How to Teach Your Betta Fish to Swim Through a Hoop

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: January 20, 2020

Many fish owners are surprised to learn that betta fish can learn a variety of tricks. By choosing the right surroundings, sticking to a training schedule, and teaching your betta to follow your finger first, you can effectively and quickly train your betta to swim through a hoop, and eventually learn other tricks too!

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Setting up for Training

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Let your betta get used to its surroundings before attempting to train it. Betta fish are finicky animals that are easily disturbed by environmental changes. Give your betta fish at least a week to get used to its new tank after you bring it home before training and you will find it much more responsive to your commands.^{[1]
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- A betta fish will likely be scared by you in its first few days, so spend some time near the tank to get your fish used to your presence.
2
Wash your hands with soap and rinse them thoroughly for at least a minute. Before handling anything to train your fish with, wash your hands with non-toxic soap and rinse them thoroughly with water for at least 1 minute.^{[2]
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Research source} Look at your local pet store to find hand soaps that are safer for animals than human soaps.
- Betta fish can be harmed by chemicals in most soaps, so only use soap if your hands are particularly dirty, otherwise just rinse them with water.^{[3]
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3
Find a quiet room in which to train your betta fish to prevent disturbances. Betta fish are easily disturbed and agitated by loud noises, sudden movements, and other stimuli. Take your betta fish tank to a quiet room where you won't be disturbed, and let any other residents of your home know that you are training your fish and shouldn't be disturbed for at least 15 minutes.^{[4]
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- While you can certainly carry your betta fish to another room while training it, it's better to keep the tank in a quiet room all the time. Instead of keeping it in the living room, consider keeping it in the bedroom, for example.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Teaching Your Betta to Follow Your Finger

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Tap on the glass gently to get your betta fish's attention. Do not flick the glass or tap it hard, like the girl at the dentist in Finding Nemo. Instead, gently tap the glass with the pads of your finger and wait for your betta fish to come and investigate the noise.^{[5]
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Research source} Tap in the same area to more effectively draw your betta fish over.
- If you tap too hard, your betta fish will be startled and won't want to come. If you tap too softly, it won't recognize that you want its attention.
- A good way to get a gentle tap with the pad of your finger is to simply let your finger fall onto the glass from about 1 in (2.5 cm) away. This prevents loud knocks and gives just the right amount of strength to get your fish's attention.
2
Move your finger across the glass slowly and watch for it to follow. Once you have your betta fish's attention, slowly drag your finger in a line across the glass. Your betta fish won't respond at first, or even within the first couple tries, but eventually, it should start following your finger as you drag it across the glass.^{[6]
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- If your betta fish refuses to follow your finger, give it a couple minutes, then try again. You should plan to train your fish every day for at least 15 minutes to reinforce this behaviour.
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Reward your betta fish with food every time it follows your finger. As soon as your betta fish follows your finger, reward it with food. Fish have notoriously short memory spans, so it's vital that you have food at the ready to drop in at the very moment it stops following your finger. ^{[7]
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- This makes the fish associate the reward with following your finger and will make repeated training sessions much easier.
- Don't put your finger in the water to feed it or you could disturb or upset your fish and have to start training all over again.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Going through the Hoop

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Find an O-shaped object in the home and clean it. You can use shower rings, an automotive O-ring, or any other ring-shaped object that is at least 1.5 in (3.8 cm) in diameter. Wash the object thoroughly with soap and rinse it with water before introducing it to your betta fish.^{[8]
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- Avoid metal objects, and opt for rubber, plastic, or even glass instead. Metal is extremely hard to clean correctly and will introduce harmful chemicals into your betta fish's water.
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Tie a fishing line to the ring and place it inside the tank next to the glass. Tie a piece of fishing line to the ring and drop it into the water gently to prevent disturbing your fish. Maneuver it so that the hole of the hoop is not parallel to the side of the tank, but instead has one side of the ring touching the glass.^{[9]
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Research source} Don't lay the hoop flat against the glass or your fish won't be able to swim through it.
- Don't dangle it in the middle of the tank or you won't be able to direct your betta fish through the hoop with your finger.
- Fishing line is best as it won't introduce chemicals to the water and won't fray with time, making it perfect for repeat training sessions.
3
Drag your finger outside the glass to direct your betta through the hoop. With your betta fish trained to follow your finger, tap against the glass on one side of the hoop to get its attention, then drag your finger in the direction of the hoop to guide it through. If it already knows to follow your finger, this should go relatively quickly, but be patient and keep trying if it doesn't quite understand what to do at first.^{[10]
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- Patience and respect are the most important thing in training any animal. Don't tap harder or drag your finger quicker in frustration, take your time and use gentle movements to show your betta that you aren't a threat.
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Reward your betta fish with food every time it goes through. If your betta fish goes through the hoop at any point, immediately reward it with food. This instills the idea that following your command will lead to reward, making subsequent training sessions go much smoother.^{[11]
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- Don't stop training your betta fish if it goes through the hoop. Repetition is the best way to instill a trick into your fish, so after you reward it for going through the hoop, immediately drag your finger in the direction of the hoop again to ingrain this behavior in your betta fish further.^{[12]
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Community Q&A

Question

Aren't pipe cleaners made out of some type of metal? I've heard that you can't put any type of metal in a freshwater tank.

Community Answer

They are in the center, but it isn't enough metal to make a difference. It should be fine.
Question

I am going to feed my betta bloodworms. Since they can only eat 4-5 in one sitting, can I train it while feeding it? Or is there a special training treat for fish?

LeahlovesGod

Top Answerer

Feed them the bloodworms as a meal. This may motivate them to swim through the hoop. If they don't go through and eat the bloodworms, then give them the bloodworms as a regular meal and try again the following day.
Question

I made a hoop for my fish made out of pink pipe cleaners and now the pink is starting to turn an orangey-yellow. Is this from the water and is it going to damage my fish?

Titans - Gaming and more

Community Answer

It could just be the bacteria adapting to it, but you should ask a vet if you think it is bad for your fish. If the pipe cleaner has copper, take it out.

Warnings

This trick requires having a lot of patience and the realization that, depending on your betta's personality, the fish may never "learn" but will only go through the hoop object by chance. Still, any excuse to have fun with your fish is a good excuse to spend time together.

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Make sure that the hoop object is clean and wash your hands before training your betta.

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