Betta fish is one of the most popular pets in the fishkeeping hobby. Everyone tries to keep betta fish at least one time. Now if you are currently keeping bettas or planning to keep betta then it is important to know whether your betta fish is happy or not.

Betta fish is exploring the tank with smooth swimming & showing vibrant body color means he is happy enough. Building a bubble nest is another sign that implies betta is ready to mate & he is completely happy & healthy. Furthermore, a happy betta fish doesn’t hide too much in the tank & eats well too. 

We know these couple of lines haven’t clarified everything about the topic. So here we are going to discuss the top 7 proven ways to understand whether your betta fish is happy or not. Learn from here & check instantly. 

So without wasting time let’s dive deep into the topic. 

How to tell if betta fish is happy?

The happiness of any fish depends upon the whole aquarium system. These are combined with some internal & external factors. Betta fish is no exception. They need the same thing that other fish need to be happy & healthy. 

• Betta is showing vibrant colors

The vibrancy of the color of betta fish is one of the most significant ways to understand whether he is happy or not. 

When he is not feeling comfortable then body colors may start fading off gradually. So you must check the colors of his fins & body to check if everything is going well. 

You must check horizontal stripes along with his body. Horizontal stripes indicate fear or a stressful condition for the betta. It simply means your betta is not happy. 

However, vertical stripes across the body indicate the betta is in favorable condition for mating. Female betta only shows this kind of vertical bar. You must know that fear stripes are more identifiable than breeding stripes. 

• Betta is swimming smoothly

Another significant way to understand whether betta is happy or not is its swimming ability. 

Betta fish is exploring the tank means he is very happy with his current living place. To make them happy you can build a planted betta tank. It will help him to explore more & show activities. 

Sometimes betta fish show lethargic behavior. Beginner fish keepers should not worry about it unless he is showing it for a long period of time. 

A lazy or unhappy betta may stay near the bottom of the tank & may face trouble in swimming. On the other hand, a happy betta swims or flits very quickly from one side to another of the tank. 

To make him active you can try to play with him in different ways. However, it takes time so be patient. 

Read More:- How to train betta fish? Top 5 simple & easy tricks

• He is not hiding 

A great sign of a happy betta is that he is not hiding for a long period of time. 

Nano planted tank is a good place for keeping betta with lots of hiding places. It is very common for a happy betta to explore the tank but should not stay at those places. 

He is not coming out means he is stressed or he is in fear of coming out somehow. In this case, you must do something to help him to come out. 

This is a sign of sick betta fish also. In this case, you have to diagnose your betta well. Otherwise, you may lose your pet anyhow. 

Read More:- Types of Betta Fish: 7 Popular Patterns with Pictures

• Betta is eating well

 A happy betta fish will always try to eat food. It is a great sign to measure whether your betta is happy & healthy or not., 

In the wild betta are carnivores. They eat mosquito larvae, worms, insects, etc. Now your betta may not prefer any type of pellets. So you have to try live bloodworms, brine shrimps etc. If you see your betta is not interested in these foods then you must know that fish is not well.     

To understand feeding behavior you can apply some tricks on betta fish. Swimming through hoops, and jumping from the water surface are some tricks that betta can learn to perform. 

If your betta can do properly immediately you should give him a treat. This way you can develop new feeding habits for your betta fish. However, it takes time & sick betta will not perform these anyhow.   

Read More:- Types of Betta Fish: 7 Popular Patterns with Pictures 

• The bubble nest is built by betta

A bubble nest is another significant way to understand the condition of your betta fish. 

Betta is building a bubble nest which means it is trying to mate with the female one. Although he can build it without seeing any female betta also. 

Actually building a bubble nest means betta is healthy & happy and he is ready to mate. He can take care of his own young fries. So you should not be worried about your betta’s condition if you see a bubble nest at the water surface. 

You must know female betta doesn’t play any role to take care of her young so she doesn’t build any kind of bubble nest. If she is making a bubble means there is something wrong that happened to her.  

Read More:- Keep Betta Fish Happy & Healthy: 6 unique Veterinary Guidelines

How to tell if your betta fish likes you

If betta fish jumps from the water to take food from your hand or if betta swims through a hoop directed by you it means betta fish is really happy and likes you a lot. Betta fish is flaring at you is a negative sign. It means he wants to get rid of a certain situation.  

Generally, betta fish flares by seeing his own reflection or seeing any other betta fish. At that time, he feels unsafe. So you must do other activities to get rid of this situation. 

To overcome this, you can treat him to some delicious food. For example live bloodworm, frozen bloodworm, brine shrimp etc. A bad water condition or a very short place may lead to this kind of situation. On a contrary, betta can live in a nano tank. So a 5-gallon tank won’t create any problem. 

To make him fall in love with you try to spend more time with him. Try to play with him. You can give him a sweet name. It is worthy enough to create a bond with your betta fish. 

Best of luck & happy fish keeping.

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