SombreDesir

COBettaCouple

If you have a cup that you could reserve just for him (and clean in hot water after each use), a cup is how we scoop up our bettas when we have to remove them from their tanks. Bettas are terrritorial and he probably feels the whole bowl is his territory.. lol, a 10 gallon tank can be 'his territory' when it comes to bettas. one of ours, likes to nip at me some when i clean his 10 gallon tank. I think Fluffy Lord of the Bowl is one of the more high-spirited Bettas.

SombreDesir

He likes to be petted but i don't know what his problem is people tell me when i stick my finger on top of the water he thinks it food could this be possibility? when i pet him its when hes not in his bowl

COBettaCouple

Bettas will go after a finger at the top of the water like it's food sometimes and give some nips. I've not pet our bettas since it removes their slime coating.

Muffymouse

Sounds like you might just have an undercover vampire betta living in your tank j/k

chickadee

You do not need a new net each time you net him. Just get a large jar and keep the net in it. When you need to use it, afterwards just rinse it in very hot water (never use soap or any cleaner on it) and put it back in the jar and it will be ready for next time. You also do not need to remove him from the tank to change the water. You should not remove more than half of the water at a time so he can stay in the tank and you can take the water out and carefully pour new water in while he remains in the tank.

It is okay to put your finger in the water (only if it has no soap, perfume, new nail polish, or any hand creams or lotions and is clean) and allow him to come up and rub on you but you should not pet or rub him as he knows how to touch you without damaging himself but you may, as has been mentioned, upset the balance of his normal slime coat or cause a small scratch or dislodge scales that would leave him open for infections. Some people just cup their hand in the tank and let their fish swim into their hand and lay there for a bit. Not all bettas want this closeness and should not be encouraged to do it if they do not show the desire to do it on their own.

Rose

Phloxface

If he is living in a bowl he is probably aggressive because he is crowded and bored. He should have a minimum 3 gallons, preferably 5 or more gallon tank.

SombreDesir

well fluffy gets pretty agressive when i clean his bowl that's why i have to remove him from the bowl and the net has plenty of holes in it and i feel sorry for the net because of him i found a way to help him with his aggression i put live small feeders in with him and he has fun chasing and eating his bowl is a 1 and a half gallonbowl so its pretty nice sized

chickadee

The problem is that bettas need to have filtered and heated water and bowls are not usually designed to accommodate this. One and a half gallons is just not enough room and you would be so surprised to see the difference in his behavior if you put him in some more room and gave him enough room to move and have more fun in. They become more like little kids and develop better personalities and just become more fun to watch. Eventually the betta you keep in the bowl will become depressed and spend very little time actually swimming and moving about and shortly die. A betta will die without moving about and keeping active. I know that pet stores try to make a point that you can keep a betta in little water and I have even had arguments with salespeople who tried to tell me that they could live in a mud puddle, but these lovely creatures we own now have NEVER lived in a mud puddle and they bear NO resemblance to the creatures who are related to them distantly who have done this. They and their recent ancestors have been born and bred in good conditions and cared for well until they hit the petstores and are put in the awful cups. The breeders for the most part who do this professionally treat them well as this is their income and they want the fish to turn out well. It is work to raise a beautiful fish and they do make it a way of life. It is the petstore that makes them a cheap piece of fish flesh and just wants to sell them so they try to make them attractive by making people believe they do not need to provide anything for their care. This is not true. Bettas are not cheap fish to keep correctly. They need EVERYTHING that any other TROPICAL fish needs to survive and that includes everything you see the others living with in the tanks in the petstores. The treatment that the bettas receive is abusive and nothing less.

I am not trying to beat up on you but you have obviously been given bad information from somewhere and that is why you have problems with your fish and will continue to have more problems. I hope that you will read the Guide to Betta Care at the beginning of this part of the forum and get information from the wonderful members who have tried to help you here as they have given you excellent advice. May you and your fish do well.
Welcome and I do wish you well.

Rose

SombreDesir

i have now removed fluffy from his small bowl and put him in with two other fish named louie and lestat he is very happy and although had a problem with the crab but now is completely worked out fluffy and the other fish are happy and enjoy their expensive diet of blood worms krill shrimp andtheir tropical diet

Radcliffe

Aww, what a lucky betta!!! I am certain you will see his true personality now that he has such a nice home! It is such good news every time I hear that one of these wonderful fish has a really good place to live. We will look forward to hearing about his antics :-)

--R

armadillo

I am really sorry about your betta. But 9 years? You must have been doing something right! That sounds really amazing. Am sure the new one will live just as long withat that sort of care.

SombreDesir

fluffy is very happy swims around the tank thinking he owns everything but hes very funny chases his little feedres arround and the tank playing cat and mouse with them

armadillo

Aaaaaw. That's good to hear.

SombreDesir

Gave fluffy some feeder fish to satisfy his vampiric fish lifestyle killed three ate 3 left the other for the crab but hes doing so much better lives with other fish and doesn't fight won't attack the net anymore when i go to change out water or put feedrs in hes so much happier and his fins are so much brighter and bigger

Phloxface

Just don't overdo it with the live food.* Bettas need variety in their diet to stay healthy. He will need some green pea once or twice a week and some pellets, freeze-dried bloodworms, Daphnia etc. I'd be worried about diseases with live food and also him overeating. The only feeder fish I've ever seen are goldfish and minnows. Both are much too big for a Betta to eat. What kind of fish are you feeding him? Six or seven fish for him to potentially eat is a recipe for disaster. Bettas do not need to chase and kill their food in order to be happy.

Carillon

Actually, this abnormally long lifespan may have had something to do with the cooler temperatures that the fish was being kept at. We usually keep our bettas at tropical temperatures to help their immune systems and keep them happy and active. However, there have been many scientific studies that show that lowering water temperature by a few degrees can actually increase the lifespan of a fish -- sometimes dramatically. Scientists have been studying this phenomenon since the 1960s and 70s -- if you can find them, check out the Liu and Walford papers on Cynolebias bellottii, or Valenzano et al on Nothobranchius furzeri.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not saying we should all throw away our heaters or anything! It's just an interesting phenomenon. I'm not sure how it works either, other than that the colder water slows the growth rates -- unfortunately, I'm a botanist and not a zoologist.

Good luck with Fluffy!

SombreDesir

i kept my old betta at a constant temp of 65 it kept him active and he lived long have you tried using betta basic for your little friends it helps keep the fish active and you won't have to worry about over dosing them on the other stuff it kept my old betta alive and healthy