Betta behavior

Warriors by nature
The Betta Splendens (splendid warrior), is, as his name indicates, a warrior. Basically, he is a fish with a bad attitude problem :))). The thing is bettas are only pissed off at other bettas, while quite gentle with other specie, which makes them good community tank prospects. They do get picked on a lot by other fish, so avoid putting a betta in a tank with fish that are aggressive, especially fin nippers such as tiger barbs, etc…

Flaring and displaying
When a male betta (and sometimes a female) sees another male, his first reaction is one of intimidation. The betta will immediately stretch out his fins as much as he can and open his gills as wide as he can, displaying his membrane, and suddenly looking twice a big as he really is :). This is called FLARING or DISPLAYING. He’s doing the macho thing, sorta like “I am bigger than you , watch out, I can kick your butt!”. He will repeatedly do this and if the other betta has the same bad attitude, they will soon start attacking each other. (so never put two bettas together!! Duh!) Their color intensifies and they look just gorgeous. .

Variations in aggressive behavior
Some strain are noticeably more aggressive than others, and even the females are nasty to each other. Some strains are more peaceful and can sometimes be kept in groups. A breeder friend of mine was marveling at my large 60 gal community tank, housing about 40 adult bettas, mostly females but also three large males. He couldn’t believe they weren’t killing each other! These bettas were all from the same spawn and knew each other. This strain was a more gentle strain and it was a treat for the eye to see all these bright red and pink bettas swimming in harmony together. (Please do NOT try this at home! :) ).

The pecking order
When kept in a community tank, bettas will establish a pecking order. One dominant fish will boss everyone else. This is usually a large male or female, and that fish is known as the “ALPHA” fish. As long as that fish is in the tank, there will be pretty much, peace. Remove that fish, or add new bettas to the tank, and the pecking order has to be established all over again. Fights arise, bettas fins are frayed, and for a week or so, the whole fragile balance is threatened. Eventually, it settles down, and peace returns.

Other betta characteristics
What I like most about bettas, is that they have personalities. Each his own. They are curious, friendly and will soon know their breeder and recognize him/her. They are fast learner. They soon understand that my hand = food. Soon, whenever I put my hand in the tank, they all come swarming and they become so friendly sometimes they bug the heck out of me. Here I am trying to fish out one specific betta, and all of them come and soon it is a huge crowd and I cannot for the love of me fish just the one out, I keep getting 3 or 5 in my net. Aghhhhhhh.
I can put my hand in the tank and they will swim in between my fingers, resting on my palm. I can lift my hand up and there is the betta, relaxed and now out of his water, still on my palm… I pet them, and they seem to not mind that at all. I often stroke their bellies, right under the ‘chin’. They are very endearing and sometimes it is hard to part with them.