INTRODUCTION: From time to time newer betta owners ask on forums or Yahoo Answers about their pet's level of activity. They are clearly worried they need to do more to keep their fish stimulated. In other words they are worried that there fish is bored. Or lonely. And are looking for things they can do to make its life a bit more exciting.
Technically there is a term for this. It's called behavioral enrichment. And without getting all scientific on you, basically it comes down to providing stimuli to enrich the environment pets like bettas find themselves in. This can come in several forms. You might do something that involves their senses. It might mean making feeding more stimulating. It may involve objects they interact with. It may involve toys. As you can see there are various ways you can bring some excitement into their life.
Of course the first thing to do is make sure you've got suitable housing. Often times bettas turn into couch potatoes and just lie around because they are freezing cold. Or they are often housed in cramped quarters. Or both. So make sure you have a large enough tank, not a bowl, that can be safely heated to at least 78 degrees F. A space where they have plenty of room to roam and swim around. Because if you think about it, you'd be bored out of your mind too in a cold, pint sized bowl where you can barely turn around. Not much to look forward to in those conditions.
Next, castle ruins, shipwrecks, cliffs and caves are all common aquarium ornaments you can place in the tank to offer some visual stimulation for your fish. Then too some of these, like caves or silk plants even, provide a sanctuary should your fish become frightened. You can oftentimes find these at garage sales for next to nothing if you keep your eyes open. Just be sure to clean them in a mild bleach solution, diluted white vinegar or salt water first and leave them out in the sun to sanitize them.
The trick with these is to rotate what ornaments you have in the tank from week to week. This change of pace can be both visually stimulating and can keep your fish entertained as it explores it's "new" space and adjusts to their new surroundings.
You can also make feeding time more than merely dropping in two or three pellets and then leaving. You can train your crowntail to him to take food off your finger or the end of an eye dropper. Works great with frozen blood worms. Most bettas will swim a mile for a tasty blood worm. Which also makes them great rewards for training.
Toys are another way some entertain their fish. And some find their finny charges respond well to ping pong balls floating on the surface. Some betas will flare at them. Others will push them around. Others still will ignore them entirely. Which is to say there is no one size fits all solution when it comes to curing betta boredom. If your guy doesn't respond to white see if neon orange or hot pink grab their attention better.
A simple mirror that allows your betta to see themselves and react by flaring or defending his space, while more controversial, is yet another tool in your behavioral enrichment tool bag. I even came across a floating "exercise mirror" for sale online that since it moves around gives your fish something to chase, react to, and "exercise" with. Some will circle the intruder. Others might push it around or nip at it. It then leaves your betta with something to swim around looking for even after you take it out of the water and even if it was just his own image.
Honestly this is a polarizing type idea. Some love it. Others hate it. Very few are in the middle. I'm not saying to let your betta see and react to his image in a mirror constantly. But for a few minutes it can give him something to get excited about, that's for sure. Besides it fires up natural betta behavior which I personally feel is a good thing.
CONCLUSION: Being naturally clever and curious, bettas can get into stuff like this. So that with just a bit of effort you easily can keep your halfmoon entertained and doing more than just laying around all day. Good for them. Entertaining for you. What's not to like?
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