Is This Possible?

[Coral Dolpfin Cove]

I started buying bettas about two years ago, and the first two (Faith and Tim, both males) were bought on the same day and put in a divided tank. As weird as it sounds, both fish bonded. They would lay side by side on the bottom of the tank and once (BY MISTAKE!), I put them both on one side of the divider instead of seperating them. Neither one flared, and instead they just swam together for a moment until I seperated them. When Tim got sick in July, Faith would simply stare at him, and after Tim had died, before I removed him, Faith laid right beside him on the bottom of the tank. Because it was so obvious that the two had bonded, I immediately bought another betta that resembled Tim, hoping that Faith would not know the difference. Unfortunately, Faith DID know the difference, and refused any bonding with the new betta, which I named Hope. Faith avoided the new betta, and became less active. He didn't swim around as much, and he rarely flared unless Hope did something to aggrevate him. About a month later, Faith and Hope began bonding in the same way that Faith and Tim had bonded, though not necessarily as strongly. Faith passed away last month, and Hope did the exact same thing that Faith did when Tim passed away. He laid down at the bottom of the tank with Faith until I removed Faith. Now we have another new betta, Kai, and Hope is doing the same thing Faith did. Hope is less active and doesn't really want to bond with Kai.

So here is my question. Do you think that it is possible for bettas to "mourn" or become "depressed" after their "roommate" passes away?

 

[~FairyAngelFish~]

lol i dono but interesting story. keep it on the top o my mind.

 

[Carolinesugar]

Hiya, from the sounds of things, that tank is a real eye opener to the bettas, and allows them the chance to bond! im not 100% sure if it is possible for bettas to become depressed and morn their passed on tank mates, but i like to think that all living things can have feelings, so id say that yes, they are mourning, and hopefully given time will bond again with other bettas. i know my fish all hang around if one dies, they all lay near it n kinda stare at the dead one. mayb it is just a case of mourning and overcoming their depression.

 

[jkun17]

The same thing happened to me. I bought a pair of plakats that were bag buddies. They were in these little bags with about a half inch of water and I guess they spent a lot of time staring at one another. I put them in a divided tanks but they found a way through and swam together a lot. I separated them and when I came back they were swimming together again. I did it a few times before I gave up and just took out the divider.

They never fight or flare at one another or even have ripped fins. I don't know what to think of it, but I think they're happy together.

Maybe they're gay

Who knows. But they seem happy when they're together.

 

[sylvia]

Maybe your 'plakats' are females? Very interesting story...

 

[fourplayfishy]

hey its possible... i have a gay allergic cat... who knew?

 

[Coral Dolpfin Cove]

Well, all I know is that I am SO glad that no one thinks I'm crazy! I think that Hope and Kai are slowly beginning to bond. Kai is younger and still smaller, and usually he is the one who flares, but it doesn't happen as often anymore. YAY!!

 

[Synirr]

I've noticed in my divided tank that some of the bettas are friendlier to their tankmates than others... One of them spends the vast majority of his time flaring at his neighbor, while another pair just lie side-by-side, like your bettas did. Everyone likes the female, though

 

[wuvmybetta]

I think it's very possible for them to mourn, as a matter of fact I've seen it. My most beautiful Candy Cane Boy came down with dropsy and his female neighbor stayed beside him (as much as she could in a seperate tank) and watched him so diligently. She would try to perk him up with her body language and when he died she was very sad and depressed. Awww,that was so long ago,I haven't thought about that in forever I love her,now I want to go pluck her out of her tank and give her a kiss,she's such an old lady

I also had Pink and Floyd, when Floyd died Pink just went downhill and it took months before she finally snapped out of it and moved on. Such crazy fish

 

[Helium_Junkie]

hey its possible... i have a gay allergic cat... who knew?

...

I think fish bond, I'm soon to test the theory with fighters as I've just ordered a new one from Bettaman on these boards

Prior to that though I've seen plenty of bonding in my main tank between other fish, I think they're more intelligent than many give them credit for.

 

[freshmike]

Of course. They were friends. I am sorry to hear about your losses, but I do think that even fish have a way of loving one another....w/o touching and all, isn't it obvious?