My New Betta :o)

I got him today, he's been in the tank for 45 minutes now and is hiding in a halved coconut shell. The tank is tad bare but I shall soon change that and get some live plants (I was inspired by some of the photos on other posts)
 
He's been hiding pretty much the whole time he's been in the tank... is this to be expected?
 
Here is a pic of him in the bag

Yeah mine always did that when I fist got them I turn off the light and let them get used to the tank with just natural light.

Okay, do you think me turning the room lights on then off will shock him?

For a moment yes but this will always happen when you turn on lights or walk by at first they get scared and then calm back down and come out to see you most fish do it and it's normal.
After a few hours of the tank light being off he will have calmed down and gotten used to his new home after that you can turn his lights back on and let him explore

Thanks
Not much for him to explore apart from a shell, a couple of glass beads and a halved coconut shell. I'm thinking of making some of my own decorations. Any tips/ideas?

Looks like a lovely boy, any pics of him in his tank?

Be careful with glass beads as I had heard via the forum that they can "leak" a toxic liquid from inside of them. I had a tank with glass beads in the bottom, but change to alternative substrate to be on the safe side.

Main thing is anything you make or buy needs to pass the stocking test I.e. If you run a stocking over the item and it snags, then it will also tear your lovely Bettas tail.

They like broad leaf plants to rest in, so ideally tall enough to be near the surface for them to chill. Amazon sword is a good plant, and very hardy.

If you want artificial plants go for silk, as plastic will rip his fins.

Tell us more about his tank please . Was it cycled?

Lastly, please take care what you put in his tank when you mention making your own. Certain plastics will leach into the aquarium, hence better to get those designed for aquarium use or use food grade items. Also, sadly I recently lost a lovely girl who got stuck in a planting object within the aquarium, I cut her free with a lot of difficulty but lost her from the injuries with a couple of days. Hence just check that the nosey Betta will not get stuck in anything you add to the tank.

Thank you so much for the advice, I am completely new to betta keeping so I really appreciate any tips. I shall remove the glass beads, I don't want to risk anything.
 
I bought some live plants yesterday, my betta comes out a lot more now, loves hiding among the leaves
 
I have taken looooads of pictures I'll post them asap

and yes it is cycled

Here is the tank

Wow! He is stunning!

Love his color!

Such a lovely Betta. You made him a nice home already!

He looks lovely! What have you called him?

Wow he's beautiful!