Leaping female betta!
- Thread starter FreshyFresh
- Start date
3 of the 4 of my female bettas are serious jumpers when it comes to feeding time. If a particle of food (or anything that resembles food) sticks to the underside of a glass versa-top, they jump to get it. I had one (not the plopper), leap out and bite me on the hand during a water change. It hung on for s second!!
OTOH, the male bettas I've had never exhibited this behavior.
Good news is, the one that hit the tile floor for the second time in her life is looking and acting perfectly fine this AM. These are TOUGH little fish!
There are a couple options for you that you can consider.
One is to not open the lid all the way; just open it enough to sneak a hand (and therefore food) in. That increases the likelihood of an angled strike against the versa-top if she chooses to jump, but also increases the likelihood of her flight being aborted and her landing back in the tank.
Another is to rig some kind of netting using the versa top to hold down one end. That way, you can work your hand under the netting, but the netting will keep her from actually escaping. Of course, there is a slight chance of her getting stuck, but if she's *just* jumping when you open the top, then you'll immediately see if she's stuck.
If you have a HOB on the tank, I can't remember and didn't see any mention of filtration in a quick look back through the thread, you can also try dropping food into the water returning to the tank. Nothing opens, so there would just be food automagically appearing in the water.
One is to not open the lid all the way; just open it enough to sneak a hand (and therefore food) in. That increases the likelihood of an angled strike against the versa-top if she chooses to jump, but also increases the likelihood of her flight being aborted and her landing back in the tank.
Another is to rig some kind of netting using the versa top to hold down one end. That way, you can work your hand under the netting, but the netting will keep her from actually escaping. Of course, there is a slight chance of her getting stuck, but if she's *just* jumping when you open the top, then you'll immediately see if she's stuck.
If you have a HOB on the tank, I can't remember and didn't see any mention of filtration in a quick look back through the thread, you can also try dropping food into the water returning to the tank. Nothing opens, so there would just be food automagically appearing in the water.
Funny thing is, for this last leap, I only lifted the one versa-top an inch or two (all I ever do for feeding anymore). It was just enough for her to bound right over the top edge of the tank. Zing.... PLOP!
I've had 2 others get up onto the edge as well, competing for food. It's like a sea world act I tells ya.
I've got a canister and internal filter on this tank.
I've had 2 others get up onto the edge as well, competing for food. It's like a sea world act I tells ya.
I've got a canister and internal filter on this tank.
Some people train there bettas to jump for food. Maybe your betta used to be rewarded for jumping haha
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Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
Start a betta circus and have them jump through a ring of fire! LOL
In all seriousness though i hope you can figure out something to help with the jumping. I have to figure something out because my cat bam bam got hold of my brothers african butterfly fish yesterday
but i saved it in time and it survived the night surprisingly.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
In all seriousness though i hope you can figure out something to help with the jumping. I have to figure something out because my cat bam bam got hold of my brothers african butterfly fish yesterday
but i saved it in time and it survived the night surprisingly.Sent from my SGH-T989 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
