Do bettas slow down in winter?

[Esmerelda]

Do your bettas slow down a little in the winter?
I'm pretty sure my betta is fine, but I've noticed she's been resting on the gravel more than usual. When I approach the tank, she immediately comes up to greet me and flutters her fins. She's eating well. She likes it when I draw on the tank or play with her. But when I step away from the tank, I can't help noticing she's been a bit lazier than usual. The tank is 78 degrees. I've had Ahsoka for about 6 months, and she's a koi plakat. Any thoughts?

 

[bgarthe]

Please provide a couple of pics of your tank. My betta liked having things floating near the top to rest in. I actually bought a soft plastic leaf with a suction cup and placed it 1” below the surface and he liked resting on that. My softer silk plants also arched at the surface and he rested there too.

 

[kansas]

The room with my aquariums has a lot of windows. In the summer, it's after 9:00 when it gets dark and maybe 4:30 when it's light. Winter days are much shorter. I have electric lights year round, but the changes are pretty obvious to me and surely to my fish as well

So even if the temp stays the same, the changes are obvious anyway. I don't know if this effects the fish or not.

 

[Esmerelda]

Please provide a couple of pics of your tank. My betta liked having things floating near the top to rest in. I actually bought a soft plastic leaf with a suction cup and placed it 1” below the surface and he liked resting on that. My softer silk plants also arched at the surface and he rested there too.

A little while ago, I noticed how she lays on the gravel. So I got her that tube to rest in. She uses it sometimes, but still prefers the gravel.

 

[jaysurf7]

Interesting, Mabey it has to do with their instinct from the wild when it gets less light out in the winter its harder to find food so maybe they slow down to conserve energy.

 

[Esmerelda]

My fish is even sleepier today. I've barely seen her out and about.
But again, she's eating fine, the water's clean, the temperature is warm enough, and she's not struggling to breathe. She's not particularly old either.

 

[BlueRaccoon]

Do your bettas slow down a little in the winter?
I'm pretty sure my betta is fine, but I've noticed she's been resting on the gravel more than usual. When I approach the tank, she immediately comes up to greet me and flutters her fins. She's eating well. She likes it when I draw on the tank or play with her. But when I step away from the tank, I can't help noticing she's been a bit lazier than usual. The tank is 78 degrees. I've had Ahsoka for about 6 months, and she's a koi plakat. Any thoughts?

What was the temperature during the summer? I have a betta in 77F and he is very active. But I've heard bettas can slow down some. 78F isn't that low though. Everytime I've had a betta slow down, it wasn't a good thing.

 

[DaveSch]

My betta Bart seemed to be slowing down and resting on the gravel more often about 2 months ago. He even showed little interest in eating (I feed betta bug bites and a variety of frozen foods). I thought it was because he's getting older. I also wondered if he was getting bored with his 6 gallon cube home. So I bought a 14 gallon cube to upgrade, put him in a bucket with a heater for the day, moved in all his hardscape and plants, put in a few more clippings from another tank, rescaped, added water, started the filter, moved 6 ember tetras into the tank to give him company, and a few hours later moved Bart into his new home.

Since then he's been much more active exploring the tank, making bubble nests again, excited for feeding time, and thankfully oblivious to the embers. He does rest on the bottom every now and then but overall the change of environment has made a big difference. Perhaps you'd like to at least move things around in her home to make things a bit more new and interesting again.

 

[Rose of Sharon]

I do move things around from time to time. I will sometimes even change out my plants, too. It might get her moving and exploring again.

But I would continue to keep an eye out. Something doesn't sound quite right. I've had bettas lay on the bottom, but they don't stay there for any length of time.

Hope she's ok!!!! She is a beauty!