new betta owner

Thanks for the helpful replies. He's slowly but surely eating, though doesn't seem to be a fan of the pellets I got for him. I'll try the pellets you suggested, especially if they're better for him than the generic pet-store type.

He loves the freeze-dried bloodworms though!!! I soak them in water until they've swelled up and softened. The little guy has actually started jumping out of the water for them!

For the pea, is there a certain way I should give it to him? I know to remove the skin, but should i cut it into little bits and drop it in the water or is there a special way?

As far as the anubis plant goes, I've just rearranged the tank due to the heater problem. It's now just as you suggested - trunk out of the gravel. The picture doesn't show it so well since some gravel is in front of the plant.

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That is a nice set up for your betta there! My double fin male also swam rather fast at the walls of his home when I entered the room. But after a while, he stopped doing it. Now he swims out from behind his plant and greets me when I sit down at my desk. I suspect he is waiting for food that wont come till the next morning, but it is nice to see him recognize me. He even follows my finger around the sides of his home.
 
Nice tank. One happy betta, I'd bet :). Try tieing that java fern onto the ornament because java fern does not like its rhizome and root/grabby thingies in substrate IME
 
Frozen foods are also easy to give IMO, and my betta goes nuts over them. I do blood worms and brine shrimp. They arent expensive, come in cubes. Store them in your freezer, thaw out one cube at a time in a dixie cup with a little tank water. He should only need about 2-3 worms every day, with one day a week no feeding. Just refridgerate leftovers. However, I noticed that they dont stay good for more than a week once thawed, even in the fridge, so I feed some to my other tanks and the ADF in my bettas tank at the same time. I have it down now where one cube lasts me 5 days and all of my fish enjoy the treat! I use a turkey baster to suck up the worms then squirt them in the tank. Shogun now knows what the turkey baster tip means and swims right up to it waiting for the food to fall out.

As for the pea, make sure you microwave it until it is soft and then cut it up into small pieces. If its is hard he'll have a hard time swallowing and digesting it. If he doesnt eat it, you can soak it in garlic to make it more appealing.
 
what i did with frozen foods back when i just had a few bettas was shave some of the cube off and feed that, then pop the rest of the still frozen cube into a ziploc and back into the freezer for the next feeding. worked great and no waste or worry about it going bad in the fridge.
 
Thank you thank you thank you to those who suggested Atison's betta food! Whiskey absolutely loves it and gobbled it up as soon as he first tasted it! I'm so happy to see him actually eating the food now rather than seeing him spit it out and hoping that he eats it later while I'm at work.

For the java fern, I'm not sure the best way to attach it to the rock. Rubber band? String? Just set it next to it? Should it be on top of the rock like some sort of coral-like thing or in the gravel next to the rock? Any input would be much appreciated!

Thanks again for all your answers and tips!

Also, if anyone is interested, I've started teaching Whiskey some tricks. He's surprisingly fast at learning. I'm teaching him to follow the tip of a straw around his tank, and he's already learned how to jump out of the water for his food. I know this is a natural instinct for bettas, but it's fun to show it off to friends who visit! I have a link on youtube of his jumps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGZ_XbgxRnM

Next up, swimming through a hoop. :)
 
i wouldn't advise teaching him to jump out of the water. one day you may come home to a dried up betta on the floor, if there are any openings at all in your tank lid (and there usually is enough space beside filters, etc for them to jump out).

for the java fern, tie it to a rock that is heavy enough to keep the plant down, or tie it to the backside of the ornament. use regular ol' sewing thread (it will disintegrate in the water eventually, once the plant is rooted to whatever it is tied to). you can also use super glue to adhere it to something. just make sure the glue is dry and set before putting back in the tank.
 
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