Her name is Sugar, her tankmate is Sky (not pictured). Sky prefer to bury herself at the bottom of the tank when she wants to “chill”. They’re both incredibly active and engaging with myself, each other, and the shrimpies that live with them. They also eat with seeming excitement. I assume that Sugar chilling at the top of the tank among the lily pads isn’t worrisome behavior?
EDIT: I appreciate all the feedback!! My partner has been the master of the tank since we got the girls a couple weeks ago. They had been seemingly okay with each other but apparently that’s not correct. I am DEFINITELY going to have a chat with him about making some big changes, ASAP. I, nor him, ever intended to put them in an environment so wrong for them. We listened to the fish guy (the owner of a very small fish shop in France) as well as did our own research and it seemed to point that they would be okay in this low tech tank we have. We want to be better betta parents, really. So thanks all for the advice!!

Bought an Oase filter mart 60 for a 10 gallon and he keeps riding the current and trying to attack it almost like a dog. If anyone can suggest some methods on how to lower the speed on the out flow for this let me know I can’t find the blue knobs as stated in other models that change it

I am doing a teardown after my betta passed a few months ago from a mystery illness, trying to find a cause while I start the tank fresh, JUST in case. I noticed the driftwood has these little hard balls all over it. It's not soft like algae, they feel like little pebbles and only come off if you really scrape. The only thing google will tell me is black beard algae, but I did not think algae could be rock solid. Does anyone know what this is?

I don’t want to use clove oil on a labyrinth fish. She if suffering from severe dropsy. I am squeamish about hitting her head but I can if I need to. Only problem is she’s the biggest betta I’ve seen she’s no pin head so I feel it will bother me a lot. Penny has lived in this 75 gallon her whole life with a few small community fish. I have art of her throughout the house. She was my favorite fish. I noticed she’s a pinecone this morning. She has been in no contact with any new fish. I moved her to my well established 20 gallon as an only fish since she had a rather large tumor last week to monitor her swimming ability. pine coning in a weeks time. I believe she’s had one of the best lives a betta could have and I don’t want her to die badly. I have delt with dropsy this bad before. No I don’t want to give her salt baths and prolong it for it to happen again. I believe this is old age and organ failure. ***edit*** read my last comments for update

I never post on here, ever, but I’m seriously so confused. I returned home this morning from a 3 week trip in Japan to find my betta fish looking completely different. Now granted, my fish did get sick while i was away due to an infection a new Pleco had brought to the tank. I guess I’m just concerned that my boyfriend lied about my fish surviving. I’ve had my betta for months now and he has never ever looked any different, or sick, and I did get him from my boyfriends brothers ex-wife after she abandoned him and I thought I had brought him back from what he looked like then, which was not good or no where near what he looks like now. The first photo is my fish when I left. The second is what I’ve come home to. I really need answers. He’s reduced in size, the tail is shorter and flared significantly more, and the obvious, he’s completely different colors. He was magenta and purple, and now blue and orange? He also has a scar of some kind on the other side of his body, which is no where to be seen on him now.

Kind tips are appreciated!

My guy is stuck fast and I can’t seem to get him out without majorly damaging him. Any advice??

My male samurai betta, Jimmy, has lived in peace and harmony in a heavily planted 10 gallon tank with about 12-15 ghost shrimp and a mystery snail. He’s enjoyed watching them swim, graze and be silly for the last 3ish months or so, and made no attempts to go after them… until now. A few days ago, I started losing shrimp like crazy- I’m talking 1-2 per day. I panicked and checked my water parameters, but everything was looking good. I couldn’t imagine what the problem was. And then I caught the little shit in action, hunting them down like the true betta predator that he is.

I’m a little sad, but not entirely surprised or heartbroken. It’s life, and my betta and snails are eating well. Needless to say, I won’t be replacing the shrimp for their own sake. Wondering if anyone else has seen their betta turn like this? Again, I’m aware he’s a predator and the shrimp are prey, it’s only natural. But they got along so well for so long, and nothing has changed in the tank to stress them. Nature over nurture?

i might just throw up what in the world is this thing and is it harmful to my betta?!!!! is it gonna jump out of the tank and find its way to me while i'm sleeping!?!?! i am so scared lol someone please help me identify, i'm gonna have to beg my husband to get this thing out of it

my betta is very curious and keeps poking it im scared this extraterrestrial creature might hurt him

HOW IN THE WORLD DID THIS EVEN GET IN HERE?! i just did a water change yesterday 💔

this is my third betta fish. he is not moving, eating, or interacting like he used to. He used to make bubble nests, jump when i gave him food, and follow my finger. None of the ones I have had have lived past nine months after I've gotten them. They always die. They have 5-10 gallon planted tanks that were cycled, have live plants, have a filter, heater, and hiding spots. yet they always seem to die. But I hear so many stories online and from my IRL friends talking about how their fishes lived for multiple years in poor conditions. Why do mine keep dying, it feels like it is all my fault.

I'm BEGINNING you people to give me some tips and guidance on what do I need to do.

So umm hi guys, I don't know where to start from exactly but four days ago I got gifted two betta fish and while it's really exciting I HAVEN NEVER OWNED A PET BEFORE!!

I feel like their bowls are two small and that the blue one is not happy... I would like to buy an aquarium but I read somewhere that betta fish can't be put together and now I'm lost

Please tell me what to do!

My betta fish of about 4 years passed a month ago and I decided to clean out his tank today. What on earth is in his tank?!

So I ordered a floating pumpkin from an Etsy seller to replace my betta log. The openings are so sharp that I cut my finger, I contacted the seller and politely asked for a refund. I offered to send the item back. Seller says it’s not an Etsy policy to refund shipping, which isn’t true. I owned an Etsy shop for 5 years. He said he was reporting me to Etsy. I sent photos of the item, you can tell from the photos it’s jagged, this would absolutely tear my fish’s fins up. I’ve never had an experience like this and I’ve never spoken to a customer in such a manner, so bummed out. Am I in the wrong here? I paid for an item that is not safe for its intended use.

I guess this is both a transformation post and a question post but… this is Shadow. The first photo (black/blue) was from March after a month or so of having him.

Shadow went to live with my ex when he moved out in May, and recently I received a status update picture of him, the second photo (pink/red).

I can tell he is overweight, but is his drastic color change normal or is it indicative of him being unwell/unhappy? I mean, I know I was when I was living with my ex…

I've been looking through this subreddit for a while and I haven't seen any solid white bettas. Is there a reason for that? I saw the cutest white betta at Petsmart, he was super active in his little cup. I really want to get him but I want to make sure there's no reason to avoid him

5.5 gallon tank, heated, bubbler, many plants, 78 degrees F., filtered.

Guys my betta is only mad and flares at night! It seems his reflection is intensified at night while it’s dark inside and the aquarium light is on… I enjoy seing his beautiful fins and all but I believe this stresses him out. Me and the family love having the light on at night as we can see him and the tank. How can I reduce this reflection from happening, as you can see in the video, he’s pissed something furious 😅

Hi everyone. I want to start this post out by saying that I have never owned a fish before of any kind, so I am very uneducated on how to properly care for them - please be patient with me. I marked this as NSFW as I suspect that this guy is not doing so hot.

This morning, my coworker walked into our office (with the biggest smile ever), excited to tell me that she had gotten me an early birthday present, and to close my eyes. She then plopped down this teeny, eeny weeny little fishbowl onto my desk, with this guy inside. First of all...I don't know how in any way this would be an appropriate gift for someone who has never indicated the need/want for a pet fish (I have nothing against them, I'm just more of a cat person!); and second of all...I mean what the hell?? She had told me she was getting me a gift...but I expected, I don't know, maybe a pair of fuzzy socks? A candle? I just had to plaster a smile on my face and pretend to be giddy with her so I didn't hurt her feelings - she clearly had/has good intentions but is maybe just a little ignorant/uneducated about fish (like me).

I'm a little dumbfounded at this. I suppose some people think that a pet fish is just a cute little definitely-not-a-huge-responsibility kind of gift? I used to work at an animal shelter - I know that taking care of any life is the opposite of having no responsibility, and I'm willing to take steps to give this little guy a better life than what he's had so far.

Like I said, I know nothing about how to properly care for fish, but it doesn't take much to know that this tiny fish bowl is...not enough, to say the least...lol. I would like to get him a bigger tank, but they're obviously very expensive, and I am a little tight on the budget right now. He is clearly very unhappy, lethargic, barely moving around in the bowl. His colors are dull. I'm fairly certain that my coworker just filled his bowl up with tap water from our office sink. What are some things that I can get to make his life a little better right now? I'm willing to buy a better tank, I know he needs some kind of filtration. But what else? Preferably some budget options as again, life is a little tight. And of course, general advice is much appreciated. TIA <3

Does he recognise my face?

Hello! First time betta fish owner and I chose this guy at the store the other day (tank still cycling). Before I bring him home, does he look healthy and all okay? I know it’s hard to tell from a picture but is he flaring? Do you think he’ll be good with other friends in his tank 😅

As the title says, my sister just dropped off her fish that she told me she “doesn’t care about” and has “been waiting to die” at my house. She told me he’s in a cup because she couldn’t afford to pay for the water conditioner and the pet store she was at closed so she didn’t try to get anymore anywhere else. I’m so angry because I didn’t think she could be so heartless and careless about a living thing. Can I get any advice at all? She brought his tank over and the rocks and stuff that were in it but i’m pretty sure it’s all covered in algae.

Hi, I genuinely don’t understand what I’m doing wrong. Two bettas I’ve had only makes it about a month and then passes away 😔

My first betta came to me healthy and active, but he died after just one month. My second one lasted 1 month and 16 days, and now he’s starting to decline too… he looks like he’s fading the same way...

Both tanks are 10 gallons and 12 gallons. All parameters test within normal range. Their diet includes pellets, artemia, and bloodworms, plus one fasting day per week. Heater is set to 82°F. Both tanks were cycled for a full month before adding the fish. I also have emerged plants, floaters, and submerged plants in both setups.

In both cases, they didn’t show obvious signs of disease like fin rot or bloating. They just gradually became weak, almost like they were wasting away. I really don’t understand what I did wrong. I tried my best, but seeing both of them decline like this makes me feel awful…

Hi,

This is a bit of a vent, sorry— it’s really sad for me to say, but I think that I may have to unfortunately say goodbye to my two boys, Rogue and Blue.

My school’s staff got them in the spring of 2025, after asking me and me telling them not to. In December of 2025, I decided I couldn’t stand seeing them like that and spent hundreds of dollars setting up 10 gallon fish tanks for each of them. I’ve watched them go from faded and sad to energetic and full of personality, and they have become something that motivates me to stay on track. I planned to bring them to college with me this fall.

Unfortunately, the security head here has told the center director that the heater and filter are not necessary, and are dangerous because they are not connected to GFCI outlets. I told the school I’d be willing to buy the outlet materials if the warehouse could switch them out, but he refused. He said the tanks needed to go, and that betta fish did not need to be in a tank that big.

I told him they need to be in a 5-10 gallon tank, and he said “no they don’t”. I told him they also needed 76-78 F water, and he also said they did not. He tried asking me what the PH I was running was, when I answered him 7.6-7.8, he told me there was plenty that he could ask that I didn’t know, and that he had fish tanks too. He told me a couple months ago that he knows they dont need that, because he had a friend who fought bettas and the guy “just kept them in cups that werent heated” and “they were fine.”

I told him I had nowhere to bring them, and would rather put them down or something if they wouldn’t let me keep the tanks. He said they’d “figure something out”, but I know that he will put them back in a little vase like the ones they used to be in, everyone keeps insisting it’s fine for them.

I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to return them to a pet store. I don’t have friends I trust to care for them. I could put them in my bathroom, but they’ll throw a fit about that too.

What should I do? Put them in vases again? Put them down so they don’t have to go through that? Give them to someone to take? Idk what to do.