New Beta questions

[BetaBeGood]

Hi everyone! I am new to the forum and a beginner in beta fish care! I've always wanted a beta, and yesterday I bought my first fish he's a beautiful blue marbled crown tail, when I saw him he was the most active in the store! I bought him a 1.5 gallon filtered tank with a 10 watt heater set to 78 degrees, but i'm worried about him. Ever since I put him in the new tank he's been swimming about frantically, he's super skittish when I come close or walk by, and whenever I come in the room I've noticed he's flaring at the side of the tank! I cleared the table he's on in hope that what ever is bothering him would stop but he's still doing it. He never seems to rest. Is this normal behavior? If not is there something I can do, add, or subtract from his environment to help him chill?
I'll include a picture of the tank so it's easier to evaluate if there's an issue.
Thanks for the help!

 

[arcab4]

welcome to MFT!

it could be that he's still getting used to his new environment. if so, maybe leave the lights off or cut down the hours to see if he's less skittish when the lights are off?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I'm also going to say he's just settling in. He'll get used to you coming in and out, and will learn that you come bearing food! If he is flaring at the sides, that's usually from seeing his reflection and trying to ward of the "other betta." Usually most bettas will settle down and stop on their own, since they get used to the "other betta" that won't go away, or you can put something non-reflective (piece of paper) up on the sides so that he isn't seeing his reflection.

 

[Dalevdm]

Hey!

As a newbie myself I can say the same thing happened to our betta. My little guy did a similar thing when he first came home. For about a month we tried EVERYTHING to try and change the reflective surfaces and move things around and to be honest I think we unsettled him even more.

I would suggest just using less hours of light and don't change stuff around too much. Give him a few days to calm down.