My betta looks to be exhibiting signs of stress. I got him 4 days ago from petco. Since then he has been glass surfing quite a bit but the last two days it has become more erratic. He doesn’t show signs of aggression or chase his tank mates. But I believe he is scared of them since he will not settle. He still has a healthy appetite and is been eager to eat. It doesn’t matter if the light is on or off he will surf the glass.
My parameters are 7.6 pH, Ammonia is 0 ppm, nitrate is 5.0 ppm, and nitrite is 0 ppm. My tankmates are 4 otos, 4 panda corydora, 6 Pygmy corydora and 8 ghost shrimp. I would say my tank is not super heavily planted as it’s more sparse along the glass but there are plenty of hides for the fish. My temperature is 78 degrees Fahrenheit and the sponge filter is set on low flow.
Ideally I would rather keep him in my ten gallon since my other option is a 6 gallon shrimp tank. It’s not been fully cycled yet and I have about until Sunday until I’ll be done dosing seed. The parameters for that tank are 7.6 pH, ammonia is 0.25 ppm, nitrite is 0.25 ppm, and nitrate is 0.5 ppm. I’m going to do what’s is best for him and I’m not sure if plating my tank more will solve that issue. I have blocked off three sides of the glass with construction paper in case it’s his reflection that scaring him but my assumption is it’s the tank mates. I’ve kept my other betta with tankmates in the past and he was fine, however different bettas have different temperaments.
Any recommendations on this issue? Is he still getting used to his surroundings/tankmates?
https://v.redd.it/5y3mdatozybg1
Posted by Available-Airline-31
7 Comments
i honestly think hes probably okay and just needs a bit more time to settle, but maybe wait for a more qualified opinion
I’m definitely no expert but my boy Aquarius acted similar for the first few days I had him home and he really just needed more hiding spots, blacking out the back of his tank helped too. Also your plants look amazing
it can take betas a week or two to settle. Honestly seems like normal behavior for beta in new tank to me.
In my opinion he doesn’t look stressed. Glass surfing is normal especially if they can see you. Usually if there is a water quality issue they would have clamped fins or stress stripes which aren’t present in the video.
Thanks guys this makes me feel less worried. I have a pretty overgrown 5 gallon and I’ll be sure to steal some plants from that to add to this tank.
I agree that it’s very likely he’s still settling in to his new home. Especially if he came from a cup, his world just completely changed and he’s seeing and experiencing things for the very first time.
If he still seems stressed after some settling time, it’s possible the tank mates are stressing him out as you were suspecting. Some bettas just don’t thrive in a community tank and benefit from having their own worry-free territory. It seems like you’re keeping a good eye on him, so maybe with a little more acclimation time he’ll get more comfortable or you can decide from there what’s the best move. Good luck, he’s very pretty 🙂
Thats a beautiful betta , could you share some close up pics of him ?