I brought my buddy Rover home from college for the holiday break. He moved from a 5 gallon to a 2 1/2 gallon temporarily. I’ve noticed he seems a lot more active in the 2 1/2 as well as he’s made huge bubble nest. He’s not really that active in the 5 gallon. I have less plants in the 2 1/2 than the five, but I don’t know what the cause is and if I should keep him in the 2 1/2.
https://i.redd.it/fa2g65sc238g1.jpeg
Posted by Another_hannah_
5 Comments
Bettas dont usually make bubble nests as a sign of happiness, its more of a sign that theyre sexually mature. More accurately, he’s hornier in a 2.5. But that is odd
Is he particularly long finned? Is the filter weaker, the water warmer, etc?
I mean, it’s possible he likes less space if he struggles to swim, but I’d think it’d be something else that’s different about the tank if he’s not a rose tail or something.
Different water parameters? Decoration? Maybe something that makes him feel safer/more comfortable and therefore more eager to reproduce.
Im in the camp of bettas being able to thrive in 2.5-3 gallon tanks, but its only in certain cases. I dont see a short finned betta doing well in one, but stranger things have happened. Like the other commenter said, bubble nests arent a sign of happiness necessarily, just sexual maturity and having the right parameters to reproduce. Being more active would indicate more happiness to me though. You have to monitor that activity tho. Are you certain it is normal activity of a healthy fish and not the activity of a stressed and erratic fish? If he seems happy and not panicked, thats your cue. Still eating, fins are still relaxed and flowing, eating the same or better. You can add plants to the tank, they enjoy heavy planting. Long finned bettas do better in smaller spaces, hence the 5 gallon min vs 10 gallon for short finned. Their fins are heavier so they struggle to swim and reach the surface for air. Like I said, in some cases 2.5 or 3 does fine for them if set up properly. When u take a fish from a bad situation or a petstore coming from a small cup or a cramped and overcrowded sorority tank, i feel 2.5 or 3 can be fine. 5 or 10 can be too much.
Thats a hot take tho so take my words with a grain of salt
I may get downvoted for this, but I have one betta out of the many that I have had who was absolutely miserable in a 10 gallon.
He refused to eat, hid all the time and was just depressed. I had to move him back to his 5 gallon. Now he is back to normal.
Moved a different one into the 10 and he is happy as a clam