# How do you interact with your betta?



## Shepaski (Jan 3, 2013)

usually from what i've seen in my country and the people around me. most of us just stare at our fish and oogle at them as they swim around the tank. Occasionally putting a mirror in from of them and such.

people here only interact with fish by staring at them. but i know different countries have different ways of interacting with their animals.

so how do you interact with you fish? I tend to call my fish by his name when he's floating near me and kind of stoke the glass as if i'm petting him ._. though half the time he ignores me.


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## madmonahan (Aug 26, 2012)

I train my fish to jump for my fingers, I like to let them flare and follow my fingers on the outside of their tank. ^_^


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## BrooklynGirl52473 (Jun 11, 2011)

I talk to Chester as he swims right up to me and stares for a bit. Sometimes he swims right up to my hand on the glass. He also stares at me when I'm on the computer. I'll feel eyes watching me and voila, turn around and there he is eyeballing me.

Sprint stares at me sometimes and he will swim up to look at me but he's less interactive.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

I usually am able to get them comfortable around me. My dumbo Lovelace no longer shies away. I interact with different things, depending on the betta. Some I can exercise via chasing whether with my finger or a long object (my giant loves this), or using a mirror, or merely just feeding them from my fingers.


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## eatmice2010 (Jan 1, 2013)

I usually lay my hand on top of the water for july to hide under like a baby as if the other fish are being mean to him... hes such a dadies boy and i also talk to him as if he will talk back


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## Shepaski (Jan 3, 2013)

my sister use to annoy my very first successfully "kept alive" betta years back.

Roulette was cocky and would flare at anyone who puts their finger or face near the glass. so my sister would keep extending and withdrawing her hand from the tank making flare and relax for a couple of times < D



madmonahan said:


> like to let them flare and follow my fingers on the outside of their tank. ^_^


mine never follow my finger DX


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## madmonahan (Aug 26, 2012)

Do they back away as soon as you put your fingers to the glass? They will do that at first but you have to let them get used to you, and your fingers being so close.


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## Kiyi (Dec 5, 2012)

Spider backs away from my fingers as well, which is understandable, considering I've only had him a little over a week. But, whenever I'm using the big pipette to clean up uneaten food/waste, he always comes to investigate when I'm not looking. Since the pipette is a little shorter than his 10g tank, my fingers a little bit in the water, and he scares me sometimes when I look up and he's right there.

Bad experiences with biting. xD I've had anole lizards over the years, and when they bite, they don't let go. At least until they're feet touch the ground. Though I had one that bit me when I was putting him in his tank, right between my thumb and forefinger, and even though I put him down as quickly as possible, he didn't let go. He just bit harder in fact. I still have the marks! Ouch. :[ Never touched that one again, for as long as I had him.


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## Shepaski (Jan 3, 2013)

madmonahan said:


> Do they back away as soon as you put your fingers to the glass? They will do that at first but you have to let them get used to you, and your fingers being so close.


not really, Drogo usually just stares at my finger and then me in away that makes it seem like he's asking "what are you doing...." in a suspicious manner. her wiggles away gently when i try to touch him.



Kiyi said:


> Bad experiences with biting.


i had one female betta bite my arm while i was cleaning the tank once. she was really an extremely aggressive/territorial girl, unlike now i use to hate my fish when they do such things and well....read my confession in my sig to know the rest of the story


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## madmonahan (Aug 26, 2012)

When he stares at it, slowly move it sideways or downwards.


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## Bluewind (Oct 24, 2012)

Besides the everyday interactions like fingerfollowing, talking (he knows his name and will flare when I call him :lol, and eating a food from my hand, he likes to play a little game with me and my turkey baster and chases the bubbles I blow with it. He also likes to bump a little floating ball I have all over his tank :lol:
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## WhiskeyHands (Dec 2, 2012)

makes him follow my finger, go through a loop, jump for food, swim in my hand


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## majesticstorm (Dec 8, 2012)

I talk to him, call his name. When I put my fingers up to the glass he usually swims towards it and investigates (mostly seeing if there's any food, probably). I also look at him from the opposite side of wherever he is. He usually sees me and swims towards me as a greeting. 

Lately I've tried playing peek-a-boo with my boy. He loves hiding in the floating leaves, and he peeks his head out to look at me. I look at him and quickly hide behind my laptop and he comes out to investigate. I stick my head out and he stares and swims back into his plants. It's so cute!


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## Bluewind (Oct 24, 2012)

Awwww! That is cute. :-D

I wonder if anyone's Betta knows his/her name but mine? I can be laying in the bed talking to him or the dogs and he swims around, but when I call Gustof (sing-song voice) he come up to the side of the tank and stares at me. Then he "dances" and sticks his little gills out. It's so very cute!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## majesticstorm (Dec 8, 2012)

That's so cute! Bettas sure are characters.


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## Bluewind (Oct 24, 2012)

I know! It's how he got me to get him when he was at WalMart. All the other Bettas were just hanging out in their cups, but not him! He followed me in his little cup back and forth as I looked at the fish supplies pricing everything I was gonna buy the next month. I just kept thinking up excuses until I finally gave in and actually screamed "I'm gonna buy a half dead fish!" Well, maybe more loudly muttered, but you get the idea.

I then callled my friends to make sure it was okay with them. They had all chipped in for a birthday trip for me including supplies and I was gonna spend some of the supply money on a fish! They all got a huge laugh out of it saying it was "typical (insert my name here)." My friend Amanda who is a total fish nut gave me all the finer details of what I needed to get and I was on my way. I must have called her 3 times a day that 1st week with "emergancies" and spammed her phone with far too many pictures :lol:
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

I remember Spartan being a biter. Feeding time, cleaning time, anytime. My babies mom anything that is in their tank including your limbs :lol: they aren't scared of anything!


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## LadyVictorian (Nov 23, 2011)

Aquarius:
Aquarius is the most like a person i will say. He hates to be left out of things and enjoys watching everything. I talk to him a lot and play him a lot of music but his most enjoyable things are watching youtube with me, surfing the web, watching movies, and watching me play video games. He can watch this stuff for hours only turning away for a few minutes before he has to look again. His fav thing is seeing me kill dragons on Skyrim and he gets very excited, perhaps because I get excited and bounce around on my bed calling the dragon names xD Still he shakes his tail and swims up and down really fast then when the dragon is dead he will swim away. I also trained him to jump out of the water on que and my next goal is getting him to jump through a hoop.

Phoenix:
Nixy is more so not as social as Aquarius but I still talk to her a lot. Our special bounding time is when I give her treats like shrimp and bloodworms or her favorite thing when I poke decorations in her tank and she swims over to them so angry I did something to her house then glares at me. xD she is so OCD

Hollow:
I talk to Hollow though his eyesight is getting poor he use to follow my finger along the glass. Now sometimes he lets me put my hand in the water and brush his sides lightly. This is very rare as poor vision makes him skitish. He will also rub on my hand but not nearly as much as Aquarius does. He use to chase lazer lights when he could see, pretty much all my fish enjoy that too.


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## veilmist (Dec 24, 2012)

To Cadence I'll "click" my tongue at him to get his attention, and if he's not looking at me he will. Also I talk to him and do fingerfollowing, although it's not Cadence's favorite thing haha. Oh! also I wiggle my finger at him to say hi haha.


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## Shepaski (Jan 3, 2013)

My current betta, Sully, likes to stare at me when i'm using my computer..and he stares at me for a VERY long time and very often. He's the only betta i;ve ever owned that actually follows my finger.

i hope he lives OTL i'm still having trouble caring for these guys.


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