betta obsessed with the heater

So my little betta, Jimbo Fishie, got ick (I'm pretty sure from the blood worms I gave him). He's all better now but in treating him, I moved him from a 1 gallon to a 3 gallon and heated his tank to 80 degrees (from 75 room temp).

He has been OBSESSED with the heater. After first attacking it, he spends 80% of his time wedged between the heater and the wall. Before I put the heater in, I warmed the water with a lamp and noticed he hung out by the lamp all day but I thought it was warmer than the 75 and he's sick.

I got him a sweet new house and plant today. He seemed to approve and then headed back to his heater for the remainder of the day. He seems lively in the morning (when he wants to be fed), and periodically throughout the day. My little buddy ditched me!

Is this normal?? I have had gold fish and bettas, but this is my first heated tank.

Also, he was blue with red fins. All blue when he was sick. And now he's purple with red fins. Is that normal?

Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

They like to hide and wedge themselves in to small spaces. It makes them feel secure. He may also like the warmth.
The move might have stressed him out a bit. 3 gallons is definitely better than one, so it's good that you gave him a bit of breathing room, but it's still not ideal. Do you have any plans to upgrade his tank further?

 

No, he's my work fishie. I'm there more than home, and my desk is only so big. I knew they liked places to hide. He had a live plant that I tossed when he got sick. And I didn't replace it until I was sure he wasn't going to die on me. But he did have a hammock that he enjoyed until I changed his life with the heater.

He's not cooking himself if he stays back there? Could the temperature change change his color?

 

My bettas are in 10 gallon tanks and Louie likes to hang out over his heater all the time. I even caught him taking a nap on it once. Bettas do like it on the warm side so maybe he is just enjoying the heat.

 

Welcome to FishLore!

I would seriosly doubt that bloodworms caused your betta to have Ich. I've never personally had an Ich outbreak, but from being a member of the forum for the last 5 years one thing I have observed is that it appears that cooler temperatures than a fish requires many times leads to an outbreak of Ich. So if I were yo make a guess at what caused it, I would say the 75 degree tank. (Betta's prefer 80-82 degree water temps).

You betta may just be aquiring it's natural color now that it is in a more suitable tank. Many times when fish are unhappy, their color will change. I would think that now that he is in a (just barely) large enough tank (that is hopefully filtered) and of the proper temperature, he is much happier.

But that could change quickly. I see from your aquarium info that you are not aware of the nitrogen cycle (words should be a link to an article). Please read up on it, since it is the most important thing to understand when keeping fish.