Betta Fish..

They are called fighting fish for a reason.. We had 2, in their own fish bowls, but we would set them side by side and they would go crazy. We called it "going to the fish gym" and then we would move them apart and they would calm down a bit. Some are more active than others. Whats its name? We just aquired a gold fish and my grand daughter named it Ballerina. When she feeds it, it sorta stands on its tail fin and does a cute ballerina spin to eat.

It is by itself or with other fish?

Also, you should NOT put it in with a Male Betta... or she will get harassed/chased all the time.. and the female will swim fast and crazy to get away.

Do not combine a male & Female betta, unless you want to breed it.

Betta should have their own tank. Even mating them is precarious. Even when our male was putting bubbles oln the top of his water (a sign he wants to mate) we tried a female and the two of them just about killed each other. Its a wonder this species of fish survive. Keep her in her own water wiht a little plant (fake or otherwize) and they will do fine.

We have a few males (seperate bowls) I've noticed one will go crazy if I'm wearing a dark color. I think the color makes him think there is another fish near by. Maybe something is causing her to think another fish is in the tank? Reflection? Google betta fish to see what you find. Also, in SF there may be a few pet fish only stores that have some people with knowledge to know if she's stressed of if this is normal for the females.

I have never heard anything about them being calm. I think they might come across that way because they are usually kept individually. I know with the one my son had, if you put a mirror by the aquarium he would go crazy. They like to fight and are territorial.
They are beautiful though!

Is it with other fish? They're VERY territorial and can only be put in with certain other fish. We've had Betta's for a while... we always kept 2 in a tank with a divider... but since the last one died, the lonely guy left fluffs out. He's kind of like a dog. Whenever he knows he's going to get fed, he spazzes out... it's kind of cute ;) But for the most part he's pretty tranquil...

We've had a few Betta's. One of them was CRAZY. I had 2, each of them in their own vases on our mantle. The one , would swim fast, stick it's head out of the water. I noticed it was missing. I found it super crusty , stuck on the mantle, must've jumped out. I had to pry him off w/ a butter knife. The other ones we've had, haven't been like that and lived for quite a while.

Need more info. I suggest you talk with a clerk at a pet store that sells fish. They can tell you all you need to know and then some about your fish.

I was going to buy a female betta and was told that she would do fine with my other fish. I watched her at the pet store and she didn't seem to swim any more than the other fish. She was in a tank with other fish, not bettas.

There is a big difference between male and female bettas. Females are more like other fish. i.e. do not flare and in comparison to a male are more calm. However, they do swim back and forth nearly all the time, if that's what you're describing.

You can keep them in a community tank - just not with other Bettas. We had a male named Alpha Beta that was active when he saw DS - he would come up to the top, take food out of DS's fingers and let him pet him. He met an unfortunate end when he decided to see the world outside the tank. Our next Betta (Zeta Beta) was an extremely ordinary/dull fish who had no interest in children.

Betas are a very aggressive fish. They like to fight. That is why you only put one in a tank and if you get more you have to get the tank that is divided.

Our older son had a Beta fish & when any of us got close to the bowl, he would swim around like crazy. One other word of advice....be prepared to be in this for the long haul as Beta fish live FORever! And, they can go along time w/o food! Even tho this fish belonged to our older son, I was the one whoe cleaned the tank & fed George! Once for abuto 2 weeks, I said, 'That's it. I'm not feeding or caring for this fish amymore. It's yours, take care of him.' Well, no food or clean water & the damn thing survived!