Betta Fish Help

[babsannee]

I have two problems with my betta fish. Moon= the big one/Half-Moon Betta. Chilli= the little one/Dragon scale Betta.

1. Moon keeps escaping across the divider, but he's not attacking Chilli? Both are male, so this shouldn't be happening...

2. Chilli swims AT the bottom of his tank. like towards it. I thought is was lethargy, so I got a tank heater (they are tropical fish) but that didn't help.

[babsannee]

3219

Here's a pic of Chilli at the bottom. the white thing is a feeder.

[ShyMer]

Sometimes they see their reflection in shiny stones and think it's another fish. Does he flare his fins when he does this and become aggressive? Can you describe the behavior a bit more? I'm glad you got a heater, I'm sure your boys thank you for it <3
If he's having trouble swimming normally it could be a swimbladder problem. Some fish just have odd swim habits though, who knows.

As far as the escaping problem goes, they'd both be better off in their own tanks. They'd have more room to explore and less stress from having another male close by. Does your tank have a lid? Betta jump :/

[New York Mermaid]

Being an Avid betta keeper for oh 10 years now ive seen quite a bit, Some males are timid, but never for one second think that a fight wont break out, Chili believe it or not looks like a young female..lol, so did my boy cerulean.

How is Moon escaping? is he jumping?- or through the sides or under the divider, if its under, you can put some gravel or something which he cant fit through, if its the sides, you may need to either 1 find a better way to stick the divider or buy a different type. If its over, lower the water level a bit. heres the divivder I use- i usually take out the lower part since my gravel covers it: http://www.amazon.com/Penn-Plax%C2%AE-Super-Tank-Divider%C2%AE-Aquariums/dp/B0009YUJOO

As for Chili, how long has he been displaying this behavior, do you notice him swimming face down all the time? whats their diet like, may i ask what size tank you have them in as well?

and bettas are happy fishies anywhere from 78-82 degrees,

[babsannee]

It is a recent behavior, so I don't think it's the rocks. And I feed them betta pellets, that are (supposedly) made specifically for bettas. I'm going to take the "feeders" out because they aren't eating them.

Now it's all he does. He either is swimming down, or just sitting at the bottom.

The temp is right, thanks to their new feeder. (And no thanks to their ignorant mum :doh:)

I have them in a 2.5 that was "made" (again, supposedly) for 2 bettas. Here's the link to the tank.
http://www.aqueonproducts.com/products/betta-bow-25.htm

Could Chilli be a girl? I couldn't see any "egg spots," but then again, I'm no expert. If he was a she, how would that change things?

[babsannee]

OH and he's going along the side. But the problem is, the tank is built to only take the divider that comes with....

[New York Mermaid]

well females dont have egg spots but they get vertical bars like stripes when their around the male, sharing interest, like this, but in chili's case maybe a bit lighter:
http://bettascapes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/IMG_9937.jpg


Has Moon been making a bubble nest at all?..

As for the divider.. you can try to put something on one of the sides to see if that helps, but i suggest eventually getting a 5 or 10 gallon with a divider, it gives them more space as well. I

n chili's case- Just like us, bettas can get bored- if he's eating normally and takes a breath and swims down- he's bored. you can sometimes put up a mirror and just let him flare a bit, try introducing a plant or a ornament, something new to them, their pretty smart fishies as well, i trained my rosetail to swim through a hoop and to target- (which wasnt easy > that was him http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJZypCZtidU )

[ShyMer]

Pearl, by egg spot do you mean the ovipositor (the organ for laying eggs?) If that's what you mean, it's fairly easy to spot, as you can see on the girl above this post.
Chili does look like a female in shape, though I think the dragonscale betta, also known as plakat, have short fins similar to females anyway. Their bodies are a bit more chunky/stocky looking than the longer tailed varieties.

I'm still confused by chili's behavior. Do you mean he's just regular swimming, but swimming to the bottom of the tank and sitting there? There's no other odd behavior, like having trouble staying upright or anything like that?
Also just as a thought, I had a boy once who was rather shy, so he was happy when I put a hiding place in the tank for him. I had a tiny pot I'd made in a class once that was just the right size for him, and he seemed to appreciate having some cover. Not that it's required or anything, it's just something he might like to have.

Lanai, I watched your video of your rosetail- he's so pretty <3 I particularly like the blue/white color pattern.
Our only lfs doesn't treat their bettas particularly well. They had one white "half moon" male once, but he was so tiny and frail looking, it was a bit sad. I think they only have people interested in bettas as a beginner fish, so they never get anything interesting.

[babsannee]

Sad announcement: Chilli died last night while I was sleeping.
One of his gills was bleeding, so I think it may have been Moon.
I appreciate everyone's help though.

Moon has not been making bubble nests, but maybe now that he's on his own he will. I look into the mirror thing. Also, the first time that they came in contact with each other, Chilli did this little back up thing, so maybe he's a she and she wouldn't mate?

Well, moon is on his own now, but I think I'm getting a better tank for my b-day, so maybe I'll put more fish in there then. :(

[ShyMer]

Oh no! So sad :(

[Spindrift]

Sorry :(

[babsannee]

Thanks guys.

But on the upside, I took your advice and put a little mirror in there.

MOON ADORES IT. He has not stopped flaring since, and he's really perked up. (Don't worry he has 3 plants and a log to hide in.) Thanks guys!!!!!!

Also, does anyone know how to tell how old your fish is?

[ShyMer]

I don't know that there's really a way to tell how old, but some people were saying that chains typically sell their bettas at four to six months of age, while some people said as much as one year. Your fish will also start to lose color as he gets older.

Have you tried feeding your boy different foods yet? My fish liked dried bloodworms, for example. Went crazy for it.

[New York Mermaid]

Oh my im so sorry about chili :( ,

@Shymer thank you, yeah i agree, bettas seem to be the new "trend fish" like goldfish, their seen as beginner fish. But their beautiful little ones.

Im glad Moon is doing better as well, Males can kill females if the females refuse to mate. As for age, they can be sold anywhere from 3 month on, up to 2 years.. I have rescued bettas a few times, i always go for the ones that look like they need alittle love, the "Ugly bettas" as my hubby cals them, my rosetail i bought had chewed up fins and was extremely pale. you can see what he looked like when he was in my care for more than a year..

Bettas can live anywhere from 4 to 6 years and sometimes you get the rare ones which can live u to 10. I agree with Shymer, bloodworms and flakes and pellets are a great varied diet, but not too much because they can get constipated, thats when you need to boil and deskin a pea and feed little bits of it to your betta.. I do this monthly either way to "clear their system". If you have anymore questions we're here to help

[Dacora]

I dont know how much you know about fish keeping but do you know the ammonia levels in the tank? Ammonia is a toxin in the water caused by poop and rotting fish food. It would explain bottom sitting and bleeding gills. Do you have any sort of filtration on the tank and do you do any water changes?