Is My Betta Lazy Or Is Something Wrong?

[alstermania]

I have my Betta, Spudgy, in an established,heated,filtered 5 gallon Fluval Chi. Ammonia and Nitrite read 0. Even so, Spudgy will lay at the bottom for 5 minutes or so and then swim around for a long amount of time. Then, he just goes back to laying down. If I walk by the tank, he also starts to swim around thinking that I'll feed him. Spudgy's tail and body are in beautiful condition. Any thoughts?

 

[bristlenoseitplecoman]

Bettas do this. Mine does it all the time. He is just trying to rest.

 

[mattyeatsmatts]

is your water current too powerful. Remember that in the wild these fish live in small still puddles

 

[danele]

My betta lays against his moss ball, they like to chill as much as swim
Nothing to worry about

 

[pablothebetta]

If there are no other signs of illness, he might just be resting, as others have suggested. Is there much other decor in the tank he could rest on? If now, I'd perhaps think of trying some broad leaved (silk/live) plants or one of those 'bettas leaves' which attach to the side of the tank. How old is he?

 

[alstermania]

Thanks for the replies! The filter is not overpowering at all, and yes the tank contains an abundance of live plants to rest on.I'm glad to hear that nothing is seriously wrong,thanks again!

 

[OldMan47]

I find that a Betta splendens is a fish alstermania. If he is confronted with high filter flows, he swims against that flow. If he finds himself with other fish, he interacts with them. If you walk into the room and he has not eaten in a while, he will beg for food just like most other fish will. I keep mine in a breeding colony of endlers, which my wife describes as guppies on speed. It is a 45 gallon, figure about 200 litres, tank with a large external canister type filter. The filter flow blows around every fish in the tank, it is that much flow. The Betta does not avoid that flow but swims right through it just like any other fish. He also interacts with those endlers as if they entertained him. He is a fish .Anyone who does not treat a Betta splendens as a typical fish is missing out on the joy of keeping them, at least in my opinion.
For Mattyeatsmatts, bettas do not live in tiny puddles in the wild. In fact they live most often in small streams with seasonally variable flows. I once had pictures from another person that I could link to that showed the actual environment for a betta but suffice to say that the picture showed an area flooded out completely by heavy seasonal rains where even people were moving around by using boats because the area had flooded that badly. Yes Betta splendens, the domestic ones that we keep, are accustomed to slow water flows and poor circulation, but that is not where their wild cousins live. Betta splendens in a wild situation, or in my tanks, are fish darn it. They swim around and really seem to enjoy being fish.

 

[tonyale]

etheir he has fin rot i doubt it they like to rest or lay on plant leaves they sell this betta hamock at petco its a leaf hamock i recamend it

 

[Xox-Zip-xoX]

I have my Betta, Spudgy, in an established,heated,filtered 5 gallon Fluval Chi. Ammonia and Nitrite read 0. Even so, Spudgy will lay at the bottom for 5 minutes or so and then swim around for a long amount of time. Then, he just goes back to laying down. If I walk by the tank, he also starts to swim around thinking that I'll feed him. Spudgy's tail and body are in beautiful condition. Any thoughts?

Do you have lots of decor in your tank? Betta, just like most fish, need lots of stimulation, he could be bored. My male, Pixel, tends to laze around a lot too, unless I'm by the tank and interacting with him, and I've had him for 2 years. How long ago did you get him? He could still be adjusting from the move if you recently got him. While it's a MYTH that betta live in small puddles in the wild, some bettas have a harder time adjusting to living in a larger tank after being kept in tiny pet store cups for prolonged amounts of time. Try getting him something like a mirror to flare at, flaring can be good exercise for bettas provided that it's only for small amounts of time. You can buy floating mirrors for bettas at some pet stores, just make sure you don't leave the mirror in his tank for more than an hour at a time or he may become stressed.

I recommend any betta enthusiast or owner to check out this group on facebook. http/www.facebook.com/BettaFishAwarenessDay

 

[alstermania]

I do use a betta-mirror for about 5 minutes every day, and have many plants, decorations, and even some small amazon sword leaves floating at the top. I put Chichi, my male betta, in the tank about 2 weeks ago. For the first day or so, he would hide behind the plants in the back. Now, he swims into my hand and eats his bloodworms and other food off some aquarium only tweezers I use to feed him
I changed his name, Spudgy didn't seem to fit him...

 

[johniem]

He's just being a betta. Mine does it. If I move about, he may move about. Mine also likes to occasionally "take a shower" in the down draft of the filter.