Bubblenests

[Haiku]

I'm really fascinated by this whole thing and greatly appreciate everyone's experiences and insights. I really feel at this point that bubblenesting can be a behavior that springs from multiple causes and doesn't always necessarily mean the betta is content. I also feel, conversely, that a betta who doesn't bubblenest is NOT necessarily less happy/content than one who does. I feel it's most likely that the behavior, as others have suggested, can spring from multiple factors that may trigger the instinct. It may be contentedness, rivalry, or a strong drive to spread their genes.

MAM, I particularly can relate to the smiling analogy. I tend to laugh when I'm really frustrated even though I'm certainly not happy . I also sometimes laugh helplessly when someone around me is angry and showing a fit of temper, it's a nervous response and it doesn't help that my laughter angers them even more ). I certainly don't WANT to laugh, it's just a totally nervous response.

I think it's safe to say that we should never pin only one explanation on any certain behavior for any animal. Certainly a cat purring or a dog wagging its tail does NOT always mean that animal is happy and content. My dogs do exaggerated and vocal yawns when they are particularly excited or nervous or unsure of a situation, so in that case a yawn doesn't necessarily mean they are tired or bored.

Now to figure out how to respond to people when they say things like: "My betta has lived in his dirty little cup of water for months and he builds bubblenests every day so he's perfectly fine and happy."

 

[Synirr]

Bubblenesting is a behaviour, and like many animal behaviours, it probably has multiple triggers, and not every betta is triggered to bubblenest for the same reasons.
The most common trigger I'm aware of is being able to see another betta. Just being able to see a member of the same species seems to make bettas prepare for spawning... males build nests, and female start filling with eggs. Mirrors or reflective tanks sides can have the same effect.
I don't think bubblenesting is necessarily a sign that a betta is happy, but it usually does mean either that conditions are good enough for him to breed, or that he is competing with nearby bettas/his own reflection. I don't think the "breeding before he dies" scenario is very plausible, because that behaviour isn't very common in the animal kingdom. Animals tend not to reproduce nearly as much if their energy stores are low or if they are ill or in a bad environment... but I imagine that with bettas in cups at petstores, seeing all the other males nearby triggers the bubblenesting instinct because the betta feels the need to compete with the other males in the area

 

[OrkyBetta]

I find that the best indicator of a happy betta is,

1) The betta is healthy. That means you're doing SOMETHING right.

2) The betta swims around actively, in and out of the toys in his tank. He must enjoy life more than those sad bettas that just lie there in the cups...

3) The betta is in a clean environment. Who wouldn't be happy?

 

[Haiku]

Synirr, I agree that the 'breeding before dying' thing sounds pretty implausible. I think it's more a shot in the dark to try to explain why a betta would be bubblenesting and a day later be dead. But I suppose the more likely explanation is that whatever disease he had was fast acting, and that he was still feeling ok while bubblenesting and then the disease advanced quickly enough to kill him a few hours later. Most bettas that look like they are dying are definitely not trying to bubblenest.

Again, thanks for all your comments and feedback about this. It's been a fascinating discussion to me.