How does he look?

[HayrideHaunter]

Hi everyone! I just got a new betta today, hes a gorgeous little crowntail. His body is white and his fins are this gorgeous aqua blue with little red flecks in them, and when he flares up his head, the little flaps from under his gills are deep blues and reds. I named him Marbles for the marble coloring.

Now I have had a betta before, named Prince, who lasted a good four years, and my little brother had one for a couple years named Bubbles (my brother is 6 now and recently lost his beloved Bubbles, RIP =( ), so I'm not really very new to bettas, but its been a while. This is the healthiest one ive ever found that is anything but red and blue so I'm quite thrilled to have him!

I put in a couple of pictures and I'd just like to know if everyone thinks he looks healthy and such so far? the other two (Bubbles and Prince) had no problem absolutely thriving in the tank setup I have, so I'm not too worried, but better safe than sorry =D

Also, he's the feistiest fish I've met so far...i understand bettas are aggressive fish but Marbles was flaring right up and showing his little gill flaps at anyone that came near for several hours. He seems alright now, though I'd like to make sure his anger management won't be an issue if it continues?

Thanks!

~Danielle



Ohai!

[metalbetta]

You've got a pretty boy there! He looks pretty healthy... Especially if he was flaring at anything and everything that moves... Usually a good sign lol... When they stop flaring is when you have to worry! They're pretty aggressive fish.

The only thing I see at first glance is that he's just a bit red around the gills... probably from the ammonia in the cup. That should clear up easy with regular water changes.
Congrats on a great find! :)

[HayrideHaunter]

thanks so much!

Today was a rather stressful day for him, so hopefully he'll get a bit better. we're pretty good about taking care of our pets here. Even my younger brother will remind people his tank needs cleaning and such.

I'm glad he looks healthy...he was definitely very active. Seems to have chilled a bit for the night, but all of our bettas have done that I guess? Im not sure but to bettas "sleep?" they seem to find a place for a good period when its nighttime and sort of sit for a while. So far Marbles gets up and zooms a bit, kind of "dances" and the he'll sit for about 10 minutes.

[metalbetta]

Yes, fish need rest like any other animal. They don't have eyelids, so they go into more of a "trance" than actual sleep. Most of my fish are very weird sleepers... One of my fish swims back and forth when he's in his trance... But he swims kind of as if he has a limp. It's really freaky because he doesn't respond to stimulus when he's like that... Unless I poke him... and THEN he'll flip out on me. lol I'm sure at some point your new boy will be just as interesting.

[HayrideHaunter]

okay cool. I figured they did SOMETHING...Bubbles seemed to stay in the same place for a full night haha...we'd get up and he'd be chilling in the same spot, but as soon as my brother put pellets in and tapped the top of the tank (my dad decided to try this? now its like our fish end up trained to know theres food when we tap...otherwise they dont seem to respond? is that even possible?) he'd wake up and zoom to the top to eat

[HayrideHaunter]

thanks again for the tips!

He's still flaring away today but seems to be fine when I myself come near...he'll float over and stare at me and then float away. He chowed right down on the pellets I gave him and his fins are looking even brighter this morning. Seems he has a bit of purple in there now even.

Quick question though, should he have a light at night or is it okay to let my room be dark? his tank light is awfully bright and I do leave it on during the day...I left it on last night though and it was REALLY bright so I ended up putting a dimmer flashlight near his tank because I wasnt sure if he needed the light or not...the tank light is too bright to sleep with...

[bettafish15]

Keep the light off at nighttime, he doesnt need it :) You do have a heater for your tank, right?

[HayrideHaunter]

I dont have one no, but we keep our house pretty warm and my little brother's betta, Bubbles, never seemed lethargic or anything...and marbles seems to be just fine

thanks about the light

[bettafish15]

Originally Posted by HayrideHaunter

I dont have one no, but we keep our house pretty warm and my little brother's betta, Bubbles, never seemed lethargic or anything...and marbles seems to be just fine

thanks about the light

Okay, I suppose as long as your house is warm... Just remember that because of the lamp there'll be temperature swings, so it'll be colder at night, warmer in the day (the lamp heats the water). Temperature swings like that eventually put alot of stress on a betta's system.

[HayrideHaunter]

mhm, i understand. I'll watch him =)...the lamp doesnt get very warm so i cant imagine the change will be any more than 2 or 3 degrees at most

okay so another one for you guys: sometimes he'll swim straight and then sort of dance, he kind if just wiggles back and forth for a moment, then he'll just continue swimming. he's not thrashing or anything, he just kinda stops and wiggles...what is he doing?