Is he sleeping?

[hunnybooo]

Okay, so I've had my betta [Spencer] for about 3 months now. We recently got him a new tank because it was on sale and bigger than his old one. He has this one toy boat in there thats got holes and he loves to swim through it. One thing that sort of confuses me is that he is always like laying against it. Is he sleeping on it or does he just like the way it feels on him or what? Is he maybe using it to hide next to from his brother, [an african cichlid which is in a separate tank next to his]? They love to tease each other by swimming by the sides of the tank, they chase each other too. Just wondering what is going on with the boat?!

[Meatpuppet]

both your fish are very agressive fish. how much does your betta 'teas' your chichlid? does he flare up alot? a little bit of activity is fine but too much will cause stress

how big is your tank?
what is the temperature? do you have a heater?
what are the water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate)?

[hunnybooo]

He doesn't usually flare up.. They just swim by each other quickly and go back to doing whatever they were doing to begin with. Each tank is a 2.5 maybe 3 gallon and the water temps are usually around 76-79 degrees. It stays pretty stable. As for the water parameters, I don't have a clue.

[Meatpuppet]

well whats your water changing schedual?

as long as he is active and eats and poops well. he should be fine as long as he doesnt spend much of the day laying there.
and what kind of chichlid? i dont have much experience with those so i wouldnt know if that tank if big enough for a chichlid

[hunnybooo]

We usually change the water at least once every two weeks. He does eat and I think he poops. [I don't usually watch him to make sure he's pooping though] .. Spencer is very active, he is always swimming around and playing hide and seek w/ me. I just didn't understand why he layed against the boat.. [just thought it was weird]

All I know about Oreo is that he is an african cichlid and that they usually grow to be about 6 inches. We're getting him a new tank friday so he has more room to grow & swim =]

[Meatpuppet]

okey doke :)
he's probly just sleeping against the boat
changing the water should take place like twice a week and change 25% of the water. not much, but in the long run... its the same amount of water changed and there's not the chance of him getting stressed from 100% water changes

and good job with the new chichlid tank and good luck