What do you mean floating? Can he swim at all?

Siamese fighters are very quiet fish & inquisative when they settle into their new tank.

How is the tank set up. They are a tropical fish so the ideal setup should have a heater. Although they are very hardy, they generally only live 2 or less years in a small unheated tank. Mine is in a heated tank with plenty of room for real plants, they LOVE to sleep in amongst plants & mine has a rock castle, they also love to hide away. He's 4 years old. I also have a filter for him, but they generally don't like the noise of filters so I added a tap to the hose to adjust the amount & size of bubbles coming through, so the it's nice & quiet & doesn't disturb him.

How long did you let him float? Ideally as they are floating you want to open the bag and add small amounts of water from the tank to the bag. That way they get used to the temp and the water conditions. If he ate tho odds are he's fine, just getting used to his new digs.

Lisa

I let him loose for about an hour and he didn't do much at all ... Just seemed to "hang around" .
Now,after a couple hours - I notice he's investigating his new home. Thank goodness . For awhile I was thinking I got a sick fishie. I'm sure this will be another "pet" I'll spoil ! LOL

I'm off to betta shop tomorrow. I had one live for over three years, his replacement lasted 6 months and his replacement lasted less than 24 hours. He jumped out of the bowl. The new replacement lasted two months, so I can't figure what's up. Same big bowl cleaned once a week and bottled water used and flakes betta food. My last was very little and had a fringed tail. Wasn't as "neat" as the others. My best one was from Walmart and the others came from Petsmart. I have a small pedestal by the window on the kitchen counter and I see him all the time..

LOL! I used to have a betta. Truthfully, they just don't really "do" a lot. There is one at the bank I go to and he mostly hangs around motionless by a plant. Even when I increased the tank size for mine, it was kind of lost on him...they're just lethargic that way.

I have had a couple of bettas, each lived well over 2 years. They really are not active fish, & sometimes lounge to the extent I have had to check to make sure he's alive. Lovely though, & I'm really thinking about getting another.

Mine hides in the stones at times. He's not very active. Apparently a very hearty fish as his vase of water is very cold - no heater - no plants. I've had him a couple of years and just feed him daily now. I clean the vase or change it, clean the stones. I put him back in once I get the water the same temperature as the water he was originally in. I am surprised to hear they should have warm water and a heater. The pet shop never mentioned anything like that. She sold me the Betta and a vase to put him in along with the food?

I have never used a heater with my Betta's...hmmmm....
And, you know, one thing to think about....we buy them as adult fish (full fins/adult size)...no one really knows how old they are when we get them.

Well - I'm happy to know mine isn't just the only LAZY fish there is ! I did the same thing Junebug - thought I was giving him a fabulous big bowl to romp around in. I think all he does is lay on the rocks. LOL

labmomma they orignally come from the tropics & live in foot prints in rice fields.

As I said they are hardy, but if you want a HAPPIER fish that lives longer they should not be in vases but tanks (the tank doesn't have to be big) with a heater.

Google them, you'll be suprised what you find out about them.

Here's some info from http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/anabantids2/p/betta.htm

"Although many fish keepers are aware that Bettas come from shallow waters, a key factor that is often overlooked is the water temperature. These countries are tropical, which means the water temperature is quite warm - often reaching into the 80's. Bettas thrive on heat, and will become increasingly listless when the water temperature falls below 75 degrees F. Water temperature is perhaps the biggest argument against keeping a betta in a tiny bowl (which cannot readily be heat controlled)."

I have had my 2 for a while now, they are in the double tanks they sell for bettas, but they do seem to be more apt to be motionless here lately, and I keep going up to them to make sure they are okay, guess I have another reason to turn the thermostat up in the house:)

I've had many bettas over the years. They often become friendly, inquisitive pets. I keep my current guy in a 10-gallon heated, filtered tank with lots of live plants and 4 zebra danios and 3 catfish. Everyone gets along fine.

Try keeping your pet near where you hang out (like next to where you watch TV at night, or eat breakfast in the morning)... they will stare at and interact with you for hours. I've been able to teach them to swim through my wedding ring (they love checking out shiny/sparkly objects) and eat dried bloodworms from my hand.

They can be very slow and subtle as they prowl around the nooks and corners in the tank, but my current one seems to love to swim in the strong current from the filter - he'll swoosh back and forth many times in a row, purposely swimming with all his might into the current and being swept down to the bottom of the tank, and then back up again, back and forth, over and over again. It must be good exercise, because he's incredibly buff!

Great little pets with few demands.

Susan

Well, I went out tonight to Petsmart and bought another betta. I got a fringed tail but a bigger one than the last one. He is very pretty with a blue body and red tail. So far so good. Maybe I should name him. I have never done that but I do name most all of my koi in the pond which some people think silly. Anyone else name their betta?? My grandson has a bearded dragon named Bob.

Yep mine is named Kasem. It's thai for happiness.