The Siamese fish, also known as fighting fish or Betta, fight with other fish in the wild. Although he prefers to live alone, he likes to play with you if you train him. To get started, you can teach it to follow your finger; once he learns this skill, you can train him to perform many other tricks and games, such as jumping or getting bigger. By learning a few exercises, your fish will not get bored and do physical activity.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Preparations
Step 1. Get familiar with your fish
You may be surprised to learn that this animal is able to recognize you and can bond with you as well. If you spend time around him, he is more likely to learn to stand out, which is important in training.
Step 2. Check your health
Check that its colors are bright and sharp; the fins must not have tears or holes, the scales must be smooth and the animal must not move with difficulty, but in a fluid and rapid way. The presence of bubbles on the surface of the water is a good sign and indicates that the fish is healthy; if you want to train him, it is important that he is in excellent physical condition.
Step 3. Get some treats
Purchase some snacks, such as freeze-dried chironomi; they are excellent delicacies to offer him during training, as they are small and can be crushed; however, this fish also eats tubifex worms, mosquito larvae and daphnia (small crustacean). Although treats and food are perfect for training, it is dangerous to overfeed the fish; a fully developed adult male should eat a maximum of 2-3 pellets or 3-4 chironomi per meal, no more than twice a day.
- If he appears bloated, cut back on his food, as he may be constipated. You can understand that he suffers from constipation by looking at his abdominal area from the side; if it looks bloated, the fish is probably suffering from constipation. You may also notice that he doesn't defecate at all; in this case, you don't have to feed him for two days, then give him a piece of pea pulp (not the peel) as big as his eye.
- Make sure you thaw the food before giving it to him.
Step 4. Wash your hands
You need to wash them before starting training or approaching the aquarium. Use warm water but not soap, as it can be toxic to fish. At the end of an exercise session, wash your hands again, but this time also use soap.
Step 5. Get his attention
Gently tap on the glass of the tub and check that the animal is looking at your hand; if not, give him half a worm or a morsel so that he will notice your presence. Once he's focused on your hand and his gills are moving quickly, you can proceed with the training.
Avoid tapping too hard or repeatedly on the aquarium glass, otherwise you could give it a shock
Part 2 of 2: Training
Step 1. Teach them to follow your finger
Drag it along the front wall of the aquarium or bowl. If the fish follows it, reward it immediately with a morsel; if he doesn't notice you, shake your finger until he notices. Move your fingers in multiple directions; initially, move them horizontally, from side to side of the tank and then vertically, down and up, remembering to reward the fish every time it follows your movements.
- Perform a 3-5 minute session each time, several times a day. When you learn to follow your fingers regularly and consistently, you can continue with other tricks.
- Once he learns this exercise, it becomes easier to teach him other games.
Step 2. Teach him to be great on command
When a male sees another male in the wild, it spreads out. Basically, it stretches the fins and opens the gills as much as possible and can even appear twice as large as its normal size. You can teach this cute trick regardless of whether your little friend is a boy or a girl and it is a way to get him to exercise, not get bored and encourage him to form the bubble nest - a cluster of small bubbles on the surface of the water that they are methodically blown by the male. Do this exercise for only three to five minutes a day, otherwise you risk making him too tired. Follow these steps:
- Get a mirror and a pen with a red or black cap, making sure you always use the same color each time you train it, so the fish will recognize it;
- Put the mirror in front of the aquarium;
- When the fish swells, put the pen near the mirror;
- Repeat the sequence two or three more times;
- As soon as it starts to get bigger, take off the mirror and leave the pen alone;
- Give him a treat or regular food every time he swells;
- Keep going until the fish learns how to do this every time you show him the pen.
Step 3. Teach him to jump
This is a natural habit for fighting fish. To train your specimen, use a stick on which you have placed half a chironomo worm, making sure the fish is able to reach it; initially, hold the stick below the water level so that the fish can easily approach. Next, move it closer to the surface, the Betta should swim towards you, after which it should follow it even when the stick is on the water; when he realizes that there is food hanging there that he can eat, he tries to jump even if the stick is out of the water. Once he has mastered the trick, you can use your fingers instead of the stick.
- By halving the worms, you avoid giving them too much food; remember not to give him more than 3-4 chironomists in each training session.
- You can teach the fish to recognize the stick with food - a kind of thin skewer with the bent end that the morsel is attached to - when you feed them normally.
- Siamese fish spontaneously jump when excited or scared. Buy a lid to put on the aquarium to prevent it from jumping out; be careful though, as it may also jump when you remove the lid to feed it.
Step 4. Train him to jump through a hoop
Get a pipe cleaner, fold it into a circle of about 5 cm in diameter and hang it in a corner of the aquarium; make it perpendicular to an aquarium wall and make contact with it. Move a finger along the wall, outside the tub, indicating a path that crosses the circle; every time the fish swims in the circle, give it a treat. Repeat the process until you perform this exercise regularly, but gradually reduce the diameter of the circle to about 3 cm. When the fish gets comfortable, move the circle farther and farther away from the walls and continue to offer him the exercise until you can put him in the center of the aquarium.
- This is one of the hardest tricks to teach him, so don't be discouraged if it takes a while for him to learn.
- Make sure the pipe cleaner is new and does not contain any toxic substances that could harm the fish.
Step 5. Keep trying
Eventually the fish realizes that he can get a reward by doing what you ask him; proceed with only one training session per day and be consistent. However, you must not overdo it; make sure he has enough time to rest and relax.
