Frenzied betta

[DreamEssence]

So I'm officially getting worried. I have a male betta inside of a 1.5g tank with a filter as well as a heater. What he's been doing lately is swimming up and down repeatedly, hitting the gravel headfirst--he looks extremely frenzied and hyper when he does this. He almost looks violent or angry--it's worrying me a lot. This has been going on for a couple of days now. I don't understand why he's doing this? It makes absolutely no sense to me. He'll be calm for a while and then there he goes again with his little up and down dance. Any explanations?

[Kim]

Is the filter pushing him around? Also, look closely at his scales or even shine a flashlight on his body and fins to see if he has any white or gold spots. The parasites ick or velvet can cause itching and he may be trying to scratch himself.

Also, please tell us your maintenance schedule because this may have something to do with it.