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intro & heater = 1st bubble nest...on cleaning day :-|

2K views 11 replies 7 participants last post by  sunrise2397 
#1 ·
I've been lurking here for a few weeks since I got my betta off of Craigslist with all of his accessories (you know, .5 gal cube house & fin rot). He also did come with a 1.5 gal house w/filter which as soon as I can, I will upgrade to a 5 gal. Thanks to this lovely forum I am now obsessed with him and the whole hobby of betta keeping. I can see how my obsession could spiral out of control quickly! They are just beautiful and have great personalities! My guy certainly is the most friendly fish I've ever had! (I've had bettas in the past - with not much success, this time I want to do it right. I've also had both fresh & saltwater tanks in the past.) Thought I was done with it until this little guy stole my heart...and now I'm obsessed. Whenever he sees me he swims right up to the front of the tank and will hang out even if I don't have his Aqueon food jar (which he LOVES - and I also learned here that I fed him waaaay too much! the little piggy! I'm tapering back.) I know he can tell the difference between just hanging out and feeding time (though I know he always HOPES it's feeding time.) When he sees me pick up the little yellow jar, he wiggles like crazy! It's hilarious! I tried freeze dried bloodworms but he really doesn't like those. I will try frozen soon. He will follow my face up and down his tank. I almost want to pet him (but, again thanks to this forum, I know I shouldn't)!

Anyway - to get to my question: thanks to all of your great advice - I got his little tank an Elite 25w heater (and thermometer)...it arrived just in time for the cold weather as I live in southern AZ so the summer months are pretty warm. His water was low 70F when his heater finally arrived and now it sits just under 80F. I just installed it on Saturday after testing and slow acclimation. Today (monday), i came home from work and he had a little bubble nest going!!! I was so proud and excited! And then I remembered it was water change day for his tank. SO BUMMED (and i forgot to take a pic of his first bubble nest, what a bad mom)! Well, when I finished the water change - he was swimming frantically up and down and kind of all around the tank - I put the lid on his tank quick because I thought he might jump out. I've been doing water changes regularly since I got him due to his fin rot - so this was weird. Do you think I upset him by ruining his happy home/bubble nest? I tried to ensure the replacement water was the same temp and also treated with conditioner (this was also the 1st day without AQ salt). He even flared at me! any ideas why he had this weird fit? He seems fine now.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Haha! Your post made me laigh... such personalities!!
Welcome to the wonderful world of betta keeping... you're in for a fun time!

Yea, your little guy might be upset because of his bubble nest. After he was all cozy and had claimed the space as his own, you come in and change things up on him.
Dont worry, he'll get over it and build you another nest... or not. they are quite the creatures!
 
#3 ·
Are you telling me that he actually might have had a temper tantrum??!! :shock: jeez. Yes, he seriously has got me wrapped around his fin. One day I tried to "exercise" him because I had never seen him flare and I thought I should remind him of his aggressiveness. So I held a mirror up against the side of his tank as he swam happily around - he did a double take (I SWEAR!) at the mirror and then swam away quickly and hid behind the plant in there for a bit. Just as i was going to take away the mirror he comes swimming back up and doesn't turn to the mirror at the side of the tank but comes straight at me and flares at ME! I actually was a little scared - he did look pretty mean! Anyway, that's when he really did capture my heart, I couldn't believe what had just happened! It was like he was telling me "wth?! i was chilling, going with the flow and you had to go and scare me like that!!" And since then I've seen him flare every so often - mostly at me.

(btw - I moved here 2 yrs ago from 11 yrs in Seattle area and go back there often!)
 
#4 ·
I found that once I added the heater my boy got more aggressive every day. Sometimes he will be just chilling in the tank (it's on my desk) and I will turn my head to look at him, and he immediately flares at me (WHAT DO YOU WANT?). Other times, when he is at the back of the tank swimming around, he will notice that I am at the front looking at him.... He does a little wiggle zoom to the front of the tank and gives me a big flare (STOP LOOKING AT ME HUMAN!). I have to be careful when i feed him because he has started jumping. My fault for teaching him that the fingers mean FOOD!
 
#5 ·
He definitely has been more active since I put the heater in! And I'm happy to say that he has started another bubble nest!!! :) though tomorrow is another cleaning day...eep. Can't wait til I can get his bigger tank so at least he has a few more days to enjoy his bubble nest.

Valleyankee> hilarious! I've gotten that same attitude !
 
#6 ·
My boy has quite the attitude as well. I went to adjust a plant in his tank (it was crooked because a piece of gravel got under it), and you woulda thought I beat him! He took a nip at my thumb and swam around "his" plant once I adjusted it, then swam over to the side closest to me and swam up and down staring as if he was telling me off.
 
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