Any ideas for playing with the little guys? :)

[Bethydan]

I'm wanting fun ways to amuse and stimulate my bettas. I've heard about floating ping-pong balls in the tank and I'm going to try that after classes tomorrow. I regularly redecorate/rearrange their tanks with various things. To be honest, they're both too busy being adorable to hide in their caves, so hiding places doesn't seem to be a big priority for them. They're not shy. Magwitch likes having my finger to play with and chase, but he's a bit.... well.... he's a tiny dinosaur with fins. I fear for my finger's safety to say the least. :/ But I really enjoy interaction with them. I'm tempted to tie something to the end of a (safe) string and go "fishing" with Magwitch. :)

[MollyJean]

Originally Posted by Bethydan

I'm wanting fun ways to amuse and stimulate my bettas. I've heard about floating ping-pong balls in the tank and I'm going to try that after classes tomorrow. I regularly redecorate/rearrange their tanks with various things. To be honest, they're both too busy being adorable to hide in their caves, so hiding places doesn't seem to be a big priority for them. They're not shy. Magwitch likes having my finger to play with and chase, but he's a bit.... well.... he's a tiny dinosaur with fins. I fear for my finger's safety to say the least. :/ But I really enjoy interaction with them. I'm tempted to tie something to the end of a (safe) string and go "fishing" with Magwitch. :)

Well to start with, you don't have to worry at all about him hurting you when he bites you. I've never heard of it hurting or bleeding.. it's just surprising. But you should make sure your hands are clean before interacting with him.

As for toys, the ping pong ball is great. If you want to work on hunting skills, get some frozen bloodworms for him. Dangle a thawed one from a chopstick or pen and let the worm drag through the water. He'll have a lot of fun chasing it. Or jumping for it, if your tank setup is safe enough.

You could get a mirror. They're great for a workout! He'll see himself in the mirror and flair his gills, trying to scare himself. A few things to remember, though, is to only use the mirror for 5 mins or so at a time. Too much will stress him and might cause damage to his fins. And don't put it in the water unless it's designed to go in betta tanks. It'll work just as well outside the tank.

[Bombalurina]

You could train him to swim through a hoop or jump for food. :)

Alternatively, get another fish called Pip, send Magwitch out to me, I'll make a sheepfarm for him so he can have a fortune, then I'll send him back and they can have wacky hijinks together! :D

[Luimeril]

i usually just flare them.

with my delta, Dante, he used to love watching the junk i'd have outside his tank. you know... D&D dice, an Arceus pokemon toy, shiny mini Reese's wrappers... i'd just move them around, and he'd swim around, looking at them.

[Bombalurina]

My girls like to chase water droplets on the outside of the tank.

[lilyth88]

Gandalf just loves when I put my hand up to the glass. He swims and sits right in front of it.

[Bethydan]

Alternatively, get another fish called Pip, send Magwitch out to me, I'll make a sheepfarm for him so he can have a fortune, then I'll send him back and they can have wacky hijinks together! :D

I laughed so hard as soon as I read this! I named him that just because he reminded so much of that guy. Seems like he ought to be hardened and aggressive but he's really a teddy bear. He practically is rich anyway in his little mansion.

I like the jumping idea. He seems pretty willing to give that a try. I had a betta years ago who had to jump for his food because if I dropped it in the tank, his tank-mates gobbled it up. And I'm considering live bloodworms as well. I like that idea. :) As for the ping pong balls, he just swims up to them and glares at them until they're sufficiently intimidated.