# Do betta's like to be in places near people?



## Leopardfire (Sep 23, 2012)

Here's a little bit of background. I have a male and female betta in separate tanks. They near the door of my house from the garage so they get to see people I lot. They can also see people in the kitchen. My dad says I can only keep one tank in that area, so I will have to move my female somewhere else. 
Do bettas like to see people? I would feel bad moving my girl to a deserted room where hardly anyone goes. I normally say hi my bettas every hour, but if she was somewhere out of the way, I wouldn't visit her as much. I really don't want her to get bored and lonely so where is the best place to put her? Would it be better for her to stay somewhere that she can see people often?


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## Pices (Oct 12, 2012)

My betta is in the family room where he gets to see people often. When I go look in his tank he almost always swims over to me. He really seems interested and curious. He lets me trickle water drops on him with a plastic spoon. I feel it's really important for bettas to be able to interact often with people. It makes me happy to interact with my betta. I hope you can find a place for your female betta where she'll be able to see you and be a part of your life.


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## SnowySurface (Apr 25, 2011)

It seems like your dad doesn't want two tanks in that perticular area. Is there a happy medium room that isn't as busy as the garage door but is busier than the deserted room? If you are allowed to, try to move the female betta into your room. She may not see you every hour, but she would see you every time you enter your room. I have both of my 5 gallon betta tanks at the foot of my bed so I get to see them each day. That makes me a bit biased towards bedroom tanks. XD

However, I'm not sure if bettas benefit from people watching. I know they don't have a long enough attention spawn to get "bored" in the human sense of the word. But they do benefit from exercise and flaring, which would involve being in an area that stimulates their senses enough to make them swim around and flare at stuff. So, I guess being in a deserted area wouldn't lead to illness directly but being in an area with activity could have health benefits.

I live alone so when I'm out of my apartment for work during the week or doing something during a weekend, my fish don't see humans until I get back. So fish don't need the level of stimulation that dogs and cats need, but you can't treat them like a decoration either. If you do put the female in the deserted room, dropping by to interact with her for 10-15 minutes should be enough for the sake of exercise.


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## Sivan (Aug 30, 2010)

Betta fish are solitary creatures and not seeing humans is not harmful to their health. That being said, I would assume you would want to see your fish or else you would not have it. If it is placed in a room that rarely has people in it, it may be hard to notice when illness strikes. Not to mention other difficulties such as remembering to feed her and doing regular water changes when she is so far out of sight.


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## lauraannq (Oct 11, 2012)

my betta LOVES people... all he does is watch me ... i took to working in the dining room (he's on the table in a bowl) and he just swims around and looks at me.. when i leave the room he 'pouts' and rests on the plant in his tank.. then if he sees me he perks right up... 

my computer was blocking me from his sight and he was swimming head first into his tank to get around it... so yes some are social ... (i did have a non-social betta in the past, but that one thought i was food and always tried to bite me!)


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## Leopardfire (Sep 23, 2012)

I definitely want to keep her in a place where I can see her and she can see people. I think my room would be a good option since I spend a lot of time there. She could go on my dresser since it's huge. Now I just have to convince my dad to let her stay there haha


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## Pices (Oct 12, 2012)

I hope your Dad lets you keep your betta in your bedroom. Sounds like it would be a good place for you to keep an eye on her.

I think bettas really do benefit from interacting with their caregivers. It's true they are solitary fish, but in the wild I think they would have more stimulation than they do in a fish tank. The wind, insects flying above and landing on the water, the changing sun as it passes overhead, fish and other creatures that may come into their territory from time to time -- all these things and more must keep them alert and interacting with their environment. Compared to their natural habitat, a fish tank is rather static. My betta seems interested and curious when I interact with him. I do this by gently dripping water on his body with a plastic spoon, taking a small cup and scooping up water and pouring it into the tank again to aerate the water. And, of course, he loves feeding time! :-D


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## Pices (Oct 12, 2012)

Whoops! In the post above, I meant to say that compared to their natural environment, the environment in the fish tank is rather _stagnant_, not "static".


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## Leopardfire (Sep 23, 2012)

Yay! my dad agreed to let her stay in my bedroom. I'm glad that she won't have to be alone all the time.


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## Pices (Oct 12, 2012)

Terrific!


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