My Alpha Betta

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FishWhisperer

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#1
Sep 10, 2004
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I have a betta named Alpha. Lately he has been flaring at me. This morning he flared for the longest time at me. I looked him over to see if he has anything wrong with him but I didn't see anything. I used to be able to put my finger on the glass and he would come forward. Now when I put my finger to the glass he backs away from it. In addition, he won't eat his pellet food. I then fed him the granules and he did eat. I also opened the blinds so I could get more light in to view him. He went crazy in his bowl and hid behind the plant. Does anyone know what could be wrong with him? He used to be a sweet betta and would follow my finger when I ran it along the glass. Thanks to all for your help. :)
 

glitterbloodbat

glitterbloodbat

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#2
Sep 10, 2004
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As far as a diagnosis I can't give you one.
I do know though, that my bettas flare when they're upset at me. If I've forgotten to give them thier regular water changes, they'll flare. But, typically, they flare when their stressed out or comong down with something. My betta gizmo does it everytime, which makes it much easier on me, I know to start looking for signs. Also, do you let your bettas spend anytime flaring at eachother?
it might be a good idea to give them a few minutes every few days to get it out of their system so to speak. Another thing you could try, is approaching your betta from the top of his bowl. It's possible that our fingers look HUGE to the poor things through the distortion of the glass. I have found that my bettas NEVER flare at my finger when they see it without the glass. Also, you might try a flashlight, that's what I use to get a good look at my guys.

keep me posted. I hope he gets better!
 

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ashleigh

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#3
Jan 8, 2004
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I don't mean to sound rude, but bettas flare becasue they are bettas- it doesn't sound like anything is wrong with this fish except for being startled by the light, perhaps you are overfeeding, etc. How often are you changing his water? Bettas do not flare to communicate a need for something to their caretakeers, they do not flare when they are coming dowm with something, they do not flare when they are stressed- actually, with bettas it is a better sign that they are flaring than not. as for getting it out of their system- again, no offence but that is unneccessary and makes no sense at all. Here's the thing- flaring is not a big deal- unless he has inflamed gills form an infection, I don't see what the problem is. Keep doing regular water changes, keep him warm, he'll be in good shape.
 

Iggy

Iggy

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#4
Jun 25, 2003
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#4
Lighting seems to make a difference. With Finchy, he would always flare at dusk, when his tank light was on and the room was dark.

Its often his reflection in the glass that caused him to flare.

Stay away from bright light, pretty much all tropical fish are uncomfortable in direct light.
 

N

newFishmom

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#6
Sep 1, 2004
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My red betta lives in a tall 1.5-gal glass vase (oval-shaped) on our dining table. The only time he flares is when we have red wine and put the glasses where he can see them. He gets so mad--it's pretty funny! :p

Otherwise he swims/flutters around all day. He's so beautiful. I do 100% water changes every week, and I only feed him 3 betta pellets per day--normally first thing in the a.m. His environment is a room with floor-to-ceiling windows all around, so he gets lots of light all day, but not direct sunlight...

(Is that helpful? :) )
 

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FishWhisperer

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#7
Sep 10, 2004
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#7
Thanks to all of you for your responses. Yes, I do let him flare at other Bettas occasionally. I guess he is just growing up. I change his water once a week. I feed him a variety of foods so he's not bored but it may be that he prefers granules over pellets. I fed him pellets this morning but he wouldn't eat those so I gave him granules. He didn't eat much of that. Oh well, time will tell if I have a dead betta on my hands. Don't mean to be rude to you ashleigh but I didn't care for your comments. This is a nice forum and if you can't be nice either don't say anything, or try to say it in a more courteous manner. I know I am just a teenie weenie fish and you are a large fish but Iggy is the super fish and he always answers politely. :)
 

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ashleigh

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#8
Jan 8, 2004
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I don't mean to be rude back, but I'm not worried about it. I was actually not directing my statements at you but rather at glitter, who I am sure had very good intentions with her response but it just had nothing to do with reality. If you don't care for my syntax, listen to Iggy, Iggy gives wonderful advice. In the meantime, it is always a good idea to research the fish you keep. A passing knowledge of bettas tells you that a flaring betta is a healthy betta. Not eating however is a bad sign, but you did not give us a lot of information on why this may be the case. you could be feeding too much, he could be too cold, it could be a lot of things. And if you are going to have an attitude of "oh well, we'll see if he turns up dead" why bother asking in the first place?
 

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FishWhisperer

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#9
Sep 10, 2004
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Thanks for your response ashleigh. It's not my attitude its yours. I do listen to Iggy, he is very knowledgable. Everyone else seemed to have a polite answer but there always has to be at least one in the bunch who is unhappy. If you weren't worried about it, you didn't need to respond. I appreciate it if you wouldn't in the future. :)
 

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ashleigh

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#10
Jan 8, 2004
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What I meant was that I'm not worried if you are bothered by my style of response, not that I was not worried about the fish. And of course that is your attitude, that's what you said in your post. The point is, you are worrying about the wrong things with this fish- not eating IS a bad sign- what is you water temp, water conditions, what are you feeding? Feeding pellets and granules does not constitute variety in diet per se- what exactly are you feeding? the more specifics you provide the better people will be able to answer your questions. Aside from that if you have an issue with me settle it with a PM, report it to a moderator, put me on your ignore list if you like, but do not wander the forums undercutting what I say because you do not like me, that is unacceptable.
 

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FishWhisperer

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#15
Sep 10, 2004
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Thanks relaxingbymytan. I will try that sight. I am new to Betta fish so bear with me. I do have so many questions but am trying to research on my own, however, I do believe the best information actually comes from people's experiences. I really enjoy listening to the stories. I am having fun with this hobby and hope to learn everything possible. I appreciate it. I will always be asking questions. :)
 

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relaxingbymytan

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#16
Sep 29, 2004
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#16
np hope it helps. I did breed bettas years ago, but am rusty on alot of stuff about them so I look around at differant sites seems everyone has a differant oppinion, ashleigh pogo & slingo are game sites I use to go on but stopped because seemed like all people liked to do was fight. I understand the misunderstandings they happen. you did give him the best advice thouh. tc all nice site.
 

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