Betta Personalities

My betta, Gemini, swims in a circle sometimes when I have a treat for her!

 

Thought I’d start this thread for ohers to show their betta’s personality types. I’ll start-
Smaug, my king male, is the opposite of what you’d expect. He’s shy, submissive and never flares unless there’s a female around. I’ve had 1 inch plakats that were braver than him!
Next up is Faramir, my little blue marble(his coloration is reminiscent if a marble but he hasn’t gunped genes and colors yet) and he’s really inquisitive, and he’s also a doubletail. He has the typical mohawk style finnage of dt’s and has huge blacke yes which contrast from his pale, speckled body. He’s also my fiestiest fish but it’s hard to be upset at a fish that looks so happy all the time
Then there's Frodo and Aragorn, my koi vt and hmpk. They both are identical and act like they’re the tough ones, even bossing around my giant invasive in my hospital tank, although they now learned that the angelfish is their friend and that he can make them swim laps around the tank.
Finally I have my 2 koi females, one jumped genes/colors and has a black body and red fins whilst the ither still retains her koi colors. Their names are Arwen and Eowyn and they’re pretty relaxed fish. They are also my personal individual pets and always come to greet me whilst everybody else is just demanding me for food.

 

I have a Koi male named Kirby and hes the worst fish in the world
He flares up at fizzy drink cans, tries to eat his own poop, and glares at me whenever I paint, trying to swim towards me and eat my paintbrush. He likes to kick up his substrate and I think he thinks if he swims fast enough, he'll break from his jail of a fish tank and be free! He also nearly killed his tank mates so he's all by himself . Tiny betta have huge ego issues, I swear.

Then there's Grumps, whose name is a total lie. He just has an old man grumpy face. He has trouble eating so I have to handfeed him, so he always greets me at the surface so it's easier for the both of us. He recently made the tiiiiiniest little bubble nest in the corner by his filter, He's an elephant ear so he's super big and frilly, and his bubble nest is just... cute.

And I've got Degas! He's super docile, and loves to show off his fins to me. I've had him since he was a wee little fry, and it's super neat to see him grow! He's starting to develop CT-like fins, which is unbelievable; Hes got electric blue stripes on his fins and is a deep rich red, almost black colour. I think he knows he's pretty. He almost always takes an afternoon nap in one of his plant caves, as I call them. He has like a hammock by the way the leaves are placed and he just loves to tuck himself in and doze off.

 

Lucas-convinced we tried killing him, yet still always comes to greet me, the most hesitant for food, likes to show off his newly healed fins

Percy-loves me to death, though he is my daughter's fish. Likes when I stick my figers in his tank, lets me pet him.

Superman-obsessed with my presence in the room, won't let me watch him, too busy modeling for me

Woodstock-a grumpy dude, flares at me for feeding him, then flares because he just flared. Used to charge at everyone when they would approach the tank. Super aggressive, think he might have been Napoleon in a former life.

Mr. Miyagi-likes to greet me, loves feeding time, likes when I move stuff in his tank, explores more than Dora did.

 

Had a previous half-moon turquoise and black Betta named Star-Lord who always looked like he was dancing whenever I played music. He seemed to really like Pop music. He nipped at my fingers when I cleaned his tank and I used to catch him chilling on a leaf or in guppy grass and watching me play Breath of the Wild. All the vegetation in that game must’ve looked neat to him. He was afraid of my stuffed whale shark. Had to keep it out of sight! He liked to play in the airstone and filter bubbles.

I have a ‘bumblebee’ dark blue, black and cream colored Betta named Scrapper who I named because he flares at everything. the cat, the dog, me, my sister. Very aggressive for such a small fella. He never nips at my fingers in the tank but he does follow them around. He has no fear whatsoever.

Although, since my sisters dog was the first and only one of our pets to notice him, they spent a good long while watching each other at the closest distance they could possibly manage through glass.

He struts around the tank and looks for food crumbs he missed. He loves laying on the Indian almond leaves, swimming though his Java Moss and Anubias pathways and watching me watch tv when he’s not patrolling the tank for stray fruit flies or his evil twin.

 

Betta personnalities? Come on guys, it's only some fishes, they don't have a soul..

LOL
Tremclad


20 long, with a loooots of little friends, a real diva who likes to take pictures! Always chilling around, patrolling his house. When he gets new plants, he has to try every leaf to see if it's cozy. A real pretty boy.

Montana


10 gal : This is a real mommy's boy. If I had a tank large enough to follow me everywhere in the house, he will just hang around with me all day long. A real aquatik puppy. We went thru so much things together, he knows that he can trust me. Oh and he thinks that he is a cory. Always on the sand schooling.

Sharpie


10 gal : The new baby boy!! He is so small! My little worm... I just had to adopt him. His eyes.. so many question. He explores a lot, and everything is so new! Still learning who he is... !

 

Splash: Feisty male betta who survived fin rot ( Enjoys growing his short fins out :/ )


Jupiter: He used to do "Border Security" along his tank divider every day, he is old now and just sleeps.


Rose: My oldest female, crazy, loves to jump and bit and photos are always a no.


Lily: My youngest female who likes to flare and stare at things...


Dean: The crazy crowntail who flares at everything!
Edit: Oops forgot deans photo

 

Fergus is really active, love to explore every inch of his new 20+ gallon tank and rubs against my hand when I'm moving stuff around his tank or replanting the swords that have come up out of the soil.

Bowie is pretty low-key except when it comes to food. He's settled into Fergus's old 5 gallon tank and likes to hang out among the plants, in the driftwood cave or sucked against the filter intake grill. He's not the best swimmer but I exercise him by making him chase his bloodworms around the tank before he gets to eat them.

 

Mine throws tantrums a lot. It's quite funny lol

 

I was thinking about this exact topic earlier, do our bettas really have personalities as well as other fish or is it just an asumption we all have when they do certain things? (thought about this quite well)

 

A personality is the set of characteristics that make someone distinctive so I'd say that they have personality, broadly speaking. How much you read into their personalities (seeing surfing the front of their tanks as begging versus showing off versus playing, etc) gets more into how each of us interprets our fish's behavior and how much each of us personifies our fish.

 

To be realistic one moment, this is one topic that I kind of agree with the new scientific movement that we live in a 'matrix'.. every species, humans, animals pets or fishs all have some of a common 'program' to each, then every kind have a sub-program, and after that you have the personnalities base on what the individual has lived and learned. This is a touchy subject, but yes I believe they have the same basic program and then some of us are lucky to adopt some of them that has a personnality.!

 

Merlin is a Crowntail Betta who I’m still getting to know. Was chill in his cup but flares at his reflection in the tank. Enjoys sleeping under the bridge (this must be a requirement for me bettas??) also enjoys swimming through his plants. If I’m feeding frozen food that day I can hand feed him already! He always comes up to the glass when I approach his tank and seems to enjoy interacting with me so I make sure to visit multiple times a day. Doesn’t seem to care about the cats visiting his table.

 

Merlin still looks Moroccan to me.

 

Lupin is my adorable halfmoon betta (who has unfortunately torn his fins) - He likes to be hand fed his special blood worm treats twice a week, he loves to explore and watch me move around the room, he's got quite a friendly personality and comes to greet me when I say hello

Cupcake is my new addition DeT betta - he is super sassy and likes to flare his fins up at me when I say hi. Like Lupin, he enjoys exploring and loves hiding in his log or sitting on his betta hammock, as he's new I'm still learning more about his little personality

 

FergusDaFish. It’s the bright colors

 

I've read that Bettas have very unique personalities. My Elephant Ear Betta (Buzz) seems to be a pretty chill Betta.

I'd read that to "exercise" Bettas, you can put a floating mirror in the tank. They will perceive the mirror as a competitor and get aggressive. When I put the mirror in my tank - Buzz just goes and checks himself out. No aggression at all. (I don't leave the mirror in there unattended, and only for 3 - 5 minutes max.)

The other thing I'd read was that Bettas will hunt shrimp. I added 3 Ghost Shrimp, and 2 snails yesterday as a cleaning crew. While the shrimp initially seemed very leery of Buzz, this morning I found all 4 of them foraging around the decoration I have in the tank. Like they're all best friends.

I'll be honest - I don't mind Buzz's chill attitude at all. I'm glad I didn't end up spending $2 each for some shrimp appetizers for him. And I find him looking at himself in the mirror amusing.

He swims a lot all day long, and I think he's starting to recognize me when I come up to the tank. He's also learning quickly that when I put the eye dropped in the tank, that means it's time to eat.

So here's my questions ... is Buzz chill because that's his personality? Are certain breeds of Betta more inclined to be aggressive / less aggressive? Is this a childhood behavior, and as Buzz ages he'll get more aggressive?

Just curious what everyone else's experience is with their Betta.

 

My crowntail is pretty mellow. He also is a little fighter if he sees his reflection from tank or a little mirror. He also loves to have face to face contact with me when I get close to tank. He's been this way ever since I chose him. So I do believe all bettas have their own personality. I do also believe their well being makes a difference too in behavior. Properly cared for fish is a happy fish.

 

Some bettas are calm because that's their personality. The agressiveness of a betta is not dictated by their tail type. They could get more aggressive as they get older.

 

My betta is a little busy body. He tend to zip around his tank, up and down and around, through the plants a lot, when he isn't taking a nap. My tank is pretty reflective, and he loves to admire himself. Sometime he flares, but mostly he just preens, lol. He's pretty reactive to me, comes up to the top if I open the lid.
I also discovered something kinda hilarious. I just recently bought an infrared thermometer, with the laser as your targeting, that I use on my tanks for better accuracy. I always point it away from him just in case, but he saw it yesterday and was chasing the laser around like a cat. It was so funny.

 

Mine is chill until feeding time then move out of the way.

 

My Sidney is pretty chill except 3 different times 1. when I come to the tank or look at him in the tank from my chair 2. when the mirror is in he goes crazy flaring my granddaughter thinks its so cool to watch 3. when he is swimming in and out of his bubbles otherwise he sleeps in his log or cave when no one is around

 

Mr. [Cur]Mudgeon is the farthest from chill. He pouts under decorations, glaring, slinks from one plant to another as would a prowling cat. He loathes my existence. If I enter the room, he will splash water from his tank with his caudal fin, gloating as I wiped fish-water from my clothes. At night, he hunts, ripping baby ramshorns from their delicate shells. During feeding, he exhibits a fishy death roll, mirroring gators in his ferocity. Oh, and if you like your hand forget about wiping algae from the glass of his domain.

Perhaps I’m anthropomorphizing Mr. Mudgeon, but I’ve never met another betta with the personality of a Tyrannosaurus rex.

 

Anthropomophize is my middle name. I do it to everything lol

Walter reminds me of Shaggy from Scooby Doo. As long as there is food involved he’s good. The more food the better. He’s friendly and dances and makes me laugh.

The Reverend is more refined. He is friendly but more in a “understanding he’s dependent on me for food” kind of way. At first I thought maybe he just needed to relax and come out of his shell a little (and he still might once he moves into his permanent tank) but it could also just be his personality.

So Walter is a teenage boy and The Reverend is an old man. Lol