Should I be Concerned?

[Torbs]

Hello. I was just wondering if I should be concerned yet or if I should just give my new fish some time. I just moved him in yesterday (and the travel was a fairly traumatic experience I'm sure), and although he's blowing lots of bubbles so there's a ring of bubbles lining the edges of his bowl and the bamboo stick, he's not eating anything. I fell in love with him pretty much the moment I saw him in the store and I really just want him to be ok. I would love any advice you could give me. Thanks in advance.

[dr2b]

The ring of bubbles is probably a bubblenest, which is a good thing. The fact he is not eating is related to the fact you just moved him into his new home. Bettas can go weeks without food and still live. He will eat when he is ready, just keep offering him food. Mine took a 1-2 weeks before he would eat when I got him. If he looks healthy, then the new home is definitely the culprit. Hope this helps!

[Jupiter]

Yep, just give him some time. He's probably stressed from the move and it'll take a while for him to adjust.

[Torbs]

Ok good lol. I was so worried! In any case, just to make sure that some of the stress wasn't because he didn't have enough space for an adequate hiding place I went out and bought him a 2 gallon tank today and put in some fake plants, his bamboo and shells and a cracked fake "ancient urn" thing for hiding. I'm hoping that'll help too :) Right now he's alot more concerned about his reflection in the side of the tank though.....lol! Do they ever get over that?

[BettaxFishxCrazy]

I agree, when you get a new betta, it can take a while for them to feel comfortable enough to eat. I've had some that eat right away and others that took a week or more. I have some of my males in divided tanks and they eventually stop flaring, but it takes time. If he's making a bubble nest than that's a good sign. My female betta is so cute, she'll see her reflection and put her nose up against the glass and go up and down.

[Torbs]

He finally ate a pellet today! He only ate one, and he really really thought about it before he ate it, but it's still a great improvement from not eating at all! I'm so pleased.

With the bubble nests, he has all this new space now with the vase thing and the fake plants floating on the surface, and yet he makes his bubble nest in the corner on the surface. So much to hold the bubbles and make sure they don't pop and he makes them on open surface! Silly fishy

And yeah, Galileo does that too when he sees his reflection (goes up and down with his nose to the tank wall). He also swims along beside his reflection and keeps looking sideways, then forwards, then sideways while his swims. It's pretty funny to watch

I'm pretty much dying of heat in my room here, but at least HE'S happy lol.
(we can't have electricals of any kind for our fish, so I have my room's heater set to 25 celsius)

[BettaxFishxCrazy]

My males make bubble nests on the corner of the tank too! I know, it's really cute when they go up and down staring at themselves.

[TianTian]

Weird! Cinder lines the sides of the tank with a long string of bubbles, then makes one BIG section along one whole wall... and 'burps' to add really LARGE bubbles here and there. :D

I think he's a budding bubblenest artist, like Taco was.