Good Betta, Bad Betta..

[BettaGirl88]

Hello everyone, first I would like to say it is amazing to finally find a forum strictly for bettas. Secondly, as someone who works at a corporate petstore, it's nice to see fish owners like myself who actually CARE<3

I am a proud mama of 4 bettas (1 KingBetta-Alpha, 2 Halfmoons-Zeus & Maximus, 1 Vt-Stud) Also, a 10gallon community which Alpha thrives in and is 3yrs old, going strong, also a 75gallon semiaggressive tank.

Alpha is the only betta of mine that accepts other fish after displaying a flare then dance with extended fins while theyre in the bag, and then welcomes them. He never gets nervous nor hides, only at night to rest. Maximus seems to be thriving in his little 2.5 with an african dwarf frog and theyre perfect together with live plant housing. Stud is kept in his 2.5 because hes very skiddish in open and larger tanks. And he has just welcomed to of his golden apple snails. I figure theyre calm and wont startle him. Hes loving his new tankmates.

Zeus...oh my Zeus..he's my problem child. Now he is definitely your ultimate fighter fish and quite the show off. His fins always extended, and compared to my other bettas, he's the most anxious to see me and puts on the best show. My most active betta, most thriving and most elegant...and he has settled more comfortably in a measly 1gallon....weirdo. Figured he'd thrive in a large tank...NOPE. He charged after everything that moved. He'll even attack live plants when they sway abit. Tell me thats not crazy >< And as for tankmates, no go. ghost shrimp, demolished. I knew they wouldnt stand a chance but i got to see just how aggressive he is..it was a slaughter house the minute they entered..he looked like how my sharks attack and eat in the 75gallon 0.o You can tap on his tank and he wont flinch..he'll flare and curve at you. He resembles the betta in my pic. (will post pics soon) I'd play the mirror game to cure boredom and soothe the temperment abit..it justs boosts his confidence ofcoarse. So i tried a bid gold snail. Something to cure boredom and little movement. As soon as the snail exposed himself. Fully extended himself, Zeus nipped. I immediately removed him and placed him with Betta Stud.

Now, because my snail was nipped, how may i prevent him from catching a disease? he is a beautiful snail i wanna keep and im an ammateur in the snail department.

Also, id like to see some stories of your good betta and/or bad betta.

And if you have any suggestions on tankmates or anything else i may try to prevent him from getting bored. i feel being content in a 1gallon prevents me from helping him out. i can tell when he gets bored..i do change decorations and alternate them every water change and he likes exploring. perhaps an overly decorated 5gallon obstacle course? lol

shoot anything at me, cant wait to read your stories and suggestions!

[Pilot00]

I found that lazer pointers are an instant boredom cure. At least Piou chases the darn thing and tries to bite it.

[aokashi]

maybe a super heavily decorated larger tank =D
The snail will be fine. lost antennas etc will be regenerated

[BettaGirl88]

Thanks guys. :) I tried the laser and it just seems to...make him mad because he doesn't know what it is and can't get it. He flares excessively and curves, I feel the laser might just be stressing him out. He won't chase it, just more watch it and try to attack, but he seems off with it.

And thanks for telling me the snail will be fine, all 3 snails are already exploring every inch of Stud's tank XD I think I may go with an overcrowded larger tank. That way he can explore but won't be overwhelmed by wide open space.

Any more suggestions or even stories are appreciated :)

[Pilot00]

I assume you point it on the gravel or on a surface not on him right?Sorry if this sounds a bit bad, but I clarify because someone pointed it at the fish.

You know its kinda to be expected that they will react differently. What with their personalities and all. Mine thinks its probably a tasty morsel.

[Onlyonagoodday]

I would say try an overly decorated bigger tank.

[ThePearlFish]

My Yellow VT Speedbump got along with other fish. My 3 Cardinal tetras designated Speedbump as their leader and would constantly follow him everywhere. When I got my 3 corycats they would frantically swim around and one fell on Speedbump's head in the process. Speedbump looked like "WTH??" but that's it :P. At one point I added a Mystery snail, but the snail died soon after.

[twolovers101]

Zeus sounds like quite the character lol

My males have some interesting personalities also, Zakut is my most aggressive, he flares at almost anything (he has the HUGEST flare I've ever seen!) The only thing he won't flare at is me lol.

Nova is also aggressive, but in a different way... he couldn't care less about other fish or his reflection, but put some food in his tank and he attacks it like a little vicious shark XD I've only seen him flare twice... (he has such a tiny flare it's adorable lol) He's also OCD so any food he misses, he will search the gravel for until he finds it, it's kind of amusing watching him going meticulously over every piece of gravel in his tank

Miss Priss.. she has the hots for Nova, but he completely ignores her, and Zakut is in LOVE with her but she completely ignores him xD

[Perseusmom]

Love to hear these types of stories, such awesome little fish !!! Perseus also attacked his first live plant and was biting it but he stopped after a couple of hours. I have to be careful what I sit near his tank or he will flare at it, last night I put a roll of duct tape to close and looked over and he flaring big time at it...lol

[BettaGirl88]

My large snail, Jupiter actually died from the wound. I got a 10 gallon tank with filter and heater and I divided it. Both Stud and Zeus share it; I crowded the tank and Zeus is doing alot of exploring, swimming alot and attacking the filter lol. Small gold snail, Venus and small black snail, Milkyway, are in Studs side and are healthy and well. I'm guessing there is no chance that Zeus can have a tank mate. He did try to attack Venus through the divider. I suppose I can prevent this by putting decorations up against the divider. When Venus was sticking to the divider, Zeus tried nipping her through it now he's going to it alot and looking through it. Thank you for all the replies and suggestions. I will be more than happy to hear more replies.
Sincerly,
The Trouble Makers Mom