Is my betta moping? Do they mope?

Is my betta moping? Do they mope? He was so curious and interested in stuff before. Now he spends a lot of his time either near the duckweed, sadly looking up at it it seems, or else in a little cave he made for himself between two other plants and some larger rocks. Now and then he swims around, and if just the tank lights are on he'll menace his reflection for a bit, but he's just sort of moping for the most part. He does respond to being fed.

 

Yes Bettas can get depressed or mope. I don't know why this would happen though... Let's see if chickadee has any ideas...

 

And today he seems fine, this morning at least, he's actively swimming around the duckweed again. Weird fish.

 

Bettas are very susceptible to depression for some reason. I have never read that anyone knows why, it just seems to happen. Maybe it is just one of their traits and we just have to baby them through it. When my little guys act that way, I try to do something just with them. (hand feeding, scratching at the glass when they are near, just letting them know they are the center of attention and I am paying attention to only them) Do this whenever you think of it or whenever you are near the tank and let him know he is not alone and nobody loves him. They have been so solitary I really believe they don't have a normal life at all. They get much closer to us than to other fish. I do all kinds of things with mine and will probably be considered ready for the "funny farm" for admitting all of them. I sing to them and talk to them. I put my hand on the glass and sing or talk and after the first few times of it they don't look at me like a nut anymore. Noel and Misty like being sung to. Marty likes me to talk to him. Marty and Noel both like watching television and Misty goes wild when I go into the bedroom where her tank is. I believe they get LONELY and want OUR attention and contact with us instead of other fish all the time. Maybe that sounds odd, but it is the best I can come up with just from my observations. All I know is that since I have started having more personal contact with them, I haven't had anymore real serious mopes.

Rose

 

Strange, but what you say makes sense.

I did find this out: he doesn't seem to be as happy when I have the light on for a few hours a day as when it is just the normal cycle of daylight to perhaps ambient room light to darkness. Not sure what that means.

And you're right, I have found that he does respond to me being near the tank. I'll try other stuff, see what he likes. But thanks, I was getting worried!

 

Fish need 12 hours of light to make enough vitamin D. So with less light, he may not be as happy because he doesn't have enough vitamin D...

Thanks Chickadee, this one had me stumped! What you said makes total sense. Don't worry, I talk to my fish too... :

 

Not sure where to put this but since we're talking about Betta moods, can anyone explain his fascination with the duckweed? He's always fussing with it, and actually somewhat annoyingly prefers to be fed near it, which means he sometimes can't immediately find the pellets.

 

Sorry to say, if he is obsessed with it to the point of it interferring with eating, it could mean getting rid of some of it or letting him know that the food is only going to be outside of the duckweed. they do make food corrals. It keeps the food corralled in a small circle instead of letting it spread all over the tank. He would have to come up under the corral to eat and find the food there. I believe then even if it floated under the duckweed it would move it aside and the food would be out of the way where he could find it. I got Misty trained to eat at one corner of the tank and Noel knows he has to come to the door of the tank. Is there any chance of teaching him to hand feed? He needs to learn that the food is only going to be at a certain place and no where else.(and they are perfectly capable of that even though they are also perfectly capable of being very stubborn about it - it can be test of wills - but if you want to be sure he is eating maybe you will have to let him get a little hungry so he will come out from under the duckweed looking for food)

Believe me this is not cruel. I would never ask you to be cruel to your betta, but this is how you can be sure he is eating all you give him. Hand feeding is the only way you will ever know and to do this you have to train him to eat at the same place every time. He will do this.

Let me know how it goes.

Rose
???

 

Thanks Rose. I am glad you added that bit about cruelty--I wouldn't perhaps be accepting of that from just anyone but I know that you like most here love your fish. I'll give the hand feeding a try.Amazing how stubborn a betta can be.

 

with 3 on my hands don't I just know it. : LOL (but I love them anyway)

Rose

 

My brother's betta does the same thing, and I was reccomended to put the betta in a 10 gallon tank with a couple of corys

 

My boyfriends little sisters have a betta. The poor thing is in rough shape. They said they'd had it for 2-3 years already. They used to keep it in about a half gallon - gallon plastic bowl. The fish is always laying on the bottom, it doesn't even seem to get excited with interaction when being fed or anything. They recently bought a new bowl for it, trying to do better. However, they seem to have bought a SMALLER bowl.


I took some pictures with my cell phone. I'll post them when I can. I just feel bad. I noticed they clean the bowl more often.. treat the bowl with some sort of seachem or kordon (I can't remember which) "betta bowl conditioner".. and feed it little pellets by the same brand.

I know the betta is old... but in the 2 years I've known it, it just makes me sad that I can't really do anything to help it. I do think, unfortunately or fortunately, that it's getting to the end of it's life.

Just wanted to share my little sad story..

 

Aw, poor little Betta. Did you suggest maybe getting him something bigger? Is there anything strange about his appearance? Fading in color, bloated, fin/tail rot,etc. Maybe try to direct them to Fishlore. Was this change of bowls recent? He maybe depressed because he's in something smaller.We would like to help them out if they will allow us too. I'm glad you shared the story. Natalie

 

It sounds like a perfect reason to give bf''s little sisters a surprise present! Why not pick up a 2.5 tank set up for them and wrap it up for them and once you give it to them, they will want to move the betta to the new tank? Any special occasions coming up? Bday... holiday?... cuz you're great kids?... that you can use as an excuse for the gift.. if one is needed? Sounds like the poor guy needs some swimming room.
~ kate

 

I agree with Capekate, that is a good idea, I did that over a hamster crammed into a small cage, gave bigger cage as a gift.

Worth a try for the poor little one!

 

I know that bowl you are talking about...it is really small. I mean honestly the kit is really just for show. It has a pretty light and gems that come with it. The best interest of the betta is not kept in mind with that product. So if you are going to get them a bigger one I would probably get one that is spacious and has bells and whistles. That way the betta doesn't suffer and they still have a pretty lighted tank to look at. I like the Minibow. It is a 2.5 gallon tank with a power filter and its pretty cool looking. I hope this was helpful. Your a good person for being concerned. Take care now

Krissy l

 

These are the pictures I took (sneakily!) with my cell phone...

I'm going to try and buy them a new set up.. but they just bought this one that I know his mother will be offended if I buy a new one right away. Hopefully the little guy makes it by the time I can do it...

He/she does look pale.. fins are in awful shape.. but I don't know if it's fin rot? or the poor thing has just been kept in such a small environment that it's just not looking so good... or old age. It is 3 years old.

I asked if I could feed it yesterday. I shook the little bottle, gave him a few pellets.. and he didn't even get up from the bottom. Pretty much, the only action I saw was every 10 minutes or so the fish would go up, breath a few seconds at the surface, then go down and lay on the bottom. :'(

 

It's hard to tell from the pictures, but it looks like his dorsal fin is rotted away?? Poor little guy isn't going to last much longer it seems without drastic intervention...

 

Well, it if is fin rot, he needs medication. So how about you suggest that, but that it's MUCH easier to dose the medication in a larger tank? They make the 2.5 mini-bows that two of mine are in, not great but much better.

Also you could print out the information from the betta care guide that shows bettas need heating and filtration to be happy and healthy. You need at least 2 gallons to heat safely...

Tough situation for you to be in, I know it is hard to just sit back and watch it happen.

 

poor little guy.. I think we see right there why deathco ignores the truth about bettas - so they can sell these little death traps and pretend to care about pets. shove her in a tiny box and leave her there - that's my suggestion.

that little guy does need some help though, water treated with Prime AND Novaqua+, VitaChem daily and probably Triple Sulfa for the finrot to start with and a 2.5g minibow with heater at least to move into. maybe there's some way to get her to see that the Betta NEEDS that, especially if she thinks it's her idea

 

Buy the tank anyways. The fish is more important than than mommy's feelings. Try to present it in a non-judgemental way. It's heartbreaking to think of a poor fish having lived his whole life in a small cold bowl and now that he's close to the end of his life they stick him into something even smaller??!! No wonder he's depressed. I could cry just thinking about it. I hope they never get another fish after him if that's how they treat them!

 

I sure can understand the situation you are in. Offending future mother in laws is not a great idea! Is it possible you can really explain the situation to her to get her to understand that the betta is truly depressed in that tank? That it is sick... that you can appreciate her buying a 'pretty' bowl but its not practical for the fish? Of course, I'm sure her argument would be that it has lived for three years as it is, so they must be doing something right. It is a tough situation to be in and understanding your concern because you know the truth for that poor little guy would be to move into a bigger tank. I also have a minI bow for the female betta and she loves it!
BTW... that little bowl its in now is only a 5.5 by 6.5 by 8 inches are so.. what a shame! How can someone think that a betta would be happy not being able to move around... its truly a shame. :-\ good luck...
~ kate

 

Oh dear the bowl is really small! Shame the poor guy...
Yes Amna, you could suggest that it needs medi, and to treat it you need something bigger. You could try and explain to the girls that it doesn't make the fish happy to swim round and round in such a small place, like they won't like staying indoors for days.
Its really a hard position for you! Good luck!

 

:'( :'( I was too late. :-( Boyfriend called me today and said that the betta died this morning....

At least it's over.

I had made up my mind, too. The daughter's birthday was last Saturday, I was going to go to the store today and buy the minibow and meds and stuff for it and wrap it up as a birthday present. I'm so sad!

 

I just hope they aren't even considering buying a new Betta to torture! If they do, PLEASE step in no matter how it upsets his mommy and help keep another innocent creature from suffering a life of misery.

 

:'( I hope they don't buy another one. You were being so caring as well. It's a really delicate situation . At least he's out of his misery.

 

That's a shame. :'( I hope you can show her how much happier and interactive the bettas are when they're in a tank with room to swim.. they may have had a betta last 3 years, but really lost out on seeing the little guy's personality and the fun of interacting with him and there's a difference between living and existing.

 

I think it's a little harsh to say that they were torturing the Betta. I don't think they were intentionally doing that. They didn't know just like half the people on this site didn't know in the beginning either. I didn't know. When I bought my first Betta I had him living in a 1 gallon unheated tank. I wasn't torturing him.In fact I loved the little guy to death and when I found out he wasn't happy I was pretty upset about it and changed it as soon as I could. Then when I found this site I learned a lot from it and bought him a 5 gallon tank with a heater and all. If her daughters want to replace it that's fine, just direct them to fishlore to learn how to properly care for them.

I mean everyone is entitled to their opinions on this site, but to say that someone is intentionally torturing the Betta is wrong, especially when it sounds like to me that they really didn't know any better. Torturing the Betta's to me is when you see those ridiculous videos on youtube of idiotic people swallowing one whole or putting 2 or 3 in a small bowl and watching them fight it out. That to me is torture, not putting them in a small bowl not knowing any better especially when they may have gotten the advise from a store associate like many of us have had in the past.

Well that's my speal. Sorry if I offended anyone, I just don't like it when people accuse other people of doing something when they aren't intentionally doing it, but rather doing it because of some advise that was given to them or whatever. Natalie

 

True.. the ones at fault are the greedy pet stores out for high profit margins on betta prisons and moving as many bettas as they can.. it is in their best interest if your fish die after all.. so you can come back and buy more. They are like the betta vase woman or anyone else lying about betta space needs to sell merchandise. The truth is well documented and I know we've personally informed customers of the truth at Deathco after they were told the usually mud puddle lie. >

 

I'm sure that these people didn't intentionally torture their Betta fish... But lets face it, unintentionally or intentionally the Betta was mistreated and some folks here take it to heart.

Amnagria... be prepared for the worse.. and that's when they decide to replace the dead Betta for their daughter and go out and get one to put into the new tank/display that they bought. Some folks can't be told or shown the way..

Good suggestion on leading the mom or family member to this site to find out for themselves the proper way to care for the Betta.

As for myself... common sense tells me that NO fish no matter what species wants to be in a tiny bowl... enough said!

~ kate

 

I think it's a little harsh to say that they were torturing the Betta. I don't think they were intentionally doing that. They didn't know just like half the people on this site didn't know in the beginning either. I didn't know. When I bought my first Betta I had him living in a 1 gallon unheated tank. I wasn't torturing him.In fact I loved the little guy to death and when I found out he wasn't happy I was pretty upset about it and changed it as soon as I could. Then when I found this site I learned a lot from it and bought him a 5 gallon tank with a heater and all. If her daughters want to replace it that's fine, just direct them to fishlore to learn how to properly care for them.

I mean everyone is entitled to their opinions on this site, but to say that someone is intentionally torturing the Betta is wrong, especially when it sounds like to me that they really didn't know any better. Torturing the Betta's to me is when you see those ridiculous videos on youtube of idiotic people swallowing one whole or putting 2 or 3 in a small bowl and watching them fight it out. That to me is torture, not putting them in a small bowl not knowing any better especially when they may have gotten the advise from a store associate like many of us have had in the past.

Well that's my speal. Sorry if I offended anyone, I just don't like it when people accuse other people of doing something when they aren't intentionally doing it, but rather doing it because of some advise that was given to them or whatever. Natalie

The difference between you and them is that you were willing to change when you heard that your pet needed more. If this woman is so stubborn that she would get offended over someone buying a bigger bowl than she deserves my wrath. Sorry if this is offensive but I will always be harsh with people who don't even care enough about an animal to listen and makes changes. In my family the animals came first always, even before us kids and my brother, sister and I wouldn't have had it any other way. I'm glad my mother taught us to care so much for animals.
This woman cared more about having a pretty toy for her kid than whether the fish was suffering. Obviously she didn't even seem to notice him enough to see he was depressed. That's terrible neglect at the very least...

 

I'm sure that these people didn't intentionally torture their Betta fish... But lets face it, unintentionally or intentionally the Betta was mistreated and some folks here take it to heart.

Amnagria... be prepared for the worse.. and that's when they decide to replace the dead Betta for their daughter and go out and get one to put into the new tank/display that they bought. Some folks can't be told or shown the way..

Good suggestion on leading the mom or family member to this site to find out for themselves the proper way to care for the Betta.

As for myself... common sense tells me that NO fish no matter what species wants to be in a tiny bowl... enough said!

~ kate

yea, some people refuse to listen even when they see the results. We know someone who got their little boy a betta and put him in a vase despite our advise, then did the same with a 2nd when the 1st died within a week.

 

SO far.. she has decided to wait. I think now is the time for me to jump in. I'm going to go get the minibow or something like it with a heater and a filter and wrap it up as a late birthday present. The little girl had an under the sea theme so I'm going to "****" it out for her. I'm actually kind of excited. I'll probably get it started with some of my filter to jump start the tank. Then they can go get a new betta when it's all set.

And for everyone that's been discussing whether this was torture... Here is my opinion:

They have multiple dogs and love them very much, take care of them.. to the point where I am now a dog person. At the end of the school year, all the kids were sent home with a common guppy in a jar. A science project, I couldn't believe it. The mom was upset that the fish was in the jar so she went out that day and bought the new betta bowl.. gave the guppy some gravel, a bridge, and the bettas old bowl. She tried for that guppy... but seeing as there was no filter or anything, it didn't survive more than a couple of weeks. She has good intentions. I think in buying the new bowl, she was also trying to spark the kids interest in the betta again. She bought it with that light on top but never plugs it in (not enough sockets) so when I go over, I've been plugging it in for a little while. She actually goes over and plays with it for a few minutes and talks about how he's seen better days, really old, probably not going to make it.. She was the only one who cared/did anything for the betta. She changed the water and fed it..

She didn't know any better. Yes, the betta was mistreated by lack of heat and a tiny bowl for the last couple weeks of it's life.. It doesn't mean it wasn't loved.

Fortunately, things will be better for the next one.

 

glad you're there to help her along learning with a new Betta.

 

SO far.. she has decided to wait. I think now is the time for me to jump in. I'm going to go get the minibow or something like it with a heater and a filter and wrap it up as a late birthday present. The little girl had an under the sea theme so I'm going to "****" it out for her. I'm actually kind of excited. I'll probably get it started with some of my filter to jump start the tank. Then they can go get a new betta when it's all set.

And for everyone that's been discussing whether this was torture... Here is my opinion:

They have multiple dogs and love them very much, take care of them.. to the point where I am now a dog person. At the end of the school year, all the kids were sent home with a common guppy in a jar. A science project, I couldn't believe it. The mom was upset that the fish was in the jar so she went out that day and bought the new betta bowl.. gave the guppy some gravel, a bridge, and the bettas old bowl. She tried for that guppy... but seeing as there was no filter or anything, it didn't survive more than a couple of weeks. She has good intentions. I think in buying the new bowl, she was also trying to spark the kids interest in the betta again. She bought it with that light on top but never plugs it in (not enough sockets) so when I go over, I've been plugging it in for a little while. She actually goes over and plays with it for a few minutes and talks about how he's seen better days, really old, probably not going to make it.. She was the only one who cared/did anything for the betta. She changed the water and fed it..

She didn't know any better. Yes, the betta was mistreated by lack of heat and a tiny bowl for the last couple weeks of it's life.. It doesn't mean it wasn't loved.

Fortunately, things will be better for the next one.

HI Amnagria~
Bet you didnt think you would have to defend your future mother in law on this post/topic. I'm sorry if any of my posts may have offended you. Like your future mom in law, a good friend of mine also had a betta for over three years in a gold fish bowl. She really loved that guy and fed it, changed the water and gave me the argument that it lived for so long without the heater, filter etc etc. It did seem to be doing well every time I saw it. Tho the gold fish bowl was a bit bigger that those orbs for sure. Your mom in law sounds like a good women who loves her animals, just didnt have the right information to base what was the best for the betta. I do hope that somehow you can show her some good info on their care and how they really are mistreated in those little orbs with no room to swim, if she is as good a care giver of animals as you say I'm sure that she will change her mind. Your idea of the present of the minI bow and is a great one ! Good luck with that. And I hope in my case anyway that there is no hard feelings!
l

 

I'm sorry if any of my posts may have offended you. ...And I hope in my case anyway that there is no hard feelings!
l

Of course not! I don't usually take stuff too seriously.. but don't worry, if you offended me, you'd know about it!!

 

I'm sorry if any of my posts may have offended you. ...And I hope in my case anyway that there is no hard feelings!
l

Of course not! I don't usually take stuff too seriously.. but don't worry, if you offended me, you'd know about it!!

yea, I got her slightly miffed and she ran over me with her motorcycle. :;a

 

lol yeah, that's it.

 

So good news!!!!

I bought them a tank. A little 5 gallon. I have it running in their house right now. I also bought them Prime, the proper food, and gave them some of my gravel and a small piece of my filter. And oh yeah, they don't want another betta (for now)... they want a couple of my guppy fry!

Once it cycles, I'll bring them over the fry and make sure everything is good. I'm typing up a little care sheet for them and my cell phone number if they need help.

 

HI Amnagria...
what wonderful news and that was such a great thing you are doing for them! I'm sure they will be very happy with the guppy fry.. and keeping them in the family! ;D