fish’s interest and coax him into chasing the mysterious light around the tank. Just be sure to avoid shining the pointer into your pet’s eyes.

Alternatively, you can provide him food by placing a small morsel in the end of a drinking straw and then moving it around the tank, so he must “capture” his prey before he can eat. Some fish seem to recognize their owner’s voices and will show off a bit for them when they come close to the tank, so talk to your betta and interact with him often.

Teach him tricks

You can entertain your fish by teaching him a number of simple tricks, such as swimming through a hoop or flaring on command, by using classical conditioning techniques. For example, begin showing your betta a mirror, which will elicit a territorial response. Repeat this activity for several days; after it becomes routine, try to switch the item that elicits the display to an ordinary item — such as your car keys — by displaying them along with the mirror. With time and repetition, the fish should begin to associate the keys with the need to flare, allowing you to get him to flare by showing him the keys alone.

You can teach your fish to swim through hoops by luring him through the hoop with a piece of food. With time, he may also learn to follow food through simple mazes.

Determining the gender of a betta fish is generally quite easy, but sometimes they look similar enough to make a decision challenging. Taking the following characteristics into account should help you determine the gender of your betta. Keep in mind that juvenile fish may not display sexual differences. Ideally, compare mature specimens of the same species and color, and compare multiple factors rather than using a single trait to determine gender.

Colors

Often males are more vividly colored than females; however, color alone is not a definitive predictor of gender. Males generally display more vibrant colors than females, but females can be quite colorful, too.  

Vertical Stripes

Female bettas will display vertical stripes on their body when they are ready to mate, while males do not.

Body Shape

Generally, females are a bit shorter and more wide-bodied than male bettas. Males tend to have more elongated bodies that are slightly flatter, side-to-side.

Male bettas have much longer fins, sometimes as much as three or four times the length of the females’ fins. While some varieties of bettas have males sporting short caudal (tail) fins, in most varieties the females have shorter caudal fins and the males have longer fins. The ventral fins of the male are noticeably longer and thicker than those of the female.  

Egg Spot

Mature females display an “egg spot” between the ventral and anal fins. This is actually the ovipositor, which is used to lay the eggs. Males rarely show an egg spot.

Beard

Bettas have a membrane beneath the gill plate cover called the opercular membrane. This membrane appears as a “beard” and is displayed when the fish flares its gill plates. Males have a much larger beard, so large that often it is visible even when the male is not flaring. Females also have a beard, but it is much smaller and not visible when the female isn’t flaring.  

Male and Female Flaring

When bettas flare, the differences between the sexes become more apparent. Males display a large beard, while females have a much smaller, less pronounced beard. Females may also assume a head-down posture when flaring, a posture that males do not exhibit.

Behavioral Traits

Male bettas are nicknamed Siamese fighting fish for a reason: They’re very aggressive with one another and with female bettas, violent enough to lower their expected lifespans. This is why you should never have more than one male betta in a tank.   It’s also recommended not to combine male and female bettas in an aquarium, except for mating.

Aggression

Female bettas aren’t nearly the fighters that males are, but they can be aggressive toward one another and to other fish. Aggression between females can be very stressful, especially if there are only two females and one tends to bully the other. For this reason, it is recommended that if you are keeping more than one, you should ​keep at least five females in the same aquarium so that aggressive behavior is more diffused and not directed toward the same individual.

Bubble Nests

Generally, only male bettas blow a bubble nest. This is a nest made of saliva bubbles that the fish creates on the surface of the water to protect the eggs during breeding.   Again this is not absolute, as occasionally a female will blow a bubble nest. However, those instances are fairly rare. Males create bubble nests in preparation for breeding with a female and will make nests, even if they have no mate in the tank.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Veronica Maier

Things You’ll Need

Three small fish bowls

Bowl with a lid

Betta fish are known for their intense reaction when put in the same bowl as another betta. In reality, it is only the male betta that are aggressive. They will fight to the death on most occasions, or at least leave each other torn and tattered. The females may be raised in an aquarium together and do not need to be separated. These small, colorful fish may be bred in captivity if carefully watched for the female’s reaction to the male betta’s aggressive mating behavior.

Step 1

Place the female and male betta in separate bowls. Give them both plenty of good quality betta food and watch for the female to produce eggs and the male to begin making a bubble nest in one area of the tank.

Step 2

Place the female betta in the bowl with the male betta and watch them closely. The male will advance aggressively. If the female continues to back away from his advances for several minutes, and is not responding to him, take her out of the bowl and try again in a few days.

Step 3

Once the eggs have been fertilized, remove the female and place her back in her bowl. The male betta will not tolerate the female for long.

Step 4

Place a handful of dried straw in a bowl of water with a lid and set it in a sunny windowsill. You’ll use the wet straw later to nourish the hatchlings.

Step 5

Watch for the hatchlings to appear. The small hatchlings should hatch in about two days. Watch for them and remove the male once the hatchlings hatch. He may decide to eat the hatchlings if allowed to stay in the same bowl for long.

Step 6

Place the wet straw into the bowl with the baby bettas. Watch them during the next few days and add more soaked straw to their bowl. They will eat it for nourishment. In two weeks, start feeding them dried flake food.

Publisher Description

Learn how to make your betta the coolest and healthiest pet on the block.

If you want to teach your betta how to do cool tricks, be active, stay healthy, always look bright and vibrant, and live a high-quality, long-lasting life, then you’ll want to get this audiobook.

Most pet shop workers don’t know the info contained in this audiobook.

You don’t know what your betta does and does not need for its tank. (It’s not what you think.)
You’re told that your betta will be perfectly fine in a half-gallon-sized tank. (Wrong!)
You want to give your betta the best life possible, but you simply don’t know how to go about doing that.

Fortunately, this audiobook will give you the ultimate approach to setting up your aquarium and teach you how to properly care for your betta fish.

Here are a few of the things you’ll discover in this audiobook:

All of the necessary and optional things you’ll need for your aquarium.
How to properly set up your tank and common mistakes you’ll want to avoid.
How to teach your betta fish cool tricks such as jumping and how to swim through a hoop!
What you should be feeding your betta and how much you should be feeding it. (Most get this wrong!)
How to properly breed bettas.
The correct way to properly clean your aquarium.
Common myths and lies you’ve been told about bettas that simply aren’t true.
How to prevent and treat common betta illnesses.
And much more!

Imagine getting a pet betta fish and knowing that you’ll be able to give your betta a high-quality life.

By following the guidelines in this audiobook, you can maximize the quality of life that your betta will live.

Scroll up, click the buy now button, and learn how to properly take care of a betta fish today!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A. Low

If you already have fish and you’re planning on moving new fish into your aquarium, 4-H suggests adding them at night when the old fish will be less aggressive. Typically, if your aquarium is large enough with plenty of hiding places, old fish won’t harass their new tankmates. While the rule of thumb for tank space is to provide one gallon of water per inch of fish, this is rarely enough space for multiple fish to remain healthy and docile. The best practice for both preventing and resolving bullying issues is to give your fish as much space as possible.

It is confusing and frustrating when your fish are peaceful one day and tearing each other apart the next. Fish bullying occurs for many reasons, some of which are easy to identify, others not so simple. And all fish have the potential to harass one another, regardless of size and temperament.

Step 1

Make sure the species in your tank was intended to live with other fish. Small freshwater fish such as tetras and guppies thrive in groups, while others such as Cichlids and Beta fish may live best alone. If you are keeping two or more naturally aggressive fish together in tight quarters, the only solution is to keep them in separate tanks.

Step 2

Look for nests or spawned young in the tank. If your fish are in the heat of breeding time, they may be uncharacteristically territorial in order to protect their young. If this is the case, keep a separate tank where you can house the victims (especially if these fish are smaller than their attackers) until breeding time is completed.

Step 3

Test the ammonia levels in the water and see if the fish tend to dwell near the top and gasp for air. If the tank lacks oxygen or ammonia levels are high, fish can become stressed and resort to bullying one another.

Step 4

Provide special food for aggressive bottom-feeders. Sometimes hungry bottom-feeders are attracted to the slime coat on fish, a protective layer that keeps your fish safe from disease and parasites.

Step 5

Make sure that the behavior you’re witnessing isn’t actually mating behavior. With live-bearing fish, males tend to chase females around the water—this behavior is only serious if the female shows signs of exhaustion or if she is being constantly hounded by her fellow fish.

Step 6

Add one or two more fish of a single species if the victimized fish is the only one of its kind in an aquarium. Large or aggressive fish are less likely to bully a docile fish if it is part of a group.

Before breeding your Betta, set some time aside to assess the time, money and physical space you will need. Research as much as you can before you begin so you understand exactly what is required to breed Bettas successfully.

Here are some helpful tips to get you started:

Obtain a female betta – This can be a difficult task since most stores primarily sell males. Discuss with your fish dealer how to purchase either just the female or a pair.

Observation – Before purchasing the Bettas you wish to breed, observe them in the fish tank. Watch for the fish that are more energetic, for active fish will increase your chances of successful spawning. The best Bettas for breeding are those that are mature and have been conditioned in their respective tanks for at least a few days. Working with several pairs at once allows for trial and error and will nearly ensure success with at least one male and female.

Tank Size – The optimum breeding fish tank size for the pair of Bettas is ten gallons. You will need to add some decorations and plants to allow the fish some privacy; however, avoid using gravel for safety purposes for the female.

Water – Maintain the water temperature at or close to 80 degrees and the depth to 2-3 inches below the rim of the tank. Water filtration is still necessary, but water turbulence can damage the eggs. Adjust the power filter to minimize surface disturbance.

Feeding – Always feed breeding fish a proper, balanced diet. Experienced breeders recommend live brine shrimp and blackworms which help condition the fish for breeding. Continue the Betta’s normal diet of standard flake foods as well as live and frozen foods. To help with conditioning, place the male and female in separate tanks but next to each other with a glass partition between them, and feed them live food simultaneously. Even the sight of the female might provoke the male to begin building its bubblenest.

Spawning – Once they are both aware of each other and appear ready to spawn, place the female in the same tank as the male. There can be some aggressive gestures, including some mutual fin nipping. If it approaches a dangerous level for either the male or female, remove the female and wait a few days to let the fish recover. Place her in the adjacent tank with the glass partition and begin the process again waiting for signs that she is willing. When they are both ready to spawn they will enter into an “embrace” and she will produce eggs under the bubble nest. He will fertilize them and begin to care for the eggs. At this point in time, remove the female and place her back in her own tank.

Fry – For the next 24 hours until the eggs hatch into fry, the male will keep the eggs cleaned and in the bubble nest, recovering any that fall. The newly born fry will then hang from their tail for another 24-36 hours. Soon, the first fry will begin to swim without help. At this point, remove the male. A day after the fry hatch, they need their first feeding which could consist of baby brine shrimp, daphnia, microworms, or liquid fry food. They’ll need to be fed up to five times a day.

Now the fry need to be moved to a larger, covered tank to maintain the humidity and keep the water warm. Estimate moving about 10 fry per gallon container to begin. The fish tank should only contain the growing fry so other aquarium fish do not eat them.

At two months of age, they should begin to show sexual dimorphism, which will allow you to distinguish the males from the females. At this point, remove the males and separate them from each other. You can keep the females together in one tank. Continue feeding your Betta a well-balanced diet and maintain the proper water and temperature conditions, and you will soon have many beautiful Bettas to enjoy.

It’s name will be Bambi!

Can i make it know it’s name?

12 Answers

They can’t identify humans speaking. You can train Betta’s though. My betta swims through his rings when I approach to feed him. He does, this and nibbles the bellets or shrimp out of my fingers. When hes eaten all his pellets, he lets me stroke his back.

None of my fish exept for a black ghost knife might ever consume freeze dried shrimp. it incredibly is cumbersome and sharp and It feels like not something yet shell to me, it cant be very apealing. Get some frozen blood worms, perhaps some frozen daphnia, or brine shrimp. And a high quality pellet food staple. there are various video clips on youtube approximately traing bettas!. you ought to call it Zinia

My betta’s name is Max and when someone goes into my bedroom and says his name, he comes to the front of the tank so your betta will eventually get use to his/her name. Fish are not stupid like some people like to make them out to be.

bettas do not have ears. They use their lateral line organ to sense vibrations, so sometimes by tapping the tank gently then giving it a small amount of food it can learn to come to the tapping!

The best environment for any fish is one that closely matches its natural home conditions. Most aquarium fish are native to warm tropical areas with flowing waters, so require an aerated aquarium with good water quality and temperatures ranging from 72 to 82 F. The Betta fish (Betta splendens) is an exception, as it is an air-breathing fish from shallow stagnant waters that can do well in a quart size or larger bowl without needing aeration. It does require good water quality and warm water temperature. Unfortunately, it is rather challenging to provide that kind of environment in a small bowl. However, it’s not impossible to make a bowl a reasonable home for your Betta if you are willing to make the effort. In climates that are warm year-round, a Betta can do pretty well in a bowl; provided the owner changes the water regularly.

A Tropical Fish

Bettas come from tropical Southeast Asia, where the water is usually around 80 F year-round. If you live in a temperate climate, wintertime weather can present obstacles. Cold temperatures below 65 F can kill a Betta fish. They prefer to be in water temperatures of 75 to 82 F. Being subjected to long periods of cooler than optimal water temperature will stress the fish, rendering it far more susceptible to disease. Placing the bowl in a warmer location in the house will help, but the best option for those living in cold climates is to keep the fish in a heated aquarium.

Another option is to put a mini-heater in your bowl. Keep in mind that bowls are challenging when it comes to maintaining the proper temperature. It is easy to overheat, underheat or have wide variances in temperatures. Frequent large temperature swings can be as stressful as constantly low temperatures. If you choose to keep your Betta in a bowl and heat it with a mini-heater, make sure you use an aquarium thermometer to monitor the temperature closely.

Does a Betta Need a Plant to Eat?

Plants are great for Betta bowls or aquariums, as Bettas like to nestle among the leaves to rest; but not to eat! Although some report that Bettas will nibble on a plant for food, that is not true. Bettas require meaty foods and are not plant eaters in nature. Yes, if they have no other food available, they will nibble on the plants. However, plant matter is not the ideal food for them. You should feed a good quality flake or pelleted fish food, along with treats of live or frozen brine shrimp, or freeze-dried tubifex worms. They will even eat live wingless fruit flies.

If you have a plant in the Betta bowl, but sure it doesn’t prevent the Betta from getting to the surface to breathe. Furthermore, it will be much easier to care for your Betta if there isn’t a large plant in the way. If the bowl is large enough, a small live aquarium plant can be used, but make sure the plant doesn’t block out the entire surface of the water. If adding a live plant in a bowl, be sure to use a substrate that will provide nutrients to support healthy live plant growth. A small plant in a small pot of substrate available in pet stores will suffice, and be easy to remove when doing routine maintenance.

Clean the Marbles

The glass marbles on the bottom of the bowl are okay and are easy to remove for cleaning. Keep in mind that food can and does fall under them, so be sure to clean them whenever you perform your regular water change. Do not allow leftover food to accumulate in the substrate.

Key Habitat Factors of the Betta

The key factors for keeping your Betta happy and healthy are: keep the water and bowl clean by performing regular water changes, feed your Betta a varied diet and avoid letting the water remain cool (below 75 F) for long periods of time. Your Betta’s appearance and behavior is a good way to measure how he is feeling. A healthy Betta will be colorful, have a healthy appetite and is active and interested in what is going on around him. A listless, inactive Betta that has a poor appetite and/or frayed fins is a red flag that something is wrong in the environment.

The beauty and bright colors of Betta fish have made them the protagonists of many aquariums. Despite their personality, Betta fish species tend to be beautiful specimens that we will surely enjoy taking care of.

If you have a Betta fish and have noticed how it sometimes get especially “puffed out”, keep reading this AnimalWised article and discover the main reasons why Betta fish puff up.

Dropsy in Betta fish

Dropsy is an infection of the internal organs which can be caused by various factors including viruses, bacteria or intestinal parasites. It is most commonly caused by the presence of the Aeromonas punctata bacteria in the aquarium. It attacks weaker or more delicate fish, and it can be fatal.

Symptoms of dropsy in Betta fish:

• Bloated body
• Raised scales
• Exophthalmos (bulging eyes)
• Discoloration
• White feces

The swelling of the fish’ body is because of the build up of intraperitoneal fluid. Betta fish are prone to these infections, which is why it is fundamental to clean their tank. Maintaining good hygiene and regularly changing the water in the aquarium will protect your fish from these infections.

How to treat dropsy in Betta fish

Since there are various possible causes for the infection, it’s difficult to work out the appropriate treatment. Dropsy is a common cause of death among Betta fish, which is why it’s advisable to act quickly if you suspect one of your specimens might be ill.

You should isolate the affected fish from the rest, and then change the aquarium water. You should also clean the ornaments, artificial plants and other objects found inside.

It’s recommended that you know how to deal with this problem in advance, since your Betta fish can die in a couple of days. If you know what to treat it with, you can proceed as soon as you notice an inflated stomach and raised scales. Go to your vet for advice on the most appropriate treatment. Dropsy is usually treated with antibacterials, broad-spectrum anti-parasitics and anti-inflammatories.

After treatment, when the fish starts to get recover, you should start gradually changing the aquarium water. Anti-inflammatories contain steroids, and abruptly eliminating their presence in the water can be counterproductive. Change the water over the course of 3 or 4 days until the medications have disappeared.

Indigestion in Betta fish

Dropsy can be confused with indigestion; your Betta fish might be puffing up from eating too much. Fish eat dehydrated food, sometimes in large quantities. Then, it hydrates and consequently swells up in their stomach. This brings intestinal obstructions which cause the fish to stop eating.

Symptoms of indigestion in Betta fish:

• Swollen abdomen
• Un-raised scales

The main difference with respect to dropsy is the position of the scales. When your Betta fish eats too much, its abdomen puffs out but its scales do not stand up. Raised scales are an indication of dropsy.

To prevent your fish from puffing up, you should give it the correct amount of food. Dehydrated food can cause problems, so one option is to moisten it minutes before feeding. Doing so will make the food increase in size before being eaten.

Leaving the fish without food for a couple of days should be enough for it to get better. If this doesn’t work, you can give it can give a boiled, skinless pea.

Why does my Betta fish have a swollen abdomen?

As you’ve seen, your Betta fish’s puffiness can be caused by two reasons:

• Too much food can cause indigestion. This is a problem for the animal because it makes it stop eating, but a few days of fasting is usually enough for it to get better.

• Dropsy is a more severe problem, since many Betta fish die from it if it’s not acted upon correctly. You must be able to recognize the symptoms and act when you notice them.

Remember, if the scales are raised it is dropsy. Good aquarium hygiene will prevent these types of infections.

This article is purely informative. AnimalWised does not have the authority to prescribe any veterinary treatment or create a diagnosis. We invite you to take your pet to the veterinarian if they are suffering from any condition or pain.

If you want to read similar articles to Why do Betta Fish Puff Up?, we recommend you visit our Other health problems category.

Digital Vision/Photodisc/Getty Images

Fish are far from the ideal travel companions, but that does not mean you have to leave your fishy pals behind when you relocate. Traveling with your pet fish requires a significant amount of planning in order to keep your fish safe and healthy for the entire trip.

Plan Carefully

You can’t just throw your fish in a bowl and hit the open roads with him buckled into the passenger seat. If you plan on flying, you need to make sure the airline you’re using will allow your fish to fly with you, and what measures need to be taken to package him so he meets your airline’s requirements. If you plan to drive, your final destination needs to be less than 48 hours away from the starting point of your journey or your fish may not survive the trip. If you’re going to be staying overnight during your trip, you must make plans for your fish to stay overnight as well. You can not leave fish in the car unattended for hours due to possible temperature changes. Make sure you have every detail of your journey planned well before the start of your trip.

Picking Your Travel Container

It’s generally a bad idea for a fish of any kind to spend a lot of time away from the comforts of its home aquarium. Since full-size aquariums do not travel well, you are going to have to make the best out of the fish travel housing options you have available to you. Plastic bags are commonly used to transport fish because they are easy to use and should not spill or leak if cared for properly. You may also use a sturdy container with a lid. Whatever you choose, make sure the container is large enough to accommodate your fish, enough water to allow him to swim comfortably and enough oxygen to keep the water aerated. You want as much air as possible in your container. Some professional transporters use a portable oxygen aerator to keep air flowing through the water during the transport of live fish. If you have access to this type of setup, it would be in your fish’s best interest to use it.

Transporting Your Fish

When you actually go to transport your fish, you need to fill your plastic bag with fresh, clean aquarium water. It is preferable to use water taken out of your own tank. Avoid feeding your fish for 48 hours before travel to limit its ability to soil the water. You cannot feed your fish during transport, either. Scoop your fish out of his tank with a fish net and place him in a bag. Do not put multiple fish in the same bag; each fish needs his own. Tie off the top of the bag and then place that bag inside a second bag. Tie the second bag closed as well. Double bagging helps prevent leakage. Place your bagged fish inside a sturdy, insulated container and use bubble wrap to fill in the areas between the bags and the walls of the container. You don’t want your bagged fish rolling around inside your container. If you expect temperatures to drop below the temperature where your fish can survive comfortably during your trip, you’ll also need to include a heat pack that you can activate on the way to keep your fish warm.

Things to Consider

It’s possible to keep your fish alive on a long trip, but it’s not easy. Mistakes that seem minor can cost you fish his life when you’re traveling. You should not take your fish along on small trips or vacations with you; if you’re going to go away for a week or two you need to find someone who can care for your fish at home. You cannot take joy rides or make unnecessary stops when traveling with live fish. The longer your fish are in transit, the higher the risk is that their health will suffer. You can have live fish sent through the mail, but shipping delays or mishandling can be disastrous. If you have fragile fish or are going to be traveling a very long distance for a move, you may want to consider rehoming your fish to nearby location and then purchasing new fish when you arrive at your destination.

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Betta Flare by Nolan (POTM May 2014)

Bettas are one of the most wonderful fish in the aquatic world. They are personable, intelligent, colorful fish with long flowing fins. They remember you when you feed them or when you come near them.

Do you like to have fun with your betta?

Here are some tricks you can teach your betta.

1) Make your betta flare:

This one is very easy, you all know that when a male betta sees other male, they flare.

Place a mirror in front of your betta. Soon, you will see him flare – showing his beautiful fins, thinking that a rival betta is going to attack his territory. Sometimes this will also encourage him to build a bubble nest. This also makes a good exercise for his fins, but make sure not to do this more than 3-5 minutes a day because it can stress your betta.

2) Play with a ping pong ball:

Did you know bettas play soccer?!

Place a ping pong ball in your betta tank.

You will see the betta pushing the ball with it’s mouth – it looks like the betta is playing soccer 🙂

But make sure that the ball is aquarium safe. Clean it well before placing it in the tank.

Fish stores often sell these toys.

3) Make your betta jump:

Give a challenge to your betta every week when you feed them treats like bloodworms, etc.

Take a thin stick or coffee stirrer or a popsicle stick, attach some food to it. After that, sink the food in tank water and wiggle it so your betta smells and notices it. Keep the food 1cm away from the surface of water until your betta notices and jumps for it. It’s normal for them to jump because in the wild they jump for food and from puddle to puddle.

4) Hand feed your betta:

First, select a spot to feed your betta (feeding spot). The area should be free from disturbances and sudden movements like splashing, etc. as this scares the fish.

At first, just feed them as you regularly feed them but don’t move away so that they will get used eating while you are present.

After awhile, slowly hover your hand on top of water while they are eating food. This may take several attempts. After they get used to this, try to hand feed them by sticking some food between your thumb and forefinger and slowly placing your fingers in the water. They may not take the food straight away, but don’t force them to eat from your hand as you can lose all of the progress that you’re already made it through. Have patience as this final step may take several attempts.

Bettas are curious and love new things in their place.

Here are some toys that your betta may like.

Leaf Hammock by Cushnoc

Betta leaf hammocks:

These are one of the popular items. As you know, bettas like to rest. so, you can provide them this leaf hammock. They will definitely love this one. They like to rest on it.

Here is a link on how to make a betta leaf hammock: DIY Betta Leaf Hammock

Coconut Cave by Zach

A cave for your betta:

Bettas like to rest or hide in dark places. Fish stores often sell small, cute caves for bettas. Of course, you can also make your own small, cute coconut cave.

Here is a link on how to make a coconut cave: Make your own Coconut Cave

Floating betta log or ceramic betta log:

These are available in fish stores or online.there are two types one that floats and other is ceramic that sinks

Bettas use these logs to play, rest, to blow a bubblenest. etc.

The floating betta log has a feeding hole on top so you can feed them easily without tension that they sink to bottom.

If there is anything you like to add please let me know and I will add it

Special thanks to Vale who helped me in making this blog.

Hey Pet Parents & Pet Lovers,

It’s a common misconception that Betta Fish cannot live with other fish, however, this is not true. I’ve already covered whether or not you can put male and female bettas together and I gave a nod to the fact that other species of fish can live in harmony with Bettas. So let’s get started and cover some of the most basic questions.

DO BETTAS NEED FRIENDS?

No, unlike other fish, Bettas are not dependant on socialization. Now, female Bettas may thrive in sororities, male Bettas tend to be more like lone rangers.

DO I NEED A SPECIFIC TANK TO HOUSE MULTIPLE FISH?

There is no specific tank that you need for multiple fish, however, I would recommend going as big as you can. I would also make sure to do some research on all of the fish you are interested in introducing to your tank to make sure that all the “specs” that come with the tank are appropriate for all fish.

For example, Betta fish do not necessarily need bubblers since they can breathe out of the water, however, this doesn’t mean that they cannot benefit from them or that other fish don’t need them. One Betta Fish needs a tank that is at least 2-3 Gallons for them to thrive.

I’ve actually covered great tanks for Bettas here if you’d like to check that out. For multiple fish, I would say you want to start with at least 5 Gallons (if you have a betta and a small snail), but to be safe you’re looking at 10 or more Gallons.

CAN AMATEUR FISH OWNERS HOUSE MULTIPLE FISH WITH BETTAS?

They absolutely can, however, I personally don’t recommend it. Bettas are fairly fragile fish and need quite a bit of attention. They can suffer a number of illnesses and you’re going to want to make sure you know how to properly take care and treat your Betta before stepping into taking care of a number of other fish. While fish can be (and should be) separated while they are ill, it will be difficult to learn and spot everything (if anything) that goes wrong with your fish. Take a few years and get used to your first Betta before you jump into getting multiple fish.

If you are an amateur fish owner who is interested in getting more fish, buy yourself a big fish tank to begin with. There’s nothing wrong with having a large tank for a single fish, in fact, it’s actually better for the fish as they will get much more exercise. As you get more comfortable start adding more animals to the tank!

Note: you will want to wait until your first Betta crosses the rainbow bridge before introducing new fish. This is because your Betta may actually act even more territorial if they are used to their tank. It is much easier to add a Betta to an established tank rather than other fish to a single Betta’s home.

WHAT KINDS OF FISH SHOULD I STAY AWAY FROM?

Before I give you a clear list of fish and other creatures you may want to introduce to your fish tank, let’s cover some of the basic features or traits you want to avoid in fish and other creatures.

— Other aggressive or dominant fish

— Fish or other creatures that bite

— Colourful or Vibrant Fish

Some fish that you definitely want to stay away from are goldfish, tiger barbs, guppies, clownfish, gouramis, siamese algae eaters and cichlids.

In general, it’s important to remember that if Bettas ever feel threatened or scared they will attack! It’s always best to maintain your Bettas stress as stress tends to be a huge cause of illness or death.

WHAT ARE SPECIFIC FISH THAT BETTAS HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO GET ALONG WITH?

— Harlequin Rasboras (most ideal!!)

— Neon Tetras (You will want at least 6-12 to make a school of Neon Tetras or they may begin to nip at your Betta.)

— Loaches

— Brittlenose Plecos (Will need a large tank as they can grow up to 7 inches. They are fairly reclusive and if introduced early enough your Betta will not attack while full-grown. Not ideal for an amateur fish owner.)

— Khulii Loach

— Pygmy Corydoras Catfish / Cory Fish (Will need a few to socialize, however, they will stay away from your Betta Fish and will bottom feed.)

— White Cloud Mountain Minnows

— Ember Tetras (Will also need a school)

— Clown Pleco (Needs a 20 Gallon Tank)

OTHER ANIMALS THAT CAN LIVE WITH BETTAS

— Zebra Snail (most simple, will keep your tank clean and can live in small tanks)

— American Dwarf Frog (Have the same diet and are the most common pairing, however you must ensure that your Betta does not eat their food as they are passive eaters.)

— Ghost Shrimp (Will help keep your tank clean, however, they are temperature sensitive and while rare, Bettas may eat them)

— Mystery Snails

WHAT OTHER ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE?

In general, with Bettas, you’re going to want to make sure that there are tons of hiding places. Things like the Betta Log or artificial plants are great additions to the tank. Please make sure to read up on live plants before placing them into your tank, however, I can tell you that Marimo Moss Balls have been the biggest hit in our tanks.

Never be afraid to talk to employees of fish stores, they will be able to give you specific instructions of what fish or other creatures will thrive with your Bettas. Let me know if you have any other questions, I’d love to answer them in the comments below!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Diane Steinbach

Things You’ll Need

Vase with a narrow opening and wide mouth

Rooted plant such as a peace lily or pothos

Water conditioner for the fish

Warning

Disregard any instructions you may have gotten if you bought the betta in a vase display already set up. You DO need to feed the fish and change the water.

Make sure your betta fish is healthy when you purchase it. Look for bright color and good fin structure. Fish should be active and intact.

You may have seen the somewhat popular display of a betta fish in a vase. Touted to be an all-inclusive ecosystem for both plant and fish, this lovely display of a vase with a peace lily or pothos plant and brilliant-colored fish is really misleading. You will often hear from dealers that you don’t need to feed or clean your fish and bowl, but this is untrue, and most buyers lose their fish within a few weeks. If you want to have a betta in a vase, you can, but you must still care for your betta. Here’s how to have this display in a healthy way for your treasured betta.

Step 1

Clean your vase using only clean, hot water. Do not use soap or cleansers because they will kill your fish.

Step 2

Wash the roots of your plant and clean thoroughly.

Step 3

Fill the vase 2/3 full with clean, fresh water. Add the necessary amount of water conditioner for fish aquariums to remove chemicals and iron from the water. Water should be warm or room temperature.

Step 4

Add your betta fish. Let it acclimate to the water. Add a few bits of high-quality betta food to feed your fish. You will need to feed your fish a few times a day despite what the instructions for your vase betta setup may say. The fish cannot survive on plant roots alone.

Step 5

Place your plant roots in the water, but be sure there is plenty of room for your fish to swim around.

Step 6

Place your vase and betta setup in a location with moderate but not direct sunlight. Feed your fish a few times a day as instructed on your betta fish food container.

Step 7

Clean and change your betta water every week, and use proper aquarium water conditioner. If the betta doesn’t flourish with this setup, move the plant to a regular pot and care for your betta fish separately.

Betta fish have a reputation for being feisty, territorial and all-around bad tank mates. But that reputation is only partially earned. Male bettas are aggressive, but mostly with other male bettas which is why they should not be kept together in the same tank. There are a few other “tail nipping” fish that shouldn’t be kept with bettas, but for the most part, these colorful fish with flowing plume-like fins can cohabitate when you find the right betta fish tank mates.

“The reality is that although male bettas are aggressively territorial with other male bettas, they are generally peaceful with other species in a community setup,” says Dr. Julius M. Tepper, DVM, a certified aquatic veterinarian and fellow at the World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association in Stafford, England.

Betta Fish Aggression: Born, Bred or Both?

Why do betta fish fight with other bettas? Betta fish are naturally territorial and will almost always show aggression when they encounter other males in the wild. In the canals and rice paddies of their native habitats in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, less dominant bettas have plenty of places to flee and hide, so fighting isn’t always necessary.

But a fight between two dominant bettas can be vicious and to some during the 19th century, entertaining. Betta fighting became a popular sport, so much so that villagers in these areas began breeding the fish to be more aggressive. This genetic aggression is believed to exist in bettas today.

Betta attacks can cause severe injury, infection and even death, so keeping males separate is crucial to their well-being. Females are more interactive in a community tank, Dr. Tepper says.

Best Betta Fish Tank Mates: What Fish Can Live With Bettas?

While females are more interactive in a community tank, they aren’t as attractive as their male counterparts and tend to be a less popular choice. To create a serene community tank where your male betta is the focal point, it’s important to know what fish can live with bettas.

Bettas usually attack scales, gills and tails and will respond if bitten by aggressive fin nippers like angel fish or red tail sharks, Dr. Tepper says. Goldfish and dwarf gourami should also be avoided, as well as fish that are larger than your betta or have similar fins.

Consider these fish and other aquatic animals to put with bettas:

• Cory catfish
• Neon and ember tetras
• Ghost shrimp
• African dwarf frogs
• Guppies
• Kuhli loaches

You can get more tips on what type of fish to put with bettas from the book, “Freshwater Aquariums for Dummies.”

Introducing Your Betta Fish to a Community

When you’re ready to combine betta fish with other fish in a community tank, take the same precautions you would before adding any fish:

• Ensure they are free of disease and parasites
• Clean the community tank
• Check water condition
• Keep water at the optimal temperature of 79 degrees Fahrenheit
• Acclimate them to the water temperature by floating them in a plastic cup or bag

Release your betta fish and then monitor his interactions with other fish. Provide him with lots of hiding spots where he can escape if he gets stressed, and make sure the tank is large enough for all your fish.

If you see any conflicts or notice your betta tucked in a corner hiding, community life may be too stressful for him and he may prefer a small betta tank setup of his own like the biOrb Classic LED Aquarium with its proper circulatory filtration and heating. You can also add a water conditioner like Aqueon Betta Bowl Plus Water Conditioner, which is specially formulated to promote good health, vibrant color and natural slime coat protection. It also conditions tap water instantly, making it safe for your fish.

“Bettas tend to be sedentary due to the weight of their fins and prefer to be in their own tank, where they will spend a good deal of time sleeping and resting quietly,” Dr. Tepper says.

But don’t feel bad for your betta fish. Just because he is alone doesn’t mean he is lonely. Bettas are intelligent and can recognize their pet parents—some will even follow your finger. Bond with your fish with delicious treats like Omega One Freeze-Dried Blood Worms Freshwater & Marine Fish Treat and reduce boredom with enrichment fish tank accessories like the Zoo Med Ceramic Betta Log or the Zoo Med Floating Betta Log.Inspired by his natural habitat, these betta logs make ideal areas for your betta to sleep, relax, feed or blow a bubble nest.

Want to know more about how to help keep your fish happy and healthy? Check out:

By: Chris Brownlow
Pet Central Collaborator

Things You’ll Need

Large jar (11″ or taller)

Decorative pebbles, sometimes called “gems”.

Plastic plant tray (comes with a vase kit that is ready for beta fish displays) or a clear plastic cup.

Plant (you will want a philodendron or a peace lily because these are not poisonous to the beta fish).

Water conditioner (for fish, found in the fish aisle).

Betta fish food.

Warning

Never use straight tap water. Water should either be bottled, left to sit out 24+ hours, or conditioned before use. Don’t change the fish’s water more then once a week because you can shock them. Use room temperature water so as to avoid shock. If the water is either hotter or colder then that, let it sit for a few hours before putting your fish back. Never place more then one fish in this type of jar. Also male bettas should never be placed in an enclosure with other males or females.

You should stir the bottom of the jar once a week and then dump half the water out (be careful not to loose your fish). Replace that half water with fresh. Once a month do a complete water change by removing the fish, washing the jar and rocks, and replacing the water. Reassemble everything. Feed your fish according to the instructions on the food that you purchase. Make sure that there is enough water that it is reaching the roots. However, also give your fish room to come to the surface for air (leave about 1″ between the neck of the jar and water level to provide lots of air space).

Purple Betta Fish: Elusive Genetics

As well as enjoying the experience of keeping a betta fish, many keen betta hobbyists enjoy breeding and crossbreeding their specimens to see what colors and forms can be produced. Now, although betta fish come in a huge range of gorgeous colors and with numerous spectacular tail forms, the purple betta fish is something that’s

The Different Types of Black Betta Fish

Betta fish come in a vast range of rainbow colors, including black. If you’re a fan of black bettas, you may be interested to know more about the genetics of these beautiful fish, especially if you’re interested in breeding them. Finding reliable information can be challenging, and there’s a lot of misleading, disjointed data out

Do Betta Fish Get Bored?: Curing the Betta Blues

It has probably only been a few weeks since that “love at first sight” moment at the pet store. But you can tell by the look in your betta fish’s eye that the honeymoon stage is quickly coming to a close. Now that your betta has successfully claimed the new territory inside of his tank,

How To Travel With A Betta Fish The Right Way

As silly as the topic of this article sounds, there may come a time when you need to take your betta fish along with you on a trip farther than from point A to point B in your own home. Traveling with your betta is a nerve-racking situation. Hopefully, after reading this article, at least

How To Euthanize A Betta Fish: Simple, Humane Method

Is your betta fish very sick to the extent that you feel that it is suffering? Keeping fish in an aquarium in your home or office is an exciting venture. You get used to caring for your fish to the extent that you are bonded to it. When your fish falls sick, the first course of action

Betta Velvet: Rust and Gold Dust Disease Treatment

Velvet is one of the most common ailments to affect Bettas. And, it can quickly move through a fish room and infect every fish before you know your fish is even sick. Early discovery and treatment is the key to successful treatment and fish recovery. This disease is also known as Rust or Gold Dust

Betta Colors & Patterns

This page is a reference for common color types and variations of bettas. BF – Butterfly BF – Butterfly This is a patterned fish. Body can be any solid color and then the unpaired fins have two or sometimes three color bands. Typically the body color is in the fins close to the body and

Can Betta Fish Jump?

If you came here asking the question “Can betta fish jump?” because you are thinking about entering your fishy in the next pet Olympics, then… you have to invite me if he/she qualifies. But I’m going to guess that it’s not visions of gold medal grandeur that you are really curious about. None the less,

Do Betta Fish Change Color?

Believe it or not, one of the most popular questions that is asked regarding betta fish is along the lines of “do betta fish change colors?” To many people, the question may sound kind of strange or even a bit absurd. But in all actuality, it’s a really good question! It’s a good question because,

Ryan McVay/Stockbyte/Getty Images

Betta fish, also known as Siamese fighting fish, are a good choice for beginners because they are hardy and easy to care for. Your main duty in keeping a betta fish will be to keep its tank clean, removing accumulated food from substrate and performing water changes.

About Betta Tank Gravel

Betta fish (Betta splendens) are known for their colorful fins, and they are often kept in tanks decorated with colorful gravel. Gravel serves two purposes in the betta tank. It provides decoration as well a surface on which beneficial bacteria can grow. Beneficial bacteria regulate biological filtration, the cycle through which waste products such as uneaten fish food are broken down in a process that produces ammonia. Beneficial bacteria then convert the ammonia into less harmful substances such as nitrite and nitrate, thus improving the water quality in your betta tank. If beneficial bacteria do not work to remove these substances from your tank, they can eventually poison your betta and cause him to become sick or die.

What is a Gravel Vacuum?

The easiest way to remove uneaten food from your betta tank gravel is to use an aquarium gravel vacuum. Gravel vacuums are often available at your local pet store or from online aquarium suppliers. These tools create a siphon effect to suck up debris such as uneaten food that has accumulated in your tank gravel. Place the head of the vacuum into the gravel at the bottom of the tank and put the end of the tube in a bucket. The vacuum will siphon debris from your tank gravel, along with some water. Replace the water lost with freshly dechlorinated tap water.

Manually Cleaning Tank Gravel

If you don’t have a gravel vacuum, you can also clean your betta tank’s gravel by hand. This task is best completed when the aquarium is empty and the fish are in a temporary tank. To clean the gravel, remove it from the tank into a large plastic bucket and fill the bucket with warm water. Agitate the gravel by hand to release accumulated debris then drain the water, using your fingers to keep the gravel in the bucket. Repeat this process of rinsing and draining until the water runs clear, then return the gravel to the tank and refill it.

Frequency of Cleaning

Keeping the water quality in your tank high helps your betta fish remain healthy. The more time you let pass in between cleanings, more ammonia can build up in your tank. Ideally, you should clean the gravel in your betta tank once a week. During each cleaning, use the gravel vacuum to siphon out about 15 percent of the tank water from the bottom where the most debris has accumulated. Once a month, perform a large-scale cleaning to remove about 25 percent of the tank water. After each cleaning, replace the water you removed from the tank with fresh dechlorinated tap water at the same temperature as the water in your aquarium.

Note from Karen Pryor: Ogden Lindsley was one of B.F. Skinner’s first graduate students, a past president of the Association for Behavior analysis, and one of the first behavior analysts to grasp the power of shaping with a conditioned reinforcer . As a professor at the University of Kansas, he required his own students to shape behavior; many of them used goldfish. The instructions here for clicker training a goldfish are easy to follow and make a good science project.

As a professor, I required my students to buy their own animal to shape or use a household pet. When their animal was successfully performing on cue , in changed environments with observers present, the student brought his/her animal to class to perform and receive credit for the required TEBRO project. TEBRO meant “Teaching By Reward Only.” I renamed “shaping” TEBRO in an attempt to stop students from using the clicker to stimulate or lead behavior as in the “warmer/colder” game. The click should always follow the shaped response class.

The most popular purchased animals were goldfish, which learned rapidly but often died. Some deaths were caused by buying the fish at Walmart or Kresge’s at night, when the regular fish guy was at home. The night-time clerks often netted the fish too roughly, scraping the protective slime from their bodies. This slime protects fish from infection. The scraped fish almost always developed scale patches and died. Other deaths were caused by putting the fish in water that was not at room temperature, or had not been let sit overnight to permit the chlorine to escape.

A second problem was contaminating the tank or bowl with too many or too large reinforcements. It is best to lay a glass plate over the tank top, and spread the gold fish food over the plate surface. Then it is easy, using a table knife, to slide just one particle off the plate and into a floating glass food triangle on the water surface.

The most common goldfish performances were:

1. Swimming under and through a ceramic bridge, castle, or loop made from bent coat-hanger wire.
2. Swimming in a circle in open water.
3. Swimming backwards.
4. Swimming to a finger target placed against the bowl.
5. Following a laser pointer spot on the pebble floor of the tank.

You must be very, very careful to keep the laser in front of the fish and not let it hit their eyes. The fish are primarily visual and their eyes are very sensitive. We eventually dissuaded the use of lasers because it was so hard to keep them off the fishes’ heads and out of their eyes.

The most common “do it” cues were:

1. Flashing a table lamp nearby.
2. Flashing a flashlight aimed at the tank.
3. Placing a finger against the bowl in the same spot.

The most common “did it” cues (clicks) were:

1. Flashing a flashlight beam at the tank.
2. Tapping the tank with the edge of the Veeder root hand counter, or table knife to be used to knock a food pellet off the glass plate.

Some students used a green table lamp bulb for the “do it” cue and a white flashlight flash for the “did it” cue (click).

It should take fewer than two weeks of 15-minute daily training sessions to reach your fish performance goal. A short morning session and a short evening session each day gets faster learning than one long single session. Stop a session when your fish does not instantly eat the food pellet dropped into the floating triangle. If the fish modifies your goal by doing something spectacular like swimming a somersault loop the loop on his/her own, CLICK IT! My Sampson was in training to high jump his meter stick, but one day he pulled it down: CLICK! Then off into our championship weightlifting we went!

The students turned in a daily Standard Celeration Chart with counting time (record floor), number of fish attempts, and number of rewards (clicks) administered. From these charts we could see the regularity and duration of daily training sessions, and both the frequency and acceleration of fish performance, and student shaping (clicks).

I am now convinced that “click” is a much better name for the “did it” signal than Skinner’s “conditioned reinforcer ” or my “response definer.” It is shorter, clearer, and both a noun and verb. I am also convinced that “clicker training” is a much better name for the training process than Skinner’s “shaping” or my “TEBRO.” Skinner’s “shaping” even got misused for stimulus fading by some well-known behavior analysts. My “TEBRO” was just too arcane!

The proper feeding of your Betta is extremely important to keeping him happy and healthy. As most fish owners know, there is proper food for every species of fish and one of these selective eaters is the Betta fish.

Wild Betta Feeding

In nature, Bettas eat what their perfect environment provides which gives them all the nutrition they need. This food is not flaked in a can nor does it consist of freeze-dried pellets. The best and most nutritious foods are either frozen or fresh which translates into a vibrant, fast-growing adult Betta.

Betta Food Essentials

Bettas in the wild eat many types of food including shrimp, bloodworms, insects, mosquitoes, snails and occasionally small fish. Many of these foods can be purchased frozen such as brine shrimp and bloodworms. These foods will keep your Betta very happy and healthy.

Similar to humans, Bettas cannot make every kind of substance within their bodies they need to achieve optimum health. Essentials, such as amino acids and certain unsaturated fats, need to be supplied to provide adequate nutrition. Certain fatty acids, such as HUFA, for example, are required nutrients, for without them, your fish will fail to grow and die prematurely. Therefore, it is imperative that you add foods rich in this source such as insects, crustaceans, fish liver oil, annelid worm and egg yolk.

Betta Fish Care Basics: Avoid Overfeeding

Another issue critical to your fish’s overall health is overfeeding, a problem that can escalate quickly if you have a smaller aquarium. Overfeeding your fish can lead to an over abundance of waste products which can actually raise the pollution level of the water to an unsafe level.

Feeding Protocol

Leaving uneaten food in the aquarium can also lead to Betta disease. Once your fish finishes eating, remove all food remnants from the tank. Watch your fish and make sure they eat the food given them immediately. If they don’t, observe where the food drops and remove these morsels after they finish eating. If you fail to eliminate these pieces, they will rot and contaminate your aquarium water.

Lastly, remember that Bettas prefer to eat from the upper part of the water in your tank. They are not bottom feeders. So before you feed them, get their attention by letting them see the food close to the top. Drop a tiny bit and watch them eat. Once that bit of food is gone, drop more into the tank, but always watch the belly of each fish. If your Betta looks the same after he has eaten, you can feed him more, each time making the portion smaller. Once you notice his belly is bigger, do not feed him anymore. Also, make sure you remove any uneaten food from your betta’s aquarium.

Betta Fish are a beautiful and majestic species and they should be treated with care and attention to their specific needs. If you give them the food they need and care for them properly, your fish will give you many years of enjoyment!

For more tips, get instant access to our famous “Betta Fish Secrets” mini-course!

Siamese fighting fish, who are often sold as “decorations” or party favors, are becoming more and more popular. Pet shops, discount superstores, florists, and even online catalogs sell Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens) in tiny cups or flower vases to consumers who are often uneducated about proper betta care.

Many people mistakenly believe that betta fish must be kept in “solitary confinement.” Female bettas can live together, and while male bettas will fight with other male bettas, they can be placed singly in a “community” aquarium containing other species of fish.

Another common misconception about bettas is that they can survive without being fed in a so-called “complete ecosystem” that consists of nothing more than a vase and a plant. As a result, fish are being sentenced to dull, lonely lives and slow deaths by starvation. These tiny containers are not suitable for any fish.

Plant roots do not provide adequate food for betta fish. Bettas are omnivorous; in nature, they eat mostly insects and insect larvae. A diet consisting of plant roots may keep them alive for a while, but since it lacks the proper nutrients, the fish eventually become sick and die. A plant placed at the top of a vase may also restrict access that the fish needs to obtain oxygen, since bettas (known as “labyrinth fishes”) take their oxygen from the surface of the water.

Betta fish are native to Asia, where they live in the shallow water of rice paddies, ponds, or slow-moving streams. Since the water is shallow, it is also warm, which is why betta fish in captivity require a minimum of 2.5 gallons of water per fish with temperatures kept heated between 76-82 degrees Fahrenheit, as well as good filtration, regular cleaning of aquariums and also enrichments such as caves, rocks and live plants.

Fighting Fish

Sometimes called “Siamese Fighting Fish”, bettas belong to the family Osphronemidae, which includes a number of gourami species. They live in shallow pools, small streams, roadside ditches and even rice paddies. The water is sluggish, very warm and often low in dissolved oxygen. As a result, nature has given them the ability to breathe air at the surface using a labyrinth organ, making it possible for them to live in small aquariums without circulation. Their average lifespan is 3 to 4 years.

A Betta’s Natural Habitat

Bettas are native to Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. Their natural habitat is often shaded by overhanging trees, shrubs and aquatic vegetation. There are over 70 recognized species of Betta, many of which are now endangered in the wild. The betta fish that we buy as pets are usually Betta splendens or B. imbellis, however, hybrids of these two species as well as B. smaragdina are common in the hobby. There are literally hundreds of different color combinations and fin types available today. While B. splendens and B. imbellis are known to sometimes inhabit brackish environments in the wild, one species, Betta mahachaiensis, is found exclusively in alkaline, brackish water in a small area along the coast of the Gulf of Thailand near Bangkok, Thailand.

Water Requirements for Betta Fish

Bettas prefer calm water with a pH between 6.8 and 7.5. While they may seem to tolerate cooler temperatures, they will be inactive and more susceptible to disease, therefore it’s best for their overall health to keep the temperature between 76° and 85° F. If the aquarium is kept in rooms below 76°, use an Aqueon Aquatic Flat Heater or Mini Heater with bowls and other small aquarium containers. For aquariums 10 gallons and larger, Aqueon Preset Heaters, Submersible Heaters and Pro Heaters work best.

Betta Fish Housing

Because bettas are not very active, they don’t require a lot of space. However, larger habitats are more stable and easier to maintain. The Aqueon MiniBow, LED BettaBow 2.5, Triscape and MiniCube Kits are great choices for getting started on the right foot! While bettas do not necessarily need a filter, having one provides them with optimum water quality and lessens the amount of maintenance you have to do. Set the container up at least 48 hours before purchasing your new betta. Decorate the tank with gravel, plants and other items, including some floating cover to make them feel at home. Also, remember that bettas are jumpers, so keep a secure lid on the tank! In small unfiltered containers, change 1/3 of your betta’s water every 3 to 4 days using an Aqueon Siphon Vacuum Gravel Cleaner. In filtered aquariums, change 10% of the water every week or 25% every 2 weeks and change the filter cartridge at least once per month. Never change all of your betta’s water at one time! Always treat tap water with Aqueon BettaBowl Plus or Water Conditioner before adding it to the aquarium.

Behavior/Compatibility for Betta Fish

Male bettas are highly territorial towards each other and must be kept separately or in a partitioned container. They can be kept with other fish in a peaceful community aquarium of 15 gallons or larger. Suitable tankmates include tetras, calm barbs, rasboras, live bearers, Corydoras catfish and a number of other non-aggressive fish that are not overly active. Avoid putting them with male gouramis, fin-nippers such as tiger barbs or active fish like giant danios.

What Do Betta Fish Eat?

Bettas eat insects and other invertebrates in the wild and do best on a varied diet. For optimum color and growth, feed Aqueon Betta Food or Pro Betta Formula and Betta Treats. In unfiltered containers, feed sparingly, once daily. In filtered aquariums, feed once or twice a day. All food should be consumed in two minutes or less and any remaining food should be removed.

Betta Breeding Level – Intermediate

Bettas can be bred in captivity, but some extra care is required to raise fry to adults. Bettas can be bred in just a few inches of water but do not typically breed in community aquariums due to their solitary nature. Male bettas build bubble nests at the water’s surface in their aquarium and attempt to lure a female to the nest. Spawning takes place during a “nuptial embrace”, where the male wraps himself around the female, inducing her to release her eggs that the pair retrieves and places in the bubble nest. Males care for the nest until the young hatch.