- Joined
- Oct 20, 2006
- Messages
- 279
The other day I decided to get a beta fish to keep on my desk in my dorm room. I've had bettas before at home, usually each in a really big 'goldfish bowl', and they would just float around, really lazy. This time I have an approx. 3 gallon tank with a pleco and some nice decorations and a small bubbler (I had feeder fish in it for my waterbug for a while).
So I went to the pet store and saw the usual suspects in their respective super tiny decorative bowls (theres no way a fish could be happy in a 3"x2"x4" oval glass bowl!). Obviously they didnt move much. But then I saw, against the wall, all the large tanks. And there was one 10 gallon tank that a beautiful black/grey betta had all to itself. And it was swimming around all over, like it really owned the place. Seemed to actually have some personality as opposed to the usual brain-dead look of the other bettas, so I took him home.
He is super active, just like any other normal fish, swimming around, occaisonally staying still for a while. Loves to explore the fake plants. He sometimes teases the pleco. And he REALLY hates his reflection! I put up a mirror by the side of the tank a few times and he went nuts, flaring his gills. He also attacks me if I stick my finger in the water.
Has anyone else had really active, angry bettas? All the bettas I've ever had/seen have been so lazy and unresponsive, this one seems like quite a character. Not as colorful but beautiful in his own subtle hues, and personality.
Do you think that perhaps our perception of what is acceptable as a habitat for a betta (tiny bowls) is really cramping their lives, so that even while they can survive, they would be happier in a larger, more stimulating environment? Or maybe mine is just weird
So I went to the pet store and saw the usual suspects in their respective super tiny decorative bowls (theres no way a fish could be happy in a 3"x2"x4" oval glass bowl!). Obviously they didnt move much. But then I saw, against the wall, all the large tanks. And there was one 10 gallon tank that a beautiful black/grey betta had all to itself. And it was swimming around all over, like it really owned the place. Seemed to actually have some personality as opposed to the usual brain-dead look of the other bettas, so I took him home.
He is super active, just like any other normal fish, swimming around, occaisonally staying still for a while. Loves to explore the fake plants. He sometimes teases the pleco. And he REALLY hates his reflection! I put up a mirror by the side of the tank a few times and he went nuts, flaring his gills. He also attacks me if I stick my finger in the water.
Has anyone else had really active, angry bettas? All the bettas I've ever had/seen have been so lazy and unresponsive, this one seems like quite a character. Not as colorful but beautiful in his own subtle hues, and personality.
Do you think that perhaps our perception of what is acceptable as a habitat for a betta (tiny bowls) is really cramping their lives, so that even while they can survive, they would be happier in a larger, more stimulating environment? Or maybe mine is just weird