Hobbies And Interests
Aggression
Male Betta fish are best known for their aggression towards each other, so setting up a science project focused on this trait is very simple. A few things you to do is test to see if your Betta is more aggressive towards a picture of another male Betta fish, another live male Betta fish or your Betta fish's own reflection. Your Betta will "dance" to show a warning and flare his gills to appear bigger if he is especially aggressive. After performing the experiment, evaluate if there was a difference in your fish's reactions and what it might mean about your fish.
Training
Teaching a fish to do tricks seems like a strange concept, but contrary to popular belief, fish are intelligent and capable of being trained. As with any animal training, the most useful tool to reinforce your training is food. Reward your Betta fish with a tasty fish treat every time it performs a trick, such as swimming through a tube or doing a back flip in the water. Document your Betta fish's progress and repeat the experiment with other breeds of Betta fish, or test to see if male or female Betta fish learn faster.
Food and Growth
Buy three or four baby Betta fish of the same breed and gender, and put them in different fish tanks. Buy four different brands of Betta fish food and give each fish a different brand for a few months. Document the rate of growth for each fish to determine which food promotes the most growth for Betta fish.
Territory
Male Betta fish are known for being very territorial, but can different circumstances change how territorial they become? Buy two male Betta fish and three fish bowls. Females are not aggressive, so they are not good choices for this experiment. Keep each Betta fish in its own bowl for two or three weeks alone. After this time, begin your experiment by taking fish number one and placing him inside fish number two's bowl. Document which fish is more dominant and aggressive. Does being out of his territory make Betta fish number one less or more aggressive? Repeat this experiment by taking fish number two and putting him in fish number one's bowl. Document their behavior. Then, take both fish from their bowls and place them in the third, unclaimed bowl. Are they even more aggressive towards each other in unclaimed territory? Place them back in their respective bowls immediately before documenting their behavior. Do not, under any circumstances, allow your fish to fight longer than the few seconds needed to confirm that they are extremely aggressive toward each other, as they will fight to the death if not separated.