I’ve gone on record saying fish are a great first pet but are also kind of difficult to take care of since a lot of the time you won’t know what’s going on in their little heads! I thought I’d compile a list of a few things you can check for to make sure your Betta is healthy and happy.
Sign’s They Are Happy
Saying Hello to You
Bettas are surprisingly social creatures.
Every time we walk into the room Blub comes to the top of his tank to say hello to us, but I’ll admit I haven’t actually spoken to him yet… I have had customers at the pet store that used to tell me they would talk to their Betta every day and that they lived a very long and healthy life, which to me makes sense as most creatures are social even if they aren’t very social.
You want to make sure your Betta is always swimming around the tank and spending very little time hiding. They are fairly intelligent and will want to watch and interact with things or they will get bored or depressed.
They Are Vibrant and not Fading in Colour
One of the first things you will notice about your Betta is how bright they are.
Unfortunately, when Bettas get stressed out they lose their colour. They actually develop horizontal stripes on their body when they are stressed. Commonly these are black and once they show up, they don’t usually leave.
Blub had a fair share of these when we first adopted him, although not many have developed on him (other than when he got sick.)
Note: Stress stripes are horizontal. If your Betta is female and has vertical stripes, this just means she is ready to breed!
Bubble Nests
I’ve covered this topic a couple of times already on this blog, but one of the easiest ways to tell that your Betta is if he is blowing bubbles at the top of the tank.
(Note: only male Bettas do this, and it is because they are well enough to have babies.) Check out the article if you’re interested in more about this!
They Eat Well
Unwell Bettas will ignore new food, while Bettas who are healthy tend to zip around their tanks searching for food. A great way to tell that your Betta is happy is if they are searching for food immediately when you change their water or replace them in the tank.
Ways to Improve Their Happiness
Adding lots of interesting things in their tank
Bettas love to hide, and while this is a bit of the opposite of what I’ve said, you still want to provide them with plenty of room to hide if they do get scared.
Things like plants or Betta safe decorations (anything without sharp edges), floating hiding spots or even toys like mirrors or hammocks will make a big difference.
Bettas can also be taught a number of tricks, although I personally haven’t done it you can actually find a great number of them on the web!
Make sure the filter is not too strong
Bettas aren’t huge fans of water currents and will often get stressed out if they are pushed around.
Make sure that your tank is always filled enough or lower the speed of the filter (if you can).
We personally have a filter that doesn’t allow you to change speeds, so we have to make sure our tank doesn’t get any lower than an inch from the top to make sure Blub doesn’t get knocked around.
Add a Heater
I’ve covered this a few times in the past about the importance of heaters in tanks that are 5 gallons or more.
I’m actually learning that we lucked out with our 2.5-gallon tank while at our old place. We didn’t need a heater there, however, our new place gets cold very quickly, and we invested in a Marina C10 Compact Heater, 10-watt.
Make sure you’re checking the temperature of the tank fairly frequently, especially if you are turning the AC on or leaving windows open. Chilliness will definitely stress your Betta out and a heater will prolong their life.
If my Betta is Aggressive, does this mean they are unhappy?
Absolutely not! Bettas all come with different personalities, so your Betta might just be playing around! You have absolutely nothing to worry about when it comes to aggression, I’d be more worried if your Betta didn’t want to swim around.
Signs for a Sick Betta
Inactive
Runs into objects or tries to scratch itself
Won’t Eat
Losing Colour
Gills won’t close all the way or look swollen
Fins/Tail are closed off or falling apart
Body has sores, patches, spots or lumps
Eyes look like they are popping out or white
Belly looks hollow/fish floating upside down
Scales are raised/open
I’m so happy I found you!!! We’ve had quite a few Bettas (Sushi, Yoshi, Swim Shady) and now Squishy the Fishy, and my heart breaks when I see them in their tiny containers at the store. We have a 10 gallon tank for our new Betta. He was slightly injured when I found him so I purchased him because I knew he wasn’t going to make it in that small plastic container. It’s day 4 and he’s now swimming around and he comes to the surface to greet me already. The info you give is awesome. Thank you so much. I now know what to look for should any issues arise.
Hey no worries Maria! Congratulation on adopting Squishy the Fishy!! <3 Wishing you both all the best and hope to see you around the blog <3
Enjoyed reading your Betta insights. My male betta went from Blue to Red with some white stripes on his swim long fins. During the past several days he doesn,’t seem to recognize me ,as he would always greet me at the top of his 3 gallon (heated and filtered tank,) when I would feed him or he would just follow my finger along the outside of the tank. He seems to have lost interest in his food (maybe he is having problems seeing me and/or the flakes. He has also started to rub against his floating log PLEASE HELP. me help him. Much thanks Barbara
When did you get the Betta? It’s not uncommon for Bettas to change colours, especially if you recently got him. Sometimes colour change is just a symbol of them feeling more comfortable. From the sounds of it though, this doesn’t seem to be the case (since it sounds like you’ve had him for a while)
If he’s scratching himself on floating logs though and has changed colour, I would question if he has fin rot. Does he look like he’s starting to lose any? If so, I recommend checking out my “most common betta illnesses” page.
Fin rot is extremely common and sometimes is hard to spot. Sometimes fish can go years with it without their owners noticing. It’s fairly easy to cure, but might take some time (dependant on how severe it is.)
As for not being able to see you, I’m sorry that it feels the way. Have you looked at his eyes? Blind Bettas tend to experience something called Popeye. Your Betta would have cloudy eyes that seem like they are protruding if this is the case. It is commonly due to unclean water or bacteria inside of the water. It is also curable and we had a battle of it with our fish, Blub. He cured within a couple weeks and was good as new!
Do you know how old your Betta is by the way?
Such good information! Hope Blub has a happy!
I hope he is too <3
I think of you a lot when I see Betta fish at the various pet venues here. You provide good info:)
Aw, thank you so much friend! <3 I'm hoping that other folks feel the same way! I think Bettas are pretty underrepresented online and it's good to share the knowledge I've learned, especially because it can be harder to tell if they're all good!