Bettas usually like to live alone, yet they also grow bored easily and much prefer to be near “where the action is” while retaining their own defined “turf.”  Place your betta’s tank in a high-traffic, regularly-occupied part of the house, such as in the living room or near the kitchen.  Bettas like movement and action, even when they are not being directly interacted with.  Relocate the tank within the room occasionally, to provide the betta with a change of scenery.  New things to see will attract his attention and keep him engaged and interested in your goings-on. It’s hard to develop a bond with a nameless creature of any type, so find a name that suits your new little pal’s personality.  Like the lists of baby names that populate the internet, you can also find suggestions for betta names if you need some help.  Bettas are sensitive to the vibrations in water caused by sounds such as human voices, which some take as meaning your fish can learn to recognize your voice and its name.  See if you can trigger a regular response by saying your betta’s name each time you visit. At very least, talking to your betta provides opportunities for interaction, which it craves, and helps establish the bond on your end.  After all, who doesn’t want a good listener for a friend? Relocating the tank, as noted, is one way to change up the scenery, but even just looking at your fish regularly gives it something new to focus on and eventually recognize.  Male bettas are famous for “flaring” their fins — their response to encountering another betta — when seeing their reflection in a mirror.  There is debate as to whether frequent “mirror flaring” is good (as stimulation) or bad (as stress) for your betta, so perhaps employ it in moderation or to stay safe don't use a mirror. Keep in mind that some bettas can be timid and may be frightened at their own reflection. In addition to the occasional mirror (if desired), you can also doodle on the tank with dry erase markers or apply sticky notes cut into different shapes, or just simply place new and interesting objects just outside the tank.  Watch your betta investigate and react to these new phenomena. While tapping a fish tank is a natural human reaction, some experts say to avoid this because it can cause an unhealthy shock to your unprepared betta.  Rather, trace your finger along the glass and watch for the fish to react.  Your betta will probably start coming over to your finger, and even following it as it slides along the tank wall.  You might be able to get your fish to twist and loop in its pursuit. Bettas like coming to the surface, so bobbing toys and other objects can be a good idea for playtime as well.  Floating ping-pong balls can be very fun — just make sure they’re clean first. Check out How to Play with Your Betta Fish for plenty more playtime ideas. As with most animals, including people for that matter, the promise of a food treat can be powerful motivation for your betta to train.  With some patience and practice, your fishy friend can learn some fun tricks.  You can teach your betta to eat from your fingers by placing your digits increasingly closer to the food pellets you place in the water, until the fish takes the food right from them.  Your betta may even be able to leap out of the water to take food from your fingers.  The lure of food can also teach bettas to swim, or sometimes even leap, through hoops (which you can fashion out of pipe cleaners, for instance).  You might also, with practice, be able to teach your fish to push that ping-pong ball it plays with into a net.  How to Play with Your Betta Fish is also a good resource for training ideas and methods. The best way to bond with a betta is to treat it like any other true friend.  Visit when one or both of you is happy or sad, stressed out or flying high, healthy or sick.  Growing a bond with any type of creature takes effort, patience, openness, and care.
أبقها في منطقة نشطة. امنح سمكتك البيتا اسمًا وتحدث إليها. امنحها التحفيز البصري. العب مع سمكتك البيتا. درب سمكة البيتا. كن صديقها.