Okay, this is my first post here and I'm hoping you guys can help me out.
I have a male betta that I brought home a week ago. Named him Buddy. He seems to really like people, gets excited at meal time and always swims right up when I check on him. His personality is what got me to buy him as I didn't really think he was an attractive betta, lol. Had him in a 1 gallon half moon tank and since he is active I decided to upgrade him.
Bought a 5.5 gallon tank with the works - new plants, gravel, a cool rock formation with a nice size cave and it has a decent light & filter. The filter I knew would be a bit strong, so I made a baffle out of a plastic water bottle and added it before I put Buddy in. There was a small amount of current but not bad, so in went Buddy.
He seemed just fine, seemed to be adjusting well to the new tank & all the room, swimming around checking things out. Was eating, though he had to chase his food a bit. So, I was satisfied, happy he was enjoying the tank, and went to bed.
This morning I find that he's somehow torn several fins. He seems agitated at the filter. He kept swimming under and around the baffle and I noticed he was rubbing himself against it - I think perhaps this is how he tore so many fins? I took the baffle off, put in a piece of aquarium sponge which softens the current, but he still seems agitated. He spends a lot of time swimming around the filter and intake and flaring.
I thought perhaps he was seeing his reflection in the side of the filter with the light on, so I tried with the light off. No change, he's still flaring at it. I tried putting a white note card on the outside of the tank held in place by the filter, to block the reflection he might be seeing, but he's still doing it. Could it be the water flow? Just the filter itself?
I don't know what I should do here. How can I get him to be comfortable in this tank? I spent far more than I should have on all this stuff, and it's quite upsetting that he's not enjoying it and has managed to hurt himself. He was very happy in the 1 gallon, and I could always move him back, but I so wanted him to have a real tank.
What can I do?
I have a male betta that I brought home a week ago. Named him Buddy. He seems to really like people, gets excited at meal time and always swims right up when I check on him. His personality is what got me to buy him as I didn't really think he was an attractive betta, lol. Had him in a 1 gallon half moon tank and since he is active I decided to upgrade him.
Bought a 5.5 gallon tank with the works - new plants, gravel, a cool rock formation with a nice size cave and it has a decent light & filter. The filter I knew would be a bit strong, so I made a baffle out of a plastic water bottle and added it before I put Buddy in. There was a small amount of current but not bad, so in went Buddy.
He seemed just fine, seemed to be adjusting well to the new tank & all the room, swimming around checking things out. Was eating, though he had to chase his food a bit. So, I was satisfied, happy he was enjoying the tank, and went to bed.
This morning I find that he's somehow torn several fins. He seems agitated at the filter. He kept swimming under and around the baffle and I noticed he was rubbing himself against it - I think perhaps this is how he tore so many fins? I took the baffle off, put in a piece of aquarium sponge which softens the current, but he still seems agitated. He spends a lot of time swimming around the filter and intake and flaring.
I thought perhaps he was seeing his reflection in the side of the filter with the light on, so I tried with the light off. No change, he's still flaring at it. I tried putting a white note card on the outside of the tank held in place by the filter, to block the reflection he might be seeing, but he's still doing it. Could it be the water flow? Just the filter itself?
I don't know what I should do here. How can I get him to be comfortable in this tank? I spent far more than I should have on all this stuff, and it's quite upsetting that he's not enjoying it and has managed to hurt himself. He was very happy in the 1 gallon, and I could always move him back, but I so wanted him to have a real tank.
What can I do?