# Little Cutie - the Amphibious Betta



## Bettaman (May 20, 2005)

My newest Betta, named Cutie cause he is soooo cute and tiny, must think he is an Amphibian. I have some plants at the surface of the tank and yesterday I caught him getting up on top of the plant to the point where he was actually out of the water. This did not deter him from his intended path and he just continued to wriggle himself while out of the water across the plant until he got to the other side that lowered him back into the water. I had never seen this before and so after watching him closely I notice he was repeating this as some sort of game. After watching him do this 3 times in a row I figured I better put a stop to this because I was affraid he may get stuck up there when I wasn't around to help him so I lowered the plant a little. I also did not like his body seeing the temperature difference between being in the tank and being out of the tank in the air. 

This little Cutie is so special and he has no fear of me at all. He comes charging to me to play as soon as he sees me. I can stick my hand in the water and he will swim right into it all the way up to my palm where his head is almost out of the water. And he will stay like that for as long as I let him. He will follow my fingers anywhere in the tank and if I just keep my hand or finger in the tank stationary, he will swim around it in circles until I move it. This little Cutie bonded with me the first day I got him and he seems to love me more and more each day.


----------



## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

> My newest Betta, named Cutie cause he is soooo cute and tiny, must think he is an Amphibian. I have some plants at the surface of the tank and yesterday I caught him getting up on top of the plant to the point where he was actually out of the water. This did not deter him from his intended path and he just continued to wriggle himself while out of the water across the plant until he got to the other side that lowered him back into the water. I had never seen this before and so after watching him closely I notice he was repeating this as some sort of game. After watching him do this 3 times in a row I figured I better put a stop to this because I was affraid he may get stuck up there when I wasn't around to help him so I lowered the plant a little. I also did not like his body seeing the temperature difference between being in the tank and being out of the tank in the air.


I also sometimes see some of my little guppies spend time doing that "game"!  Very fun! I also see that they apply it with my hand, not only the leaf! like your second paragraph  Wow! Some adults will also!
Have a good day enjoying being with your Cutie...


----------



## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

I wouldn't worry too much about him. He is a labrynth fish so he breaths above the water.


----------



## awesome kid (Jun 10, 2005)

My newest Betta, named Cutie cause he is soooo cute and tiny, must think he is an Amphibian. I have some plants at the surface of the tank and yesterday I caught him getting up on top of the plant to the point where he was actually out of the water. This did not deter him from his intended path and he just continued to wriggle himself while out of the water across the plant until he got to the other side that lowered him back into the water. I had never seen this before and so after watching him closely I notice he was repeating this as some sort of game. After watching him do this 3 times in a row I figured I better put a stop to this because I was affraid he may get stuck up there when I wasn't around to help him so I lowered the plant a little. I also did not like his body seeing the temperature difference between being in the tank and being out of the tank in the air. 



> This little Cutie is so special and he has no fear of me at all. He comes charging to me to play as soon as he sees me. I can stick my hand in the water and he will swim right into it all the way up to my palm where his head is almost out of the water. And he will stay like that for as long as I let him. He will follow my fingers anywhere in the tank and if I just keep my hand or finger in the tank stationary, he will swim around it in circles until I move it. This little Cutie bonded with me the first day I got him and he seems to love me more and more each day.


thats awesome! when i had a betta it never even let me get near it, even when i was only rearranging the decor.


----------



## awesome kid (Jun 10, 2005)

ment to quote first paragraph in last post, sorry


----------



## drosera (Feb 2, 2005)

I used to have several female Bettas in a small tank. As part of the decor, there also used to be a floating piece of wood. The top side of the wood tapered into the water at a slant. One of my girls used to jump on to the top of the wood, and would spend all night, every night lying there. (I'm not too sure Bettas actually sleep). She was not lying in water at all, though the wood was obviously very moist. You can imagine how worried I was the first time she did this. I couldn't find her, and then she was lying on top of the wood! I thought she was dead for sure! Until she popped back into the water like nothing had happened. In the morning when I turned on the light, after a minute or 2, she would jump off.

At another time, I also used to have a white female, who absolutely freaked out when I shut the lights at night. I never saw a fish so afraid of the dark in my life!

Fish have their idiosyncracies too. 

Chris


----------



## awesome kid (Jun 10, 2005)

> One of my girls used to jump on to the top of the wood, and would spend all night, every night lying there.


i would have been creeped out if that happened. i would have been like, OMG ITS DEAD  and i would have been sad because i love my fish because my fish are so awesome.


----------



## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

Well I dun have a chance to keep my betta from juvenile. He was a big guy as I purchased him. So I think the "greeting" thing may be a signal of agression  whenever I place a finger near the tank, the fish gills are up and all the fins are spreaded out. It just looks like when we place a mirrow nearby or he's out for food. I really thjink it's kinda anger...
What do you think? Have you ever experienced that before? 
Thanks...


----------



## Imbrium (Feb 7, 2005)

Aw... Maxpayne, he's probably just not used to you yet. A lot of times their first response to anything unfamiliar is to flare at it, and then approach cautiously. Wait til he starts to associate you with food. He'll love you then! Also, some bettas just flare at everything. I have one that has to flare at every piece of food before he eats it. And I've got one trained to flare when I come up to the tank. It's cool to show him off to my friends that way.

Baby_Baby, it's cute when they nip at you, until you're up to your elbow in a tank full of juveniles that think _everything_ is food. The skin on the inside of your arm is really sensitive! You'd be surpised how much it hurts when ten of them are all nipping at your arm. But you gotta love em anyways, the little spoiled brats.


----------



## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

> Aw... Maxpayne, he's probably just not used to you yet. A lot of times their first response to anything unfamiliar is to flare at it, and then approach cautiously. Wait til he starts to associate you with food. He'll love you then! Also, some bettas just flare at everything. I have one that has to flare at every piece of food before he eats it. And I've got one trained to flare when I come up to the tank. It's cool to show him off to my friends that way.


Oh Ok... well but I still wonder, at the very first moment we met I gave him a hand-feed and he really liked it... h/e I hope that this's temporary. 
lol thanks... Baby2 lol I mean Baby_Baby... very glad to hear about your loaches! Hillstream loaches are cool! about whiskers.. I think you should name for all loaches


----------



## fishboy (Feb 26, 2005)

I love fish tricks. My old gourami learned the "trick" of spitting with good accuracy at my finger whenever it was close enough to the waters surface


----------



## Bettaman (May 20, 2005)

Thanks for the responses. It was great to read your stories about all the cute things your Bettas do. I'm happy to say that little Cutie is still doing terrific and he just loves to play with me non stop. All Bettas have different personalities and I have another one that won't play at all and won't even let me near him. Funny because he's the biggest Betta I ever had yet the biggest scardy cat of all.  He gets worse right after I do a water change because I've been invading his home and so right after a water change he runs and hides if I even look at him. Sometimes I have to feed him from as far away from the tank as I can stand and still reach the tank while looking the other way or he won't even come up for the food. But I love him just the same.


----------



## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

That reminds me of the cute lil bettas at the LFS. Wow, the LFS I have just visited have many female bettas and juvenile males as I told! Thinking about breeding... ha ha. I also found a halfmoon. It was so cool!


----------

