BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Fish Betta Personalities...So!...tell us about your fishy friend !

Well, when I do a 100% water change in my betta tanks...I put the fish in a cup.......dump all the water into a bucket and then pour the gravel out into a strainer. I slosh the strainer around in the used/old water to rinse all the crud out of it and then I rinse out the tank and wipe the sides down. I put the gravel back in and refill with aged/conditioned water and then float the betta in his cup for a bit before I return him to the tank.

Doing it this way I don't kill off any of the "good" bacteria that may be in the gravel. Rinsing the gravel with tap water will do that if it is chlorinated. Granted, small tanks don't really cycle like larger filtered tanks will, but I'd like to keep as much of that good stuff in there as I can. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

You always have such great ideas, Emg. I like the idea to use the old water to clean the gravel.

For newbies, don't get confused though - you don't have to cycle betta tanks - just do lots of big water changes and you can rinse the gravel under tap water. What Emg is doing is very nice but more advanced so if this confuses people about cycling, then don't worry about it.

Hey everybody!
I only have one Male Betta named Theodore.
He is a rich red color with some clearish/white on the fins. He loves to see what's going on in the kitchen and even though he's only been with us for a week he knows what time is feeding time. He's a cutie!
Jenny

Panini, if I didn't know better, I'd swear you were me! My new betta is called Moe, and he sounds just like yours (except for the color... but the color is close. My Moe is dark blue with a red tail lined with a lighter blue.) I've had him a little more than a week, and he's definitely skittish, but I think he likes me. He refuses to eat anything but freeze dried bloodworms.
Moe tends to swim up to the side of the tank and look at me. I wave my hands to imitate the way he waves his front fins and he waves them faster.
Also, he reacts to my mom whenever she comes in and looks at him. He flares out his tail like he does when I put a mirror up to his tank, but in this case he doesn't puff out his face. A huge vulture at a zoo in Brasil did the same sort of thing to my mom- he was hitting on her as only a huge bird could. I just wonder if Moe is scared of my mom, or he likes her.
And I'm gonna stop here before I start to ramble!

I'm new here, but am crazy about my to Bettas, Boris, a red and white FT, and Morris, a rainbow (?) FT. Boris came form Petsmart, and he is red but the lower half of his fins and tail are white. I didn't realize that his tank was too cold, 72 degrees, and when I started leaving his light on all day while I was at work, he became an entirely different fish, eating like a little piggy, chasing his oto I got to keep him company, and in general being a happy little fish! He has made me laugh till I have cried..Morris is a little more laid back, but is a little piggy also. They get tetra flakes in the a.m., and tetra pellets in the evenings, and bloodworms for treats. I give the oto's a bit of algae wafer every couple of days, and Morris leaves it alone, but Boris, now he seems to think anything entering his tank is HIS..the 1st time I put the piece of wafer in his tank, he tasted it, dropped it, sat on it, picked it up in his mouth, spit it out, sat on it again, pushed it wiht his nose, and continued doing this until he had manuvered it into his cave!!!!!!!!!!! <img src="/images/graemlins/devil.gif" alt="" /> Anybody ever see a Betta do something like this??I laughed until I cried !!!!!!!!!!!..H econtinues to do this every time I put a piece in his tank..He is my first and my favorite..Morris is just so easy going, but will flare for me when I get home at night..I like the ideas of the plastic hamster tubes and ladders for toys, but will need bigger tanks. They are both in their own 2 gallon hex tanks..I want mre!!!!!!!!!!! <img src="/images/graemlins/heart.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/fish.gif" alt="" />

haha, Yohko I just read your post that referred to mine. That was an older post, after reading it I realized my little Moe has come a long way (and I have too!). He is currently a very happy fish living in his own 2.5 gallon tank. He's not so much skittish anymore, and I can cup him with ease now. (Whoever mentioned that cupping method that works as a suction is a genius!) He's very mellow, but happily swims about and comes to see me when I look in his tank.

Now, Gus, my other betta is a totally different matter. He's wild and fiesty. I don't think he ever sits still! In fact, if I ever see him sitting still I get nervous that something's wrong! For some reason he loves to squeeze himself between things and behind things when he really has no reason too. For instance, to get around a plant he'll force himself THROUGH a leaf instead of simply swimming above or below it. And he loves hanging out by the thermometer. He loves to squeeze in front of that too. He's just so crazy!

A weird thing happened one day with him. I put my fingers above his tank, because he likes to flare and act all tough at my fingers when I do this, but this particular day something freaked him out. He immediately darted faster than I had ever seen before around the tank and finally literally hid himself behind the heater where I noticed his gills were pumping madly and his front fins were fluttering a mile a minute. It was so weird and I felt so bad for freaking him out. Don't know what he thought my fingers were that day. He was back to his old self in a few minutes though.

so guys, do your fish ever get excited when they haven't seen you in a while? I really didn't know betta's had so much of a personality, I swear mine got really excited to see me since I haven't been around in a couple of days.. even though I got my roommate to feed him while I was gone.

I just found it interesting.

Absolutely. Both my bettas do a little wriggle dance, especially my wild one.

I notice it especially when I come in in the morning.

panini, your Gus sounds like he might have the itchies. little buggers in the water can irritate fish and cause them to swim irratictly and "flick" or try to scratch themselves on everything. give your Gus a good look over and see if he may have something.

or, your lil' man is nuts. i once had a guy that was so crazy he somehow managed to get himself inside a bubbler tube that had a cage on it. these fish can just be so weird sometimes!

Hi Jilly! Hi EMG!

long time no see huh?

wish i could upload pics of my babes but it'll have to wait until i get to my new place.

i'm more curious to find out if anyone has ever heard of a hermaphrodite betta? i got this beautiful girl betta (just got confirmation as she dropped an egg during a fight). but she really acts like a male in every other aspect. her bubble nests arent the greatest but she makes them non-the-less.

she's a real loner too. can't get along with the other female nor my pretty boy. shes just so damned aggressive. but i love her and she loves me too.

so, anyone hear about other girl bettas that think they're boys?