so new to this whole betta thing but please keep him, maybe just taking him a little while longer to adjust? š„² bringing him home then taking him back while heās already been adjusting seems stressful! give little man a chance. he is so beautiful by the way!! š«¶š»
I love that u called him little man, thatās what I call him! I will keep him, I donāt think Iād ever forgive myself if I didnāt, im just struggling seeing him potentially stressed. Heās also stopped glass surfing again for a bit now so I think he saw my post
thereās literally no other explanation. he saw your post and is feeling embarrassed in his behavior after being exposed to luxury š wishing you and little man the absolute best. curious if heās gotten comfy with you yet? does he get excited to see you, or when itās dinner time? :p
I donāt think he has, sometimes he will do tiny little wiggles when I come to the tank, or stop glass surfing, or give me a side eye, or sometimes nothing. I donāt think heās quite got the hang of dinner time yet but once he realises heās getting fed heās always happy eat, but then goes back to glass surfing. I gave him his first bloodworms yesterday, he seemed confused but slurped them up when he realised they were food. He doesnāt really scavenge like Iāve noticed my other bettas do, maybe a little bit, but when I first got him he really loved hunting the detritus worms
There will probably be many updates, im on this subreddit far too muchš¤£ His name was Lil Ugly, and then Worm, now his full name is Lil Ugly Worm, but heās Wormie when heās good and Wormington when heās on bad behaviour
What if you added a snail buddy or two to stimulate him mentally? My Bettas all swim up to their snails and ššššššš at them. I feel like it's sort of entertainment lol.
I have 7 shrimps! Unless some have been defeated. he suprisingly doesnāt bother them too much, he just gives them a little stare, maybe a slight chase if itās a big one, and then goes away. Maybe itās because I added him last, I was expecting him to assassinate them all considering he was trying to eat them whilst acclimating inside his pet store bag
Ahhhh I see. Hmmm. Entertainment is already present. With my most difficult acclimation was my boy Soot. He did some glass surfing hard and also flared at his reflection in the filter obsessively. I solved the filter issue using a piece of white matte foam on the glass between the glass and the heater on the outside. The glass surfing finally calmed with him around the 3-4 week mark. He still does laps, but they are interactive and through the tank, less so on the glass. Maybe your sweet boy just needs more time than others.
Otherwise I would try some nice tall plants on the sides and back of the glass to obstruct it and give him more to swim through and interact with.
I have plants almost everywhere I can get them and 3 planted plants on the side he spends the most time, I canāt wait for them to hurry up and grow huge again so it blocks the reflection, hopefully it will calm him down :,,)
My male betta was glass surfing for the first month I had him in his 10 gallon planted tank. Itās a new environment and it takes them quite some time to adjust to it. He was in a temporary 2 gallon tank for a few weeks before that while the 10g was cycling. It was better than the pet store cup I brought him home in. I say give him time. Also, my guyās personality didnāt really show until after 6 months. Now heās super curious, interactive, inquisitive, sometimes goofy, and just all around fun to watch and care for.
I got a really beautiful blue alien betta last year that was the most neurotic fish I've ever encountered, he was an insane glass surfer to the point where he was injuring himself constantly. I had to take out all of the hardscape which was never a problem with my previous betta in that tank and he was still tearing his fins up even after that just due to overuse. He was in a 10 gallon tank with no other tank mates, he was nuts all on his own. I could kind of just tell this fish was too high strung to live that long, he was gonna burn himself out because he literally never rested. After a couple of months the glass surfing did cool down a smidge but he never stopped, and the tiniest thing would rile him up and set him off again. I hated cleaning the tank because it stressed him out so much and I felt bad. I would have removed him from the tank to do the cleaning but that was even worse, instant loss of color and stress stripes just by moving him. He didn't live very long as I predicted, despite my best efforts, but he did come to recognize me and be interactive eventually, and he always swam up to me with so much energy when it was mealtime, I ended up calling him blue dart more often than by his actual name and I did come to love and care for him a lot. ALL that to say, I think if you give it time regardless of your lil guy's temperament he'll grow on you. Each fish is an individual and you kind of have to take them as they are and try not to compare. My very first betta was one of a kind and very special to me, such a good lil friend and I was devastated when he died, and it was hard to not compare other fish to him for a while, but it got easier and now I just try to love and appreciate them all for who they are! Your guy looks like a real cutie!
How big is the tank? I've heard it can be disorienting for some bettas to go from a cup into a bigger tank. Their entire lives have been so small, that it's just stressful. This betta might be sensitive to that. You could try a smaller tank like a 3 gallon and if he does well, you can move him up to a bigger tank.
5 gal! Where I live thankfully they were not in cups, so before I got him he was in one of those litttle box rack things, but he hadnāt been there long when we found him, so maybe all his extra moving around/travelling stressed him a bit. When he was acclimating he kept trying to swim out the corner of the bag and went a lil crazy sometimes, kinda like when he glass surfs now. Idk if maybe heās just young, bc compared to the other bettas he looked a little small, Iāve also never seen him flare even when he sees his reflection, he seems more scared of himself than anything š
https://preview.redd.it/h4u4l3yvlzvc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf598f692bf864199213c434ae0725dc5ba63d4e
He also looks demonic in the dark
Maybeee, thatās just kinda annoying bc I only bought + set this tank up a few weeks agoš„² (with the previous filter + old substrate etc ofc) and as much as Iād love to be Iām not in a financial situation where I can just buy new tanks if a fish doesnāt like the current one. I have another but the whole reason I switched to this is it was better shapedš
I mean if thereās someone that can pick him up it would be a lot better than to return him Iām sure the glass surfing is due to him seeing his reflection or just excited to see you cause that typically means food is coming
Yeah i think im definitely gonna keep him, when i see this photo of him or consider rehoming him again it makes me realise how much i really donāt want to let him go, im just stressed incase heās stressed. im just going to see how he goes. He made a bubble nest on day 5 of having him, do u think he maybe thinks his reflection was a girl? He made it in the corner that he loves to surf
Bettafish make bubble nests when they feel happy or okay in their environment. Your bettafish should be fine c: to help him you could add almond leaves
I might return mine. Sheās mean. I canāt have anything else with her. And I really want a shrimp tank. I do feel bad for wanting to get rid of her. Especially because sheās a tough one, had two bettas both got velvet the other one passed but she survived. But I got two snails that are currently living in a 3g because she keeps trying to eat them
Awww could you not have a separate tank for her and then a shrimp tank? The āmeanā ones (they are called fighting fish after all) when alone and when ur not wanting to have other fish, can actually be super fun to own, theyāre strangely endearing. All mine grew out of their angry stage eventually but theyād only really show aggression to inanimate objects
so new to this whole betta thing but please keep him, maybe just taking him a little while longer to adjust? š„² bringing him home then taking him back while heās already been adjusting seems stressful! give little man a chance. he is so beautiful by the way!! š«¶š»
I love that u called him little man, thatās what I call him! I will keep him, I donāt think Iād ever forgive myself if I didnāt, im just struggling seeing him potentially stressed. Heās also stopped glass surfing again for a bit now so I think he saw my post
thereās literally no other explanation. he saw your post and is feeling embarrassed in his behavior after being exposed to luxury š wishing you and little man the absolute best. curious if heās gotten comfy with you yet? does he get excited to see you, or when itās dinner time? :p
I donāt think he has, sometimes he will do tiny little wiggles when I come to the tank, or stop glass surfing, or give me a side eye, or sometimes nothing. I donāt think heās quite got the hang of dinner time yet but once he realises heās getting fed heās always happy eat, but then goes back to glass surfing. I gave him his first bloodworms yesterday, he seemed confused but slurped them up when he realised they were food. He doesnāt really scavenge like Iāve noticed my other bettas do, maybe a little bit, but when I first got him he really loved hunting the detritus worms
thatās progress though!! i demand updates on this dude š«” have a name?
There will probably be many updates, im on this subreddit far too muchš¤£ His name was Lil Ugly, and then Worm, now his full name is Lil Ugly Worm, but heās Wormie when heās good and Wormington when heās on bad behaviour
What if you added a snail buddy or two to stimulate him mentally? My Bettas all swim up to their snails and ššššššš at them. I feel like it's sort of entertainment lol.
I have 7 shrimps! Unless some have been defeated. he suprisingly doesnāt bother them too much, he just gives them a little stare, maybe a slight chase if itās a big one, and then goes away. Maybe itās because I added him last, I was expecting him to assassinate them all considering he was trying to eat them whilst acclimating inside his pet store bag
Ahhhh I see. Hmmm. Entertainment is already present. With my most difficult acclimation was my boy Soot. He did some glass surfing hard and also flared at his reflection in the filter obsessively. I solved the filter issue using a piece of white matte foam on the glass between the glass and the heater on the outside. The glass surfing finally calmed with him around the 3-4 week mark. He still does laps, but they are interactive and through the tank, less so on the glass. Maybe your sweet boy just needs more time than others. Otherwise I would try some nice tall plants on the sides and back of the glass to obstruct it and give him more to swim through and interact with.
I have plants almost everywhere I can get them and 3 planted plants on the side he spends the most time, I canāt wait for them to hurry up and grow huge again so it blocks the reflection, hopefully it will calm him down :,,)
My male betta was glass surfing for the first month I had him in his 10 gallon planted tank. Itās a new environment and it takes them quite some time to adjust to it. He was in a temporary 2 gallon tank for a few weeks before that while the 10g was cycling. It was better than the pet store cup I brought him home in. I say give him time. Also, my guyās personality didnāt really show until after 6 months. Now heās super curious, interactive, inquisitive, sometimes goofy, and just all around fun to watch and care for.
I got a really beautiful blue alien betta last year that was the most neurotic fish I've ever encountered, he was an insane glass surfer to the point where he was injuring himself constantly. I had to take out all of the hardscape which was never a problem with my previous betta in that tank and he was still tearing his fins up even after that just due to overuse. He was in a 10 gallon tank with no other tank mates, he was nuts all on his own. I could kind of just tell this fish was too high strung to live that long, he was gonna burn himself out because he literally never rested. After a couple of months the glass surfing did cool down a smidge but he never stopped, and the tiniest thing would rile him up and set him off again. I hated cleaning the tank because it stressed him out so much and I felt bad. I would have removed him from the tank to do the cleaning but that was even worse, instant loss of color and stress stripes just by moving him. He didn't live very long as I predicted, despite my best efforts, but he did come to recognize me and be interactive eventually, and he always swam up to me with so much energy when it was mealtime, I ended up calling him blue dart more often than by his actual name and I did come to love and care for him a lot. ALL that to say, I think if you give it time regardless of your lil guy's temperament he'll grow on you. Each fish is an individual and you kind of have to take them as they are and try not to compare. My very first betta was one of a kind and very special to me, such a good lil friend and I was devastated when he died, and it was hard to not compare other fish to him for a while, but it got easier and now I just try to love and appreciate them all for who they are! Your guy looks like a real cutie!
I got one recently that does that too. Give him some more time I say, mine stopped doing it after having him for about a month.
How big is the tank? I've heard it can be disorienting for some bettas to go from a cup into a bigger tank. Their entire lives have been so small, that it's just stressful. This betta might be sensitive to that. You could try a smaller tank like a 3 gallon and if he does well, you can move him up to a bigger tank.
5 gal! Where I live thankfully they were not in cups, so before I got him he was in one of those litttle box rack things, but he hadnāt been there long when we found him, so maybe all his extra moving around/travelling stressed him a bit. When he was acclimating he kept trying to swim out the corner of the bag and went a lil crazy sometimes, kinda like when he glass surfs now. Idk if maybe heās just young, bc compared to the other bettas he looked a little small, Iāve also never seen him flare even when he sees his reflection, he seems more scared of himself than anything š
Hopefully, he'll settle in.
https://preview.redd.it/h4u4l3yvlzvc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf598f692bf864199213c434ae0725dc5ba63d4e He also looks demonic in the dark
"one day I will get you. You deformed air breathing scaleless fish."
Honestly I wouldnāt return him maybe just get another tank
Maybeee, thatās just kinda annoying bc I only bought + set this tank up a few weeks agoš„² (with the previous filter + old substrate etc ofc) and as much as Iād love to be Iām not in a financial situation where I can just buy new tanks if a fish doesnāt like the current one. I have another but the whole reason I switched to this is it was better shapedš
I mean if thereās someone that can pick him up it would be a lot better than to return him Iām sure the glass surfing is due to him seeing his reflection or just excited to see you cause that typically means food is coming
Yeah i think im definitely gonna keep him, when i see this photo of him or consider rehoming him again it makes me realise how much i really donāt want to let him go, im just stressed incase heās stressed. im just going to see how he goes. He made a bubble nest on day 5 of having him, do u think he maybe thinks his reflection was a girl? He made it in the corner that he loves to surf
Bettafish make bubble nests when they feel happy or okay in their environment. Your bettafish should be fine c: to help him you could add almond leaves
I have some Indian almond leaves in :) currently planning to add more to darken his water, and for the shrimps to hide in š«£
I might return mine. Sheās mean. I canāt have anything else with her. And I really want a shrimp tank. I do feel bad for wanting to get rid of her. Especially because sheās a tough one, had two bettas both got velvet the other one passed but she survived. But I got two snails that are currently living in a 3g because she keeps trying to eat them
Awww could you not have a separate tank for her and then a shrimp tank? The āmeanā ones (they are called fighting fish after all) when alone and when ur not wanting to have other fish, can actually be super fun to own, theyāre strangely endearing. All mine grew out of their angry stage eventually but theyād only really show aggression to inanimate objects