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Babies on the Brain
Umm... fish question(s)
Are bettas supposed to jump? Like dolphins at Sea World? Thankfully the tank has a lid so he won't jump out but still. WTF? He dives all the way down to the bottom of the tank and then swims up as hard as he can and jumps across the water like a flying fish. He just started doing this this afternoon and I'm a little concerned he's going to give himself a concussion or something on the lid. Can fish even get concussions?
Damnit, this is why I'm a dog person. I'm so confuuuuuused! LOL
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Umm... fish question(s)
You are no help to me!
We're having fish (tilapia mmmm) for dinner tonight. I feel kind of like an assshole about it every time I look over at Fishy. LOL. As long as I don't tell him it's cool, right?
I bet he wouldn't taste good anyway. Too skinny. Not enough fat to make him tasty.
(Can you tell yet that I'm not a fish person?)
Edit- aka = reading FAIL
I thought you said "As long as I don't eat him it's cool."
Ooooh maybe. He does seem to have a testosterone issue even for a betta, and likes to violently attack his reflection all day. The light is on in the tank though so I don't think he'd be able to see himself in the lid right now. Who knows. Crazy fish.
I'm a fish person. If we're talking about catching and eating fish. I never would have ever considered having a fish if it weren't for Riley and her mega obsession with them. He makes her happy though, and he's relaxing to watch, easy to take care of, and the easiest pet I've ever owned, so I guess he can stay.
Could this then mean that perhaps the water needs changed and he's jumping to get air? IDK I've only ever had goldfish.
Crap I hope not. I just cleaned his tank and all that on Sunday.
Nope, they're just super jumpy. I had one that would try to kill anyone who walked by. Theyr'e like that.
Yes, I'm the same kind of fish person. Fish are Food, Not Friends.
Random lurker chiming in - hope you don't mind.
Bettas jump because they're fighting fish. They originated in the rice patty fields in Asia, and jump from patty to patty looking for fights, lol.
So basically - they're always going to jump because they're looking for other fish to "battle" if you will. The lid is a good idea - you won't find him on the floor ever. (:
Oh, and never have more than one betta fish in a bowl together - they'd almost definitely kill each other.
We had Betta Bob in a vase on our coffee table once. Betta Bob thought he'd be a flying fish, too, but he flew straight onto the carpet. No idea how long he was there (he made the leap sometime while we were at work), but he was a little... stiff when we got home
ETA: Betta's have a special organ in their head that allows them to extract oxygen from the water more readily (or from the surface) which is why they don't need a bubbler stone. They actually get a little oxygen-drunk if they have one
They are able to live in very nasty, dirty water (but I'm sure they prefer a cleaner tank!) so if you just cleaned it last weekend, I'm sure it's fine. In a typical Betta tank (with no filter) cleaning every week to every other week should be more than adequate.
Awesome, thanks! Yeah I knew they were fighting fish and you should only have one in a tank, I just didn't realize that jumping like freaking Flipper was a part of the whole fighting thing. LOL.
I think it is normal. I was never able to keep mine in aquariums though. They always got sick and I had to put them back in bowls for whatever reason. I used to wonder if they weren't getting enough oxygen?
Make sure you are feeding him a food for bettas. They are meat eating fish and don't do as well on foods for say cichilids that are plant eating fish.
Shameful confession: I was slightly addicted to bettas at one time in college. Between me and my roommate, I might or might not have had 13 all in seperate bowls.
All this crazy fish will eat is flakes. It is the flakes especially for bettas, but that's all he'll eat.
Eh that is fine as long as they are betta flakes. They usually make those from fish meal so it is meat based. If you see him making a bubble nest in the corner of the tank, that means he is super healthy/ happy.
It is actually good aerobic exercise for them to fight and flare up and all. I used to put a mirror or a Joe's Crab Shack tie dye shirt next to my last bettas tank to let him fight with it.
HILARIOUS.
Our betta only jumps when I'm changing the water & he's in a cup. Then I get to peel him off the counter while he's all flopping around and icky.
All this fish does is make bubble nests. It's one of the first things I Googled about bettas because I was convinced that I had just gotten a special fish or something. I felt kind of bad when I cleaned out his tank and destroyed them all. He had been working so hard on them.
what they said...
but I'll add, they're smart for fish...
my baby sister, for realsies, had one when she was a kid that she TRAINED to jump through a hoop for food.
really really really.
No freaking way!
::writes down "train fish" on list of things to do::
Given your ability to make adorable clothes, kick-ass furniture and raise the duo you could probably do it.
When I had a betta in college my roommate and I googled the bubble thing and it said that the male prepares the bubble nest for the baby betta eggs. We decided that it meant he was a horny fish since he was always preparing to make baby fishies. I had a very horny fish. lol!
And fish can explode? Whoa, nelly.
Yes. When you are worried that they are hungry, because they are making sad fishy eyes at you, and you over feed them.
That is so disturbing. I had no idea. Dang those sad fishy eyes, dang them.