# Intelligent Bettas



## Contraptionated (Dec 10, 2016)

My new boy, Dean, has already learned all sorts of cues by association; swimming up to the top of the water when the tank lid is lifted, following my finger around, and even 'begging' for food. He'd been ignoring his food until I switched to bloodworms less than a week ago, after which he immediately warmed up to me and has even pressed up against my finger in the water. 
As a new fish parent, I'm incredibly proud of my boy's progress, and look forward to teaching him tricks like swimming through hoops, which I'm confident he'll pick up almost immediately.

So I'm curious - what are your fish like? What have you been able to teach them? How would you describe their personalities? Thanks :thankyou:


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Well... The only trick the Sorority knew was to all jump out of the water when the lid was lifted. Samurai knows how to bite and ram the glass, and Akuma only knows how to chase other fish.  Mochi can follow my finger, jump for food, and squeeze into the smallest of holes, in which he usually gets stuck.


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## Tuigirl (Aug 3, 2014)

My new boy (got him last week) is now greeting me when I come home from work or when I wake up. He eats from my finger and also jumps to get his food. When I am not fast enough getting more or just have my finger in the tank, he bites my finger. He is so cute. I have gven him some small Malaysian trumpet snails as entertainment in the tank, and he has fun stalking them around the tank and picking at them when they climb up the walls. But he does not seem to have killed any of them yet, because most of the time, they hide in the gravel. 
But it is so funny to watch how he patrols the bottom of his dominion and checks out anything that moves. 

I had two girls previously, and they were similar, learned to jump on command and begging for food. They were both avid hunters and this is how I learned that ramshorn snails are a very bad idea as tank mates for betta, because they do not have a lid like nerites and trumpet snails and therefore cannot hide their soft parts from a hungry betta. 

There are some cool videos on youtube of bettas that have been trained to play football and swi through hoops, I thought about doing that with my fish, too. Have a look!


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## Contraptionated (Dec 10, 2016)

So excited! Today, I began hoop training my Betta - and he caught on instantly! After just one food prompt, he was ducking in and out of the hoop like he'd been doing it forever.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Betta pattern train which is the easiest way to train and is fun and rewarding and full of possibilities. However, it doesn't indicate intelligence; i.e., the ability to reason. It's a matter of repetition: "X" action always equals "X" reward. 

Intelligence: (1): the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations: reason; also : the skilled use of reason (2) : the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria (as tests) ~ _Source: Merriam-Webster_


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

Mine was a happy go lucky social butterfly. As the years have passed, he's become a grouchy elderly fish who cares more about napping than anything else (yes, even food if I wake him up too early), but he still has him moments. When I'm cleaning and straightening out his plants during a water change, I have to work fast or he gets upset and nips my hand.

Back in his younger days, he learned a ritual that resulted in him getting a belly full of food. 
When I came into the room at feeding time, he'd go to a particular spot in his tank and stare and me. 
When I turned around and put my face up to the tank, he'd start his wiggle dance. 
I'd then bring the food container to the tank and show it to him. 
He would do two loop de loops around the container I was showing him and shoot to the top and stare at the lid. 
The lid would then magically open food would fall from the sky.


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## Khareuk (Jan 13, 2017)

I've had my betta, Levi, for just under a month and I like to think I'm gaining his trust! He swims over my hand and through my fingers now (because he knows hands give tasty treats!), and doesn't bite me anymore. He's not very good at jumping because his fins are so long, but he does try so hard, bless him. He's quite interactive and loves coming to the front of the tank/watching people whenever he sees them, and is funny because my brother sits in front of him during dinner and he swims up and down like mad as though asking to be fed. Only while during dinner though!


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## emerlyking (Jan 29, 2017)

Mine burps for food if shes hungry, follows my Que to find the finger to the food. She will even burp when full. The boy dances when I arrive, and already knows this Que for finding food. Both know not to jump out of the tank. so proud of that.


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## ElizabethBickford (Jan 25, 2017)

I have a female betta - Puma and she is so intelligent! She will jump out of the water for food, she will dance at the glass when I sit down, she will swim through a hoop in the tank, she eats out of your hand and she pushes a ping pong ball across the top of the tank. She really made me develop a love for betta fish! She always wants to be busy so I have done SO many activities such as... live food feeding, mirror, objects around tank, erasable marker on tank, etc. 

Best of luck! Keep your betta learning!


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