Henry the Cowardly Betta
[x-posted to a non-LJ betta forum]
It's really getting ridiculous, how shy Henry is. He just refuses to interact with me, no matter how much I sit on the floor by his tank, talking quietly to him.
He sees me coming, and he hides. Sometimes he does it in a flash, like he's scared, but other times it's just like, "Ho hum, that stupid human again, time to make myself scarce, I suppose." Or, if he's hanging out in the back corner between the filter and the thermometer, he'll just stay up there and completely ignore me. It's gotten to the point now where he won't even come out to eat! He'll sit in his cave and stare out at me, waiting for me to leave. I leave, and he comes out to eat. I stay, and he stubbornly sits there. I'd say only about 20% of the time does he actually come out and eat while I'm there.
I think he's just alone too much of the time, living in my bedroom. There are people around in the morning as we're getting ready for work, etc, and again in the evening as we get ready for bed, do laundry, etc. But from like 1 PM to 9 PM, he's pretty much alone. I don't want to neglect him, but it can't always be helped. I mean, I take very good care of him in every other respect--he gets a variety of good foods, I clean his tank faithfully, he's living in a heated, filtered, cycled, 5.5-gallon tank with plenty of plants and a cute hidey-cave, etc. I just don't sit and "play" with him as often as I guess he'd like.
Which brings me to my question...would having a second betta within visual distance make him braver and happier? Or would he just get stressed out from flaring at the intruder? (I haven't been able to get him to flare for ages, because he seems scared of the mirror--or at least the stupid human holding it.)
Is a 5.5-gallon too small to divide? Are tank dividers safe? (I've heard horror stories.)
It would be fun to get a female so they could make googly-eyes at each other, but it's virtually impossible to find a female betta in my city.
I don't know how it would work with the filter, though. It's an AquaClear mini, a hang-on-the-back type. With a tank divider, would it really be able to filter the water in the farther half? And would it make the current stronger in the half it's in?
And if I divided the tank, would Henry resent being suddenly confined to half his former territory?
So many questions! o_0
Another option, I suppose, would be to move Henry's tank into the kitchen, where'd he get much more human interaction. I really hesitate to do that, though, because I really like having a fish in my bedroom. Still, if he's going to act like this, I never really get to see or enjoy him, anyway! :-p
I really don't think he's sick. When I'm not in the room he does swim around and patrol his territory, etc, and his coloration and finnage seem totally fine. I keep telling him that bettas are supposed to be brave and fierce, but apparently he's under the impression that he's a Siamese Hiding Fish instead of a Fighting one. Whoever heard of a cowardly betta? >_<
(Not to mention he's making a mockery of my "My betta can beat up your betta" icon. :-p Of course, that's the late Morrie in the picture, anyway, not Henry, but still... Tsk.)
It's really getting ridiculous, how shy Henry is. He just refuses to interact with me, no matter how much I sit on the floor by his tank, talking quietly to him.
He sees me coming, and he hides. Sometimes he does it in a flash, like he's scared, but other times it's just like, "Ho hum, that stupid human again, time to make myself scarce, I suppose." Or, if he's hanging out in the back corner between the filter and the thermometer, he'll just stay up there and completely ignore me. It's gotten to the point now where he won't even come out to eat! He'll sit in his cave and stare out at me, waiting for me to leave. I leave, and he comes out to eat. I stay, and he stubbornly sits there. I'd say only about 20% of the time does he actually come out and eat while I'm there.
I think he's just alone too much of the time, living in my bedroom. There are people around in the morning as we're getting ready for work, etc, and again in the evening as we get ready for bed, do laundry, etc. But from like 1 PM to 9 PM, he's pretty much alone. I don't want to neglect him, but it can't always be helped. I mean, I take very good care of him in every other respect--he gets a variety of good foods, I clean his tank faithfully, he's living in a heated, filtered, cycled, 5.5-gallon tank with plenty of plants and a cute hidey-cave, etc. I just don't sit and "play" with him as often as I guess he'd like.
Which brings me to my question...would having a second betta within visual distance make him braver and happier? Or would he just get stressed out from flaring at the intruder? (I haven't been able to get him to flare for ages, because he seems scared of the mirror--or at least the stupid human holding it.)
Is a 5.5-gallon too small to divide? Are tank dividers safe? (I've heard horror stories.)
It would be fun to get a female so they could make googly-eyes at each other, but it's virtually impossible to find a female betta in my city.
I don't know how it would work with the filter, though. It's an AquaClear mini, a hang-on-the-back type. With a tank divider, would it really be able to filter the water in the farther half? And would it make the current stronger in the half it's in?
And if I divided the tank, would Henry resent being suddenly confined to half his former territory?
So many questions! o_0
Another option, I suppose, would be to move Henry's tank into the kitchen, where'd he get much more human interaction. I really hesitate to do that, though, because I really like having a fish in my bedroom. Still, if he's going to act like this, I never really get to see or enjoy him, anyway! :-p
I really don't think he's sick. When I'm not in the room he does swim around and patrol his territory, etc, and his coloration and finnage seem totally fine. I keep telling him that bettas are supposed to be brave and fierce, but apparently he's under the impression that he's a Siamese Hiding Fish instead of a Fighting one. Whoever heard of a cowardly betta? >_<
(Not to mention he's making a mockery of my "My betta can beat up your betta" icon. :-p Of course, that's the late Morrie in the picture, anyway, not Henry, but still... Tsk.)