Betta jumping at my finger?

Elry · Feb 12, 2011

Callius started jumping at my finger all of a sudden for no real reason. I noticed it in the past week or two while he was recovering from some swim bladder. I'd lightly rest the tip of my finger in his tank and he'd not really react. But then one day he just started jumping at it when I held it above the water.

Sometimes I use my finger to lower the food into the water.

Could it be because he's ticked off at me for not feeding him for a while? Maybe he thinks there's food there? He sees it as a threat of some sort? Just a part of his personality?

Neither of my other bettas do this and it just developed in the past week or two. I know there's probably no real definitive answer, but I just want to see if anyone has any ideas. v.v

Platysaurus · Feb 12, 2011

I've heard of someone training a betta to jump whenever they held their finger above the water, and fed it like that. The betta would jump and get the food off of the end of their finger. Maybe he thinks you have food? I've never heard of a betta jumping out of the water because it was aggressive.

AvocadoPuffDude · Feb 12, 2011

MAD AT YOU? You're giving that little fish WAY too much credit for brain power!!!
It's got to be some natural behavior - either it thinks it sees a bug (food) or a threat.
Bettas are notoriously pugnacious.
I have a betta in my tank in a small "baby tank" to separate him from the 2 female bettas I have in my aquarium swimming freely. Whenever he sees a female betta next to his cage, he goes NUTS!!! Flaring, dashing about his little cage furiously, and then blowing more bubbles into his bubble nest. But he does the same behavior when a platy swims by....or a guppy......or a catfish......you get the idea.
When I feed him, he gets very upset at the intrusion. If I stuck my finger in his cage, he'd probably attack it. That's just how (male) bettas "are." Defending his territory!!!

ashleyspatula · Mar 7, 2011

My females do that now. When I first got them I would wet my finger in the tank first then the pellets stick so I just dip my finger again in the water.
Well after about a week of that when I lift the lid they scurry up and when I stick my finger in they start nipping at it

chronoboy · Mar 7, 2011

shoot in my 55g the second my finger goes near the water i get attacked by the giant danios and tiger barbs, they will come out of the water to nip my fingers, mean little brutes, my old oscars would put thier head out of the water to take pellets out of my hands once in awhile they would misjudge and my finger would end up in thier house.

Betta jumping at my finger?

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