# Favorite resting places of my Bettas



## Bettaman (May 20, 2005)

Most of my Bettas like to snuggle up in between the leaves of a silk plant or between the plant and the glass or up against some decoration to hold them in place while they rest. This is probably more common in tanks with a water current from a filter then in the non filtered stagnant Betta bowls. All of my Bettas except 1 so far have always prefered to find a place to snuggle up at the top of the tank. I believe they prefer to rest at the top because they can easily take in air from the surface without having to swim up to get it. Another resting place of choice that I have found very common in my Bettas is to sit themselves on the top suction cup bracket for the heater holder. I usually adjust this upper bracker/holder so that when my Betta is sitting on it his head will be right at the surface but not above it. They seem to like this the best if there is no plant located at the surface to snuggle into. 

I modify some store bought silk plants so they can be hung at the top of the tank offering the Bettas a place to snuggle at the surface and every time I do this the Betta in that particular tank choose that place to rest. It also becomes thier favorite spot in the tank and they alway go there first to check it out after every water change. Both my males and females do this.

If you haven't tried this yet, you might try to locate a plant at the surface of the tank and adjust it so your Betta can sit on it and be right at the surface or snuggle into it and be very near to the surface. I'm sure your Betta will choose this as his favorite resting place unless he's been used to a different place for too long. In every case for me so far Except the one, it has made my Bettas very happy.

About that exception, he is a white betta with dark blue trim and he is the only Betta I have ever had that prefers to rest on the bottom of the tank. I have had so many Bettas that I am very surprised to see this one Betta prefering the bottom. Especially considering I do not use any gravel or substrate on the bottom of any of my tanks. But he just seems to always head for the bottom when he feels threatened so I'm sure it's a comfort/defensive thing for him.


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## bettaboi (Jan 29, 2005)

good post i think ill try that


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## MiSo (May 3, 2005)

i've read many threads about other ppl's betta's doing the same thing.
resting on plants seems the norm with them.


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## Celeste (May 13, 2005)

my bettas always do this too. i have the betta bowls with the plant roots growing down from the top and they always will wiggle into the center of the root ball and rest


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## Imbrium (Feb 7, 2005)

I have one with plants in his tank, near the surface. He prefers to float on his side in the middle of the tank, with his head and tail curved down towards the gravel. I used to freak out all the time thinking he was dead! Most of the others either rest in plants or just kinda hang at the surface.


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## chrisinha (Jan 24, 2005)

i have two bettas. one likes resting inside of a ship ruins and the other decided to take over a clay plot that i have as decor in the tank... nobody else can approach his little house. lol


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## ALFA WOLF (May 24, 2005)

my betta likes the peice of drift wood i have under my filter everynow and then she will go up and swim against the current of it with the neons. If they go to close to his wood then she will swim and chase away. The neons have their own little spot though also they hang out in a hidden little roman ruin inside the grasses.


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## lwstinkinsweet (Aug 2, 2005)

i had a betta who was so sick i had to take him back and get my money  i hated doing that. but while i had him he liked to rest between the back of the filter (which i had on super low settings and the glass) or he liked to sit under the filter on the gravel. he also liked the suction cup of the heater. this was a good post to read as i am looking for a new betta and want to put some decorations in his tank. i have a 2.5 gal. no other fish. i threw out my gravel and plant that i had before because i was afraid they would get any new fish sick after my other fish being in there. i have never had fish before. what would be the best things to get other than the silk plant idea? can anyone help?


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## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

You didnt have to throw the gravel or plant out, you can bleach them or just let them dry out before to make sure bad bacteria have died. All I would put in a 2.5 is a betta and maybe a snail. A silk plant is fine. There arnt too many decorations that can fit in a 2.5.


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## lwstinkinsweet (Aug 2, 2005)

that is what i figured. I didnt want to over crowd him. i have a very gentle tetra filter that i put in there. it came with the tank. and a small tank heater. I was able to keep the tank at about seventy four to eighty degrees. my room is in a basement so it was hard to keep the water temp up. would a snail help with keeping the tank clean. i was just planning on putting a betta in there alone


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## lwstinkinsweet (Aug 2, 2005)

i also heard that harder decorations can hurt a bettas fins. should i only put a thin layer of gravel or a larger layer? how would i make the plant so it can hang from the top?


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## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

I've kept my bettas in community tanks and they are fine with the gravel and decorations. I am sure your gravel is fine. Thin layer or thick. The only thing people mostly worry about is the fake plants shredding the fins.


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## lwstinkinsweet (Aug 2, 2005)

okay thanks


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## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

Yes, fake plastic plants will hurt them. Also decorations that are too small for them to swim in and out of without enough room for their fins can do damage. They seem to like the silk plants and real plants the best, (although mine fights to get over the plants and freaks out sometimes. If you're ever worried about gravel, you don't have to throw it out. just leave it out in the sun to dry, or microwave it...

Plants don't usually carry bad bacteria for long, and you can soak them in chlorinated tap-water to clean them off without killing the plant.


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## lwstinkinsweet (Aug 2, 2005)

okay thanks. i got a thin layer of black gravel and a silk plant. the real ones are too much of a pain to skim off dead leaves and stuff. he doesnt seem to like to do much right now. he likes to hang at the bottom and under the filter. he spits his food onto the bottom and then chases it the whole way down and then eats it up from there. some he leaves i think to save it for later. that worries me because of it causing bacteria. should i chang my water more often because he does this? does anyone elses betta do that. the only thing he eats from the top is bloodworms


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