It’s important to know the answer to these two questions because betta fish have a very short life span, even though it is long compared with other types of small fish. A healthy adult betta should live for between three and five years but unfortunately many do not reach this age due to illness or being treated poorly by their owners. But if you are taking good care of your pet, what can you expect from them? This article will take a look at whether they get bored and if so, how best to respond when that happens in order to keep them happy and healthy for as long as possible. Do Betta Fish Get Bored?
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How To Tell If Your Betta fish get Bored
If your betta fish for sale is not in the right environment, it won’t be happy. It can also become boring if you don’t interact with them enough or do not find ways to make their lives interesting and challenging. We explain a few signs that let you know your betta is bored.
Tail Biting
Betta fish often eat their own tails. This is not the same as spawning and you should always monitor your betta closely if he starts to do this. It’s possible that they will attack other fish, even those of the same species, but usually, it happens because they are bored or unhappy with their environment – males can bite females too.
Sitting At The Bottom Of Their Tank
A healthy betta does not like to stay on the bottom of its tank and spends most of its time swimming around looking for food or trouble (if there isn’t any). If yours stays down at the bottom all day long without moving very much then something might be wrong; perhaps some plants would encourage him to swim more? You could also try adding some rocks and hiding places to his tank, that way he will have something else to look at or hide behind.
Betta Not Eating
If your betta fish starts eating less of its food then it could be a sign that they are bored with the same old taste every day. You should vary their diet so they get all the nutrients from different foods but if this doesn’t work you might need to change their environment too – how big is their tank? Do they have plants for them to rest on? Is there anything in there that might interest him more than usual things such as shrimp pellets and bloodworms?
Lethargy
If your betta fish is not swimming around or interacting with you then it might be time to take some action. Lethargy can sometimes result from an illness but if he has been active before and now seems tired all of the time, try changing his environment first – are there enough hiding places for him? Is their tank too warm or cold perhaps? If this does not help then check whether they have any signs that something could be wrong with them medically, such as discoloration.
How To Keep Your Betta Fish Interesting And Entertained
After reading about how having a boring life can lead to tail biting in bettas, you should want to know what steps you need to take so your fish stays healthy and happy for years to come. There are several steps you can take to make sure your betta is always entertained and happy, here are some ideas:
Change Their Water Regularly
Bettas like their water fresh so even if it doesn’t look dirty at first glance, change the contents of the tank every week or two instead of simply topping up with more water from time to time – this also helps prevent illness in them too. Even though they seem quite tough fish that can adjust to different environments easily, changing their environment does help keep boredom levels down as well as giving them a break from one place which they may have gotten used to. It might be worth buying an aquarium siphon for this job because you need not only remove all the old water but also clean the substrate too.
Monitor Temperatures And Other Water Conditions
According to husbandry guidelines, bettas prefer water between 75-84 degrees Fahrenheit so check your tank temperature regularly to see if it is in the right range. Their water should also have a pH level of 6.5-8, perfect for most aquarium plants and fish to grow in naturally. You can use aquarium plant fertilizer if you want but make sure not to overdose with it.
Cleaning Your Tank
You should clean your betta’s tank at least once a month and make small changes each time such as adding different plants, moving decorations around or getting rid of all but one hiding place. If they have been stressed out by any of these alterations then wait a few weeks before making the next change in their environment – in most cases, this is quite enough for them though, and will keep boredom levels down.
Having Friends Around
It might seem like having only one betta in a tank would be best because they come singly anyway right? Not so; male bettas are social animals who are happier when they have at least one other betta to live with. You can buy them a tank companion or put them in a community tank to make sure boredom never sets in for this particular species of fish.
