Why do my Betta's keep trying to kill themselves?

[Robb Bloomfield]

I'm on my third betta in my fish keeping life, and all of them have
spent their time trying to swim onto leaves at the surface, which
usually results in the fish lying prone on a lilly or whatever, unable
to get back in the water. I've lost count the number of times I've had
to rescue them, and in one case i found one in the morning, and the
side of his head that was out of the water had turned white....

Apart from keeping the plants trimmed short, is there anything else I
can do to keep them amused, does anyone know why they're doing it? I
don't want to take the lillies out as several of the fish like to sit
underneath the pads.

[[email protected]]

What are they housed in? (i.e. a tank, a bowl etc.)

Evan Davis

[Robb Bloomfield]

Tank. 200 litres.

[Scat]

Does the fish look unwell in any other way? Bettas can breathe oxygen
directly from the air. By lying on the pad your fish will probably be
using the leaf as support.
Have you checked the water quality?Is it well oxygenated?
Do you keep your fighters together?
if so, is the female on her side,laying eggs? or is she/he being
bullied by little nippers?

[Robb Bloomfield]

i've only ever had one at a time, the water has been fine with all
three fish. All three have had their fins nipped a little, no more
than my other fish (parrots, angels), so he might be escaping from
bullies. I just worry because they always get stuck.....

[Tynk]

Sounds to me like they're trying to escape.
Bettas instinctivly know that if they jump and wriggle or flop their
bodies around out of the water that they will reach a new pond, or part
of the paddie, etc.
Sounds to me what is happening is that you are housing Bettas in with
nippy tank mates. I've housed many Angelfish with Bettas and have
hardly ever had nipping from the Angels or vice versa.
However, the reg flag is the Parrots to me.
I think your Bettas are being harrassed to the point of their trying to
flee the tank.
They also know that they can survive a very long time out of the
water....as long as their bodies stay a bit damp. Amazingly, as I have
found out by accident, that they can even live a while past being
pretty much dry. (that was the male Betta that jumped out of a tiny
opening in the lid of his tank and dropped right into my sleeping cat's
lap).
I would like to suggest you get your Betta an Eclipse3 (3 gallon).
It's a great tank for these fish to spend their entire lives in.

[Robb Bloomfield]

Bizarrly, the parrots are the peaceful ones, it actually the gouramis
that generally bully the others, even though they're small. One of the
angels is a little nippy though, and although the betta isn't shredded,
he does have a few nicks in his fins.

[IDzine01]

Bettas and Gouramis are actually close cousins and aggression between
them is not uncommon. Although, usually it's the aggressive betta who
picks on the peaceful gourami. I prefer to keep mine in separate tanks.


I agree with TYNK. Bettas may try and jump out of their tank on
occasion but it sounds like yours are very eager to escape. Something
is not right. Either your betta is trying to flee from a tank mate or
something is off with your water parameters.

What are your water test results? (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & pH?)

[Derek Benson]

On 25 May 2005 09:29:33 -0700, "Robb Bloomfield"
> wrote:

>Bizarrly, the parrots are the peaceful ones, it actually the gouramis
>that generally bully the others, even though they're small. One of the
>angels is a little nippy though, and although the betta isn't shredded,
>he does have a few nicks in his fins.

Which gourami are you talking about? If it's the blue gourami or the
gold (color variation) blue gourami or the (shudder!) kissing gourami
then I'm a bit surprised that any of your bettas have survived long
enough to get up onto the lily pads. Bettas are complete wimps
compared to these gouramis; 99% absolute certainty your bettas have
been chased there by a gourami(s), 1% chance of other reasons. Bettas
should really not be kept together with gouramis.

-Derek