Betta Fish

[PwettyBird]

I have had my betta fish for about a month or so maybe longer. I'm not sure if he's really happy or not. He doesn't swim alot. We have a live plant in there and he likes to hide under his igloo sort of thing. How can you tell if he's truly happy or not and also why do they tend to hide?

[kaitlin]

hiding just makes him feel comfortable.. if you think about it if you were inside of a bowl or tank and had people staring at you all the time, you'd want to be able to escape from it too! a happy and healthy betta will blow a bubble nest on the top of the water.. it looks like a bunch of white foam.. also the color will be bright and vibrant..

[PwettyBird]

Thank you for the information!

[forever27]

Betta's usually live in shallow territories in the wild that are no longer than a square foot; if another male comes into one's territory, fighting ensues. So don't worry about it not swimming too much.

[JMar0408]

What kind of set-up do you have for him?

It is true that betta's live in shallow territories but we must keep in mind that this is a relative term. Most betta's do best in bigger tanks than most people keep them in. Usually a 5 gallon tank is great for a betta with filtered water and a very low current (they don't like too much water disturbance). If the temperature of the room it's in fluctuates a lot then a water heater might also be needed.

My betta currently is in a 10 gallon tank with 3 little friends (White Cloud Minnows) and he swims about a lot unless he's taking a rest.

[kaitlin]

jmar i agree the bigger the better.. i have one in a 5 gallon and one in a 2.5 gallon.. and one sick female in a 1 gal until she gets better.. grrr walmart.. but think about it.. look how small some of those bowls and containers they make are.. you have to clean them all the time for one.. and they have no room to flash their gorgeous fins!!

[Macawpower58]

Mine also did much better in a 5 or 10 gallon tank. I also had a few other fish with them, but you must be careful the other fish don't chew the Betta's fins. Mine would swim regularly about, I loved watching him weave through the plants and decorations I put in.