Frisky Betta, or...?

[SillyTilly]

I just got a Betta about four days ago from Petsmart. I wanted to take care of my new fish correctly so I did some research on how to properly care for a Betta and found that he needed a heater and a few other things. So I went out and set together a nice 3.5 gallon tank with a heater, fake plants, and pretty gravel. I want to save up and get him a bigger tank sometime, too, and hopefully, some real plants. :D

However, I'm not sure if he's okay. He seems to be healthy, since he swims around when he thinks I'm not looking and he completely loves his warm water. But he swims away and panics if I walk by his bowl or look inside it. Then he calms down and just pouts on the tank floor, and I feel really bad. :(

I want to know if there's a way I can bond with him, or make him less scared of me, or if the fact that I got him from a pet store, means I'll never be able to. Does he just need longer to get used to me, or is there something else I should be doing to make him more comfortable?

Thanks!

P.S. His tank is situated on a CD shelf in my bedroom, where I spend most of the morning and late nights, so he sees quite a bit of me. Is this a bad thing?

[thekoimaiden]

Welcome! You sound like you are off to a great start with your little guy! It seems like he is going through an adjustment phase (some bettas take longer than others). Soon he will learn that you = food and will start to beg. Right now, you might want to give him some more hiding spaces as some fish are more shy than others. Give him time. He will come around.

[tpocicat]

Welcome to the forum. Don't worry, (easier to say than do, I understand) your betta will soon come to understand you aren't any danger. Once he gets used to his new surroundings, he'll probably start begging for food any time you come close.

[SillyTilly]

Thanks for the advice! I'm glad to hear that this is normal. He even started making a bubble nest this afternoon, so I think he's getting a bit more used to things now, and he's running away less often now. :)

Are there any common household things I can use for more hiding for now? I don't have money to go out and buy him a cave currently (I will get him one as soon as I do, though) so I was curious if there was a way I could create a make-shift cave or something.

Also, I play guitar and violin in my bedroom a lot. Is that sort of noise bad for him? Or do they not mind it since they're under water?

Thanks for answering! I just want make sure everything's okay. :D

[thekoimaiden]

If you have a gardener in your house, you could see about nabbing some terracotta pots. I use those as caves for my little guys. Some people use clean ceramic mugs, too.

Fish actually have pretty good hearing; they have ears and ear bones just like we do. Some even use their swim bladders for hearing. Sound travels through water at faster rate than air. Some fish can even be trained to recognize specific voices. Unless you see visible signs of stress when you're playing instruments, I wouldn't see any cause for worry.

[SillyTilly]

I don't think I've got any of those things laying around... But I'll have to do some scrounging and see if I can come up with anything that won't harm him. Are there any particular martials that would be harmful to him, even though they don't seem harmful? (Sorry for all the questions, by the way...)

All right. I'll keep a look out and make sure he doesn't mind the noise. Thank you! :D

[thekoimaiden]

We don't mind questions at all! You can't learn if you never ask! ^-^

With my pets I generally assume that anything safe for human consumption (like anything used in cooking or storing food) would be safe for them. The only thing is you've got to make sure it has no soap residue on it. White vinegar is very good for getting all the soap out, but you have to make sure to rinse it well enough to get the vinegar off. Nothing specific comes to mind right now, tho. I'm sorry.

[Sena Hansler]

You can also use ceramic. Ceramic cups, bowls, or even some nice glass mugs I have seen being used. And surprise surprise, you can use lego As long as there is no crayon/pen/marker residue, all have been sanitized with vinegar/water mix and rinsed very very well, and have no stickers (like the faces on them) they are actually safe to use

[SillyTilly]

Great! Thanks. :D

I think I just have one more question... He made a pretty decent sized bubble nest, but I'm probably gonna mess it up when I do the partial water change. That's not going to bother him, is it?

[Sena Hansler]

Nope he'll just remake it