Betta fish are common pets found in pet stores and home fish tanks everywhere. Really, no one knows what goes on in a betta’s mind. But since you are so responsible for your pet’s quality of life, err on the side of caution. And provide him with plenty of stimulation to ensure he is indeed happy.
How do you entertain your betta fish? Start by providing your pet with a suitably sized habitat. Then after upgrading the tank, ensure his habitat contains safe items that he can play with. Also, feed him a variety of foods, and learn how to interact with him yourself.
The following details will be addressing how to entertain betta fish:
- appropriate aquarium
- betta fish tank idea
- love showing
- teaching your betta fish tricks
- how you know if your betta fish is happy
- ways to improve your betta fish happiness
Provide a suitably large aquarium for Your Betta Fish
While humans usually enjoy being a “big fish in a small pond,” actual fish rarely agree with this sentiment.
Generally, small tanks not only limit your betta fish to unnaturally small activity areas, but they are also difficult to maintain.
Particularly, you should give your pet minimally a 10-gallon aquarium. Thus, your Betta fish will not only have more room for exercise in a large aquarium. But will also likely enjoy better water quality, just as larger tanks are easier to maintain.
Therefore, when planning your aquarium, remember too that bettas don’t always make good roommates. Male betta fish will attack each other, fighting to the death.
Likewise, males will attack females when breeding season is over. Thus, you can house bettas with other docile fish, but avoid other colorful varieties like guppies.
Betta Fish Tank Ideas
As well as sufficient space, ensure to provide your pet with a suitably complex habitat by adding
- live plants,
- caves,
- tunnels
Thus, these items provide visual barriers, which make your fish feel safer. Also, they give him something else to look at, smell, and nudge a little.
Likewise, add unusual items to your betta’s tank once in a while, as they often serve well as betta toys.
Interestingly, if you drop a ping pong ball in his tank, your betta will likely investigate, push it around, and attack it.
Likewise, you can install interesting-looking items on the outside of the tank, such as colorful toys and candles.
Show some Love to Your Betta Fish
You can also stimulate your betta fish mind by directly interacting with him. For example, you can shine a laser pointer onto the surfaces of your betta’s aquarium.
Also, by darting the red dot around the tank, you can likely catch your fish’s interest. Therefore, coaxing him into chasing the mysterious light around the tank. However, just be sure to avoid shining the pointer into your pet’s eyes.
Alternatively, you can provide your betta food by placing a small morsel in the end of a drinking straw. And then move it around the tank, so he can “capture” his prey before he can eat.
Unsurprisingly, some betta fish seem to recognize their owner’s voices. And will show off a bit just for them when they come close to the tank. Thus, talk to your betta and interact with him often.
Teach Your Betta Fish tricks
You can actually entertain your fish by teaching him a number of simple tricks, such as
- swimming through a hoop or
- flaring on command, by using classical conditioning techniques.
For example, begin showing your betta fish a mirror, which will elicit a territorial response. Try and repeat this activity for several days.
Meanwhile, after it becomes routine, try to switch the item that elicits the display to an ordinary item — such as your car keys — by displaying them along with the mirror.
Therefore, with time and repetition, the fish should begin to associate the keys with the need to flare. Therefore, allowing you to get him to flare by showing him the keys alone.
You can actually teach your fish to swim through hoops by luring him through the hoop with a piece of food. Thus, with time, he may also learn to follow food through simple mazes.
How do You Even Know if Your Betta Fish is Happy?
Saying Hello to You
Betta fish are surprisingly social creatures.
Every time we come into the room, Blub comes to the top of his tank to say hello to us.
You want to make sure your Betta fish is always swimming around the tank and spending very little time hiding.
They are fairly intelligent and will want to observe and interact with things. Or they will get bored or depressed.
They Are Vibrant and not Fading in Color
One of the first things you will notice about your Betta fish is how bright they are.
Unfortunately, when Betta fish get stressed out they lose their colour. They develop horizontal stripes on their bodies when they are stressed.
Bubble Nests
One of the easiest ways to tell that your Betta fish is happy is if he is blowing bubbles at the top of the tank.
They Eat Well
Unwell Betta fish will ignore new food. Thus, while Bettas who are healthy tend to zip around their tanks searching for food. Generally, a great way to tell that your Betta fish is happy is if they are searching for food immediately when you change their water or replace them in the tank.
Ways to Improve Your Betta Fish Happiness
Adding lots of interesting things to their tank
Things like plants or Betta fish safe decorations, floating hiding spots or even toys like mirrors or hammocks will make a big difference.
Likewise, Betta fish can be taught a number of tricks.
Make sure the filter is not too strong for your Betta Fish
Betta fish aren’t huge fans of water currents. Hence, will often get stressed out if you push around.
Therefore, make sure that your tank is always filled enough or lower the speed of the filter.
If your Betta fish feel too vulnerable in their home it can lead to stress. Typically, with a bigger tank, you will also need to stay on top of maintenance.
Meanwhile, a dirty tank or a tank that is not properly cycled can quickly deteriorate your fish’s mood and health.
Thus, by keeping up with the water quality you are eliminating a huge cause for later health issues. Therefore, with this, you should also make sure to appropriately feed your fish.
Ensure you never feed your Betta fish more than they can eat in a 2-minute time frame.
Lastly, try adding fish toys into the tank. By keeping your Betta fish in an active environment they won’t get bored.
More and more fish toys are becoming available on the market every day to help stimulate your tank environment.
The Effects of Happiness
A Betta fish mental status can have huge effects on their overall health. A depressed Betta fish is more susceptible to getting sick than an emotionally fulfilled fish.
Thus, keeping your betta fish happy can be a huge help if you have had a lot of issues with things like Fin Rot in the past.
While giving your Betta fish a big tank and buying them toys may sound strange, it’s the same as owning any other pets.
Generally, fish are living creatures that need special care and stimulation to stay content. Thus, while it may make fish care a little more complicated to add in toys, it’s worth it in the end for a healthy pet.
Add a Heater
Ensure you’re checking the temperature of the tank so frequently. Especially when you are turning the AC on or leaving windows open. Lastly, Chilliness will definitely stress your Bettas out and a heater will prolong their life.
If my Betta Fish is Aggressive, does this mean they are unhappy?
Absolutely not the case! Betta fish all come with different personalities. So your Bettas might just be playing around! Therefore, you have absolutely nothing to worry about when it comes to aggression. You would be worried if your Betta fish didn’t want to swim around
How To Keep Your Betta Fish Happy
One of the major mistakes many Betta fish owners make is putting them in a small bowl or jar. A betta fish really needs a good sized tank to properly get around in.
Use at least a 5-gallon tank for the happiest betta fish.
Therefore, by having a bigger tank you can add more to your Betta fish environment. Generally, a healthy Betta fish environment should consist of plenty of plants (preferably not plastic). There also should be several hideaway spots for your Betta fish to rest in.
