[alinds26]

Ok, so yesterday, I went out and purchased ANOTHER betta :roll: (I seriously don't know what I'm going to do with myself)

Well, at home, I already had 3 males Mr.Fish, Shadow, and Fireball. Mr.Fish was our first betta. When we bought him, I bought a small 1 gallon tank (I know it's not big enough for him, now) But he seemed fine in this tank. He was curious, but ALWAYS friendly! He loves when you come near the tank and when I put my hand in the tank for any reason (which i know is also bad) he will swim by it or even onto it.
Well I felt bad having him in such a small tank so I went to the pet store to purchase him a bigger tank ....(and that led to me walking out of the store with 2 more male betta's, a 2.5 gallon tank, 10 gallon tank, decorations and a divider!!!! Ughhh)

Anyway, my daughter set up the 2.5 gallon tank with a little bridge/stairs decoration and she put spongebob and patrick decorations on top of that, also a glass mermaid, an under gravel heater, and a large plant!!!! I'm feeling that this tank may be getting over crowded! :-( He seemed to love his larger tank and all of his decorations though, he has always been curious, so everything was inspected by him 6-7 times over and seemed to get the seal of approval. Everything was going great up until yesterday!! Ahhhhhh....this is where I start getting worried. I bring home this BEAUTIFUL betta female, because I'm obviously addicted to bettas now! I was setting up the 1 gallon tank for her, until I could get over to pet smart and grab another 10 gallon for her, and my daughter thought it would be cute to introduce Mr.Fish to his "new girlfriend, Violet." I didn't think too much of it until I noticed that he went SUPER CRAZY when she showed Mr.Fish his new gf! He started swimming very fast and even trying to flip out of the water! I quickly moved Violet from the front of his tank and placed her into her temporary home. Went back to see how Mr.Fish was doing and he's still swimming in the same big circle pattern splashing his water each time. I figured he was just bothered that we put another fish in front of his tank, and that he was having a tantrum and it would probably be over by today. But when I came out and turned on his light....he's still swimming in the same circle pattern, and has been doing that for about 19 hours now. I'm not sure what is going on with him and now I'm starting to worry!

So my questions are:

Should I take some decorations out of his tank? Could this be a reason he's having this tantrum, because he thought I was going to put her in with him and there isn't enough room?

Could it be the temperature on his tank? Constantly 78 degrees? Too warm??

Could it be a possibility that he's ready for mating? I haven't noticed any bubble nests with any of my males but they have all only been with me for a little over 2 weeks now.

And lastly, should I get him a 10 gallon also, and put some tank mates in there with him? Maybe he's lonely and was excited to see her....

I have NO IDEA what is going on and I'm worried about my baby boy....some input would be great:-(

Thanks in advance to anyone that takes the time out to answer my questions and read my ramble. This is what I do when I'm nervous, I ramble.

 

[Katy]

Does he have any stress stripes (horizontal pale stripes on body)? Is he eating, otherwise acting ok? Is he flaring at anything (reflection, glass mermaid)? Is it possible he's just active? Does he perseverate or act upset over anything in particular with his decorations?

A bigger tank that you can reliably heat would be nice for him (although the undergravel heater may suffice), but for now, I'd leave him alone, and don't introduce him to tankmates at this point. He probably needs some 'down time'- Make sure the water quality is good in his tank, temp 78-80 is perfect, (he's not too warm at 78), and you may want to try minimal lighting and stimulation in the room- It's rest time for him Don't let him see other fish right now. Remove any decorations that are causing him to constantly flare. Sometimes I put a light pillowcase (allowing for access to oxygen) over my tanks if I have a betta too hyper or upset or stressed by something.

Definitely see what others have to say too.

Good luck!

 

[ANHEL123]

How is he doing? I agree with what Katy wrote. Also does he has any visual symptoms on his body like white patches, foes he look like he is trying to scratch himself on the gravel, plant,side of thank? Is he darting like crazy? Those symptoms for ich.

Also while you keep eye on him do not share anything between him and other bettas in case he is contagious.

 

[ANHEL123]

sorry double post

 

[Bombalurina]

Ok, so yesterday, I went out and purchased ANOTHER betta :roll: (I seriously don't know what I'm going to do with myself)
Build a fish room.

Well, at home, I already had 3 males Mr.Fish, Shadow, and Fireball. Mr.Fish was our first betta. When we bought him, I bought a small 1 gallon tank (I know it's not big enough for him, now) But he seemed fine in this tank. He was curious, but ALWAYS friendly! He loves when you come near the tank and when I put my hand in the tank for any reason (which i know is also bad) he will swim by it or even onto it.
Well I felt bad having him in such a small tank so I went to the pet store to purchase him a bigger tank ....(and that led to me walking out of the store with 2 more male betta's, a 2.5 gallon tank, 10 gallon tank, decorations and a divider!!!! Ughhh)
Nice. I approve, anyway.

Anyway, my daughter set up the 2.5 gallon tank with a little bridge/stairs decoration and she put spongebob and patrick decorations on top of that, also a glass mermaid, an under gravel heater, and a large plant!!!! I'm feeling that this tank may be getting over crowded! :-(
Bettas love having things to explore and hide in, so don't worry about that.
He seemed to love his larger tank and all of his decorations though, he has always been curious, so everything was inspected by him 6-7 times over and seemed to get the seal of approval. Everything was going great up until yesterday!! Ahhhhhh....this is where I start getting worried. I bring home this BEAUTIFUL betta female, because I'm obviously addicted to bettas now! I was setting up the 1 gallon tank for her, until I could get over to pet smart and grab another 10 gallon for her, and my daughter thought it would be cute to introduce Mr.Fish to his "new girlfriend, Violet." I didn't think too much of it until I noticed that he went SUPER CRAZY when she showed Mr.Fish his new gf! He started swimming very fast and even trying to flip out of the water! I quickly moved Violet from the front of his tank and placed her into her temporary home. Went back to see how Mr.Fish was doing and he's still swimming in the same big circle pattern splashing his water each time. I figured he was just bothered that we put another fish in front of his tank, and that he was having a tantrum and it would probably be over by today. But when I came out and turned on his light....he's still swimming in the same circle pattern, and has been doing that for about 19 hours now. I'm not sure what is going on with him and now I'm starting to worry!
It sounds to me like he was actually just freaked out by the combination of new tank + new fish. Keep the lights off for another day or so - maybe even cover his tank - and he should calm down.

So my questions are:

Should I take some decorations out of his tank? Could this be a reason he's having this tantrum, because he thought I was going to put her in with him and there isn't enough room?
Nope. The more places to hide from the scary girl fish, the happier he will be.

Could it be the temperature on his tank? Constantly 78 degrees? Too warm??
Definitely not too warm. If anything, I'd raise it to 80 (78 is fine too, though).

Could it be a possibility that he's ready for mating? I haven't noticed any bubble nests with any of my males but they have all only been with me for a little over 2 weeks now.
He's a boy. He's always ready for mating. I jest. I doubt that's what is up, though.

And lastly, should I get him a 10 gallon also, and put some tank mates in there with him? Maybe he's lonely and was excited to see her....
He is definitely not lonely. If you want to get him a ten gallon, go for it, but the behaviour he has exhibited makes me wonder if he'd be accepting of tankmates...

I have NO IDEA what is going on and I'm worried about my baby boy....some input would be great:-(

Thanks in advance to anyone that takes the time out to answer my questions and read my ramble. This is what I do when I'm nervous, I ramble.

I would say, don't worry. He's just doing a silly fish thing and he will get over it. That's why we love them - they do silly fish things.

 

[alinds26]

Ok so last night I covered his tank and kept the lights off. I kept peeking in at him and it seems that he has been sleeping on his leaf at the top of his tank. He did have some faint stress stripes yesterday, but they look to be gone today. I am going to keep him covered for the rest of the day, and take the sheet off tonight before I go to bed. I figure I can introduce him back into the house, slowly this time. That was he has time to adjust slower, before our loud mouth 3 year old wakes up!!

Other than that, I did also take the one decoration out of his tank that caused him to flare (spongebob and patrick. Hey, even I am not much of a fan!) He seems to be enjoying the peace and quiet for the moment, and is slowly showing signs of improvement in behavior. BUT we all miss our Mr.Fish in the livingroom with us! Tomorrow we shall see how he is doing and maybe we can bring him back out with us.

And thank you all so much for the help! I get so worried about my water babies! People look at me like I'm nuts...even the fish guy at PetSmart thinks I'm nuts... lol

On another note, it looks like I am starting a sorority...A friend of mine dropped off her 2 female betta's, that she picked up when we went to the pet store last week, because she felt overwhelmed with all of the care that they need!! (Oh brother!!!!)
Well, the girls both have stress stripes, and they are pretty dark. (She also went against my advice, and placed the girls together in a 20 gallon tank!) Looks like I will be getting those 2 healthy. And next week I will probably be going to pick up a few more girls! Yay

Let's hope our Mr.Fish, Snowflake, and Tigress can pull through the weekend just fine.

 

[ANHEL123]

i know i paranoid but I think better safe than sorry..I would always quarantine every new fish that you get. I saw the post when someone put new female in 10 gall sorority and got all tank contaminated. So be careful with new fish , new plants.

 

[Bombalurina]

Yay! Sororities are great fun when they work out. Let me know if you need advice with that.

 

[alinds26]

Just an update, mr. fish is doing great! He is very happy! And we got our first bubble nests from or boys this weekend! Very exiting for us because I read that they only blue them when they are happy!

And the girls are doing great! I did separate them for a day but they seemed very stresses out to be apart. So I tried something new, and went against my better judgment, I put them back together but in a smaller tank. Oddly, the two seemed so happy to be reunited! They swim together and don't pick on each other they way I thought they would! They love being in the same tank! So I have decided to hereto them together and keep a close eye on them. Thank you for all of your help!

 

[alinds26]

And sorry for the spelling errors, I'm writing from my phone, and smart phones are obviously not as smart as they say they are....

 

[Greenfish]

your boy could have reacted in a territorial way, mine always swims around the tank all flared up, when he sees me or when i remove ornaments to clean them. He has even attacked my hand.

 

[Sena Hansler]

When I've flared certain males, even after the "threat" has been removed from their sight, they will continue to display flaring, showing off their fins, splashing, and just all the classic dominant shows :lol: I find it fairly normal, and sometimes funny xD

 

[ANHEL123]

Just an update, mr. fish is doing great! He is very happy! And we got our first bubble nests from or boys this weekend! Very exiting for us because I read that they only blue them when they are happy!

And the girls are doing great! I did separate them for a day but they seemed very stresses out to be apart. So I tried something new, and went against my better judgment, I put them back together but in a smaller tank. Oddly, the two seemed so happy to be reunited! They swim together and don't pick on each other they way I thought they would! They love being in the same tank! So I have decided to hereto them together and keep a close eye on them. Thank you for all of your help!

I never had girls but i read that it should be no less than 5 of them together. So i think you will have to really keep eye on them and make sure they will not get aggressive toward each other later...

 

[Sena Hansler]

Actually, 4 is fine. 3 and under is the dangerous number if one gets stressed, or set off just slihgtly she can viciously attack and even kill the other. Also be reminded that some females are just plain mean and have to be treated like males - kept separate from their own kind.