cajungrl81
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
The beta in question has since gone to the great fishbowl in the sky, but while he was living exhibited some odd behavior that no one I spoke to could ever explain. I'm still looking for answers...
Background: My sister brought him home in one of those little fish cups, and transferred him temporarily to a cycled 1g where he was the only fish while waiting on a larger tank to finish cycling. I thought he'd be much happier as the only fish in a heated, planted 5g...but he freaked out. Turning out the lights calmed him down, but as soon as the hood light came on again he would start flinging himself at the side of the aquarium until we were worried he'd hurt himself. He never exhibited this behavior in the 1g, nor when it was just the ambient lights in the room turned on, only the hood lights. I've never, in the 20+ years I've lived with aquariums, seen a fish behave this way. And despite this, he seemed healthy, survived a cross-country move, and lived to be almost 5yo. The only response the lady at the local LFS could give us was that my sister must have gotten a defective/psycho fish?!
What could possibly cause such behavior (none of the other betas we've ever had behaved this way? And what can be done to help a fish in those circumstances, since keeping a fish in the dark really isn't an answer?
Background: My sister brought him home in one of those little fish cups, and transferred him temporarily to a cycled 1g where he was the only fish while waiting on a larger tank to finish cycling. I thought he'd be much happier as the only fish in a heated, planted 5g...but he freaked out. Turning out the lights calmed him down, but as soon as the hood light came on again he would start flinging himself at the side of the aquarium until we were worried he'd hurt himself. He never exhibited this behavior in the 1g, nor when it was just the ambient lights in the room turned on, only the hood lights. I've never, in the 20+ years I've lived with aquariums, seen a fish behave this way. And despite this, he seemed healthy, survived a cross-country move, and lived to be almost 5yo. The only response the lady at the local LFS could give us was that my sister must have gotten a defective/psycho fish?!
What could possibly cause such behavior (none of the other betas we've ever had behaved this way? And what can be done to help a fish in those circumstances, since keeping a fish in the dark really isn't an answer?
