Betta Scared of Everything

Hello, I was just wondering if any of you have had a similar fish or experiences: I feel like my Betta is scared of everything. I have been doing daily PWCs lately to help with his Fin Rot, but it seems like he is always scared. Sometimes I look over at the tank and he is darting around, it looks like he is having a swimming seizure. If I go near the tank, sometimes he darts and goes to hide, then he hides for the next few hours and gets really stressed, and won't even eat unless I drop the food down for him. I don't get how he can be scared at random times with nothing around. Does anyone have a similar situation or advice to stop this stress? I have had him for almost a year now so he is used to his surroundings and me.

 

Does he have many hiding places and plants? I think that calms them down,

 

Does he have many hiding places and plants? I think that calms them down,

Yes, he has plenty of nooks and crannies and a thick amazon sword to hide in, his favorite hiding spot is in a pile of almond leaves, very secret to him.

 

I know this goes against the rules, but could the daily PWCs cause distress? It is recommended for fin rot, but........????

 

I know this goes against the rules, but could the daily PWCs cause distress? It is recommended for fin rot, but........????

I know that is causing stress, but even before he was acting this way.

 

I don't think the water changes are the issue, at least not directly.... If during the water changes your hand is moving towards him, it could be stressful and he is(srry if I sound weird) associating you with fear and thats why he's doing that? I don't mess with my betta or anything usually, but when I try to catch him he'll be scared for a bit after but soon recover.

 

How about cutting back on the PWCs, and using Safeguard or Stress Zyme? Poor guy.

 

Thanks for the replies, he does get stressed during the water changes, but it's not like I'm chasing him around, yesterday, he didn't even notice that a PWC was happening until 30 minutes later, when I was almost done. He still follows me around, so I don't think he is associating me with fear, but sometimes he freaks out for no reason, even during feeding time. Not sure if many people will know, but it's worth asking to see if anyone has a similar situation.

 

Do you have any floating plants? And how is the temperature of his tank? I have one that does this if I don't have enough hiding places or if the temperature is out of wack.

 

How about cutting back on the PWCs, and using Safeguard or Stress Zyme? Poor guy.

I am currently awaiting medicine for his Fin Rot, but it got delayed, the PWCs are the only thing slowing the Rot down and buying me time, sadly I cannot let this precaution down.

Do you have any floating plants? And how is the temperature of his tank? I have one that does this if I don't have enough hiding places or if the temperature is out of wack.

I have no floating plants (I plan to get some), the heater does a great job of keeping his tank at exactly 78ºF with no fluctuation.

 

That's wonderful!! May I ask how big the tank is? Just curious honestly. I ask about the floating plants because it could help him to feel more secure. They often like to hide in the roots. Sounds like your tank is wonderful though! Maybe if you don't already have a filter which if I'm sure you probably do...slow down on the water changes if you can and do stress coat or aquarium salt. See if he comes down. Depending on how bad the fin rot is he may recover naturally. I personally feel him being stressed is more worrying than the fin rot right now. But that is also just my opinion. Please keep us updated! Id love to know what helps him as I have Bettas myself and always enjoy learning more about them.

 

My betta has also been acting this way. He's also dealing with fin rot and I think I'm going to have to start doing PWC everyday since more frequent WC aren't helping. That's sadly going to make him even more stressed though . I hope you figure out what is going on, maybe it's the same thing for my betta too? Sorry I can't help.

 

Sorry, I've been off for a while. Thanks for all the replies! I will now add, my tank is 10 gallons, it has a filter, heater, and air stone (and a light obviously). I will have Aquarium Salt and Erythromycin in around a week to help with the Fin Rot.

My betta has also been acting this way. He's also dealing with fin rot and I think I'm going to have to start doing PWC everyday since more frequent WC aren't helping. That's sadly going to make him even more stressed though . I hope you figure out what is going on, maybe it's the same thing for my betta too? Sorry I can't help.

Frequent PWCs aren't fixing it for me either. I hope your Betta gets better.

 

when i first got my boy he was very scared and wouldn’t flare at anyone. at the store he could see another male who was ALWAYS flaring at him and my boy was probably traumatised. he’s recovered now though! maybe yours had a bad experience in the past and just needs to build some trust into his surroundings?

 

when i first got my boy he was very scared and wouldn’t flare at anyone. at the store he could see another male who was ALWAYS flaring at him and my boy was probably traumatised. he’s recovered now though! maybe yours had a bad experience in the past and just needs to build some trust into his surroundings?

Thanks, note that I have had him for 10 months and he only truly did this a lot about a month ago.

 

oops! Is there anything around his tank that could cause stress? like my boy will flare up at a pen or smth that’s like 10-20cm away? or perhaps it could’ve been a loud noise/vibration that scared him into this? idk i’m sorry!

 

oops! Is there anything around his tank that could cause stress? like my boy will flare up at a pen or smth that’s like 10-20cm away? or perhaps it could’ve been a loud noise/vibration that scared him into this? idk i’m sorry!

It's fine, he did use to flare at pencils (only gill flaring though), he does not flare anymore and it is more like him darting to hiding spots randomly.

 

I'm not certain that flaring is a bad thing. My female and male bettas always flare when I approach and they catch my eyeball. It's a positive reaction. I think??? I believe that the way the fish are/were raised, will predict their behavior.

 

I'm not certain that flaring is a bad thing. My female and male bettas always flare when I approach and they catch my eyeball. It's a positive reaction. I think??? I believe that the way the fish are/were raised, will predict their behavior.

If its not excessive flaring is not a bad thing. For most bettas its actually good(again, as long as its only for a bit. Also some bettas will just be different) since its mentally enriching and it stretches their fins a little.

 

If its not excessive flaring is not a bad thing. For most bettas its actually good(again, as long as its only for a bit. Also some bettas will just be different) since its mentally enriching and it stretches their fins a little.

Yeah, Thanks. What I meant was he used to flare and be more spunky, but now he doesn't, I wasn't saying flaring was bad. No matter how hard I try I can't get him to flare though! I wish I could as he could get more exercise.

 

Hello, I was just wondering if any of you have had a similar fish or experiences: I feel like my Betta is scared of everything. I have been doing daily PWCs lately to help with his Fin Rot, but it seems like he is always scared. Sometimes I look over at the tank and he is darting around, it looks like he is having a swimming seizure. If I go near the tank, sometimes he darts and goes to hide, then he hides for the next few hours and gets really stressed, and won't even eat unless I drop the food down for him. I don't get how he can be scared at random times with nothing around. Does anyone have a similar situation or advice to stop this stress? I have had him for almost a year now so he is used to his surroundings and me.

I just brought home a midsized betta fish from Petco that had been growing in a snowglobe of its own waste in 1.5 inches of water. It is the most fearful fish I have ever encountered! If anything causes the water to move, it will swim in a violent, jerky manner for 5 minutes then sit on the bottom of the tank in a catatonic fashion. Water has been treated with stress enzyme etc. I read in another forum that betta fish are sensitive to night/day so I put a towel over the tank so that three sides are dark and it has calmed down 95%, ha! The only problem now is how to get it adjusted without having a towel over it forever .

 

The only problem now is how to get it adjusted without having a towel over it forever .

I bought a timer for my aquarium lights and it's done wonders for my betta. His tank is in my room so it helps that we "go to sleep" around the same time and it stays dark.

 

Sensory overload is a thing for people, too. The ones most sensitice to it usually test on the Autism scale. Makes sense that maybe y'all got Autistic bettas.

 

Sensory overload is a thing for people, too. The ones most sensitice to it usually test on the Autism scale. Makes sense that maybe y'all got Autistic bettas.

Lol, I just looked that up and apparently it might be a real thing.

 

Lol, I just looked that up and apparently it might be a real thing.

Wouldn't shock me at all. I am pretty sure i have had cats affected the same way. Would be interesting to see a study, though i think testing would lrove quite difficult/impossible so will probably always remain just a theory.

 

I bought a timer for my aquarium lights and it's done wonders for my betta. His tank is in my room so it helps that we "go to sleep" around the same time and it stays dark.

That is a great idea. I will look into a light setup. Thank you Valkyrie!

 

I reccomend stress coat from api also you should check your parameters

 

You have him for some time, so he is not the youngest anymore. Maybe his eyesight is going and with the change he may have trouble to handle it. I am in the process of daily WC, and just use a clear tube as syphon without moving it around. Same with filling the water. He just notices the water change when he can't get into his hammock anymore. Gentle is the key.

 

This thread was started four months ago and the problem is pretty much resolved, just for those of you who are new, we usually don't post on really old threads, since it gets ahead of current issues. I wouldn't say that includes the forum games threads but that's not my call. Thanks for helping out though.