Betta fish are curious and intelligent, and they can become bored, especially if they don’t have tankmates to keep them distracted. So, you won’t be surprised to learn that your betta buddy will get a lot of fun and stimulation out of having some toys and decorations in his tank.
In this helpful guide, we review our Super Six best toys and decorations for your betta. We give you some important advice on how to choose betta fish toys too.
So, let’s dive right in and check out those betta toys!
Quick Summary: Best Betta Fish Toys
 | Our Top Pick Leaf Hammock |
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 | R2 Fish School Complete Fish Training Kit |
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 | Zoo Med Laboratories Betta Bling Diver with Hoop |
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| Java Moss Marimo Ball Stone Pad |
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 | Zoo Med Floating Betta Log |
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 | Indian Almond Leaves |
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Our Super 6 Betta Fish Toys
When choosing toys and decorations for your betta’s tank, be very careful that you only pick items that have no sharp edges or rough areas, which could injure your fishy friend.
Also, although mirrors are often suggested as betta toys, a mirror will trick your betta into thinking that there is an intruder in his habitat. That will make your betta flare-up and face-off the perceived dangerous interloper.
Although watching your fish’s territorial behavior is entertaining, it is also extremely stressful for your betta, so we don’t recommend that you place mirrors in or near your betta tank.
Leaf Hammock
- A naturalistic leaf hammock for your Betta to rest on
- The perfect resting hammock for your natural look aquarium
- Attach near the top of your Betta's tank using the enclosed suction cup
A leaf hammock is a popular betta toy that focusses on the betta’s love of resting spots in their habitat. The toy is simply a broad plastic leaf that invites your fish to lay back and relax.
A handy suction cup on the leaf enables you to place the hammock wherever you want to in your fishy friend’s home. The best spot for the hammock is close to the top of the tank so that your betta doesn’t have far to go to take a gulp of air or grab some food from the water surface.
Before you put the hammock into your betta’s tank, double-check that it doesn’t have any sharp edges, and always choose a brand that is silky in texture, rather than hard.
R2 Fish School Complete Fish Training Kit
- Includes a 45 minute detailed instructional DVD featuring world famous fish trainer Dr Dean Pomerleau
- Includes a Full Color manual with over 100 photos and packed with training tips
- The easy to use, targeted feeding wand comes with each kit making it easy to reward your fish at the correct times
Now, you may have read that fish are not intelligent and that you cannot interact with your pet. Well, the R2 Fish School Fish Training Kit dispels that myth!
The kit contains lots of interactive toys that you can use to entertain your betta and even teach him a few tricks too.
The training kit contains:
- Hoops
- A miniature football pitch and tiny footballs
- A feeding wand that holds a food pellet
The kit comes complete with a detailed instructional DVD with training tips from Dr. Dean Pomerleau, a world-renowned fish trainer. Included with the kit, you also get a full-color manual, containing over 100 photos and handy training tips.
Hoops
- This product is easy to use
- This product adds a great Value
- This product is Manufactured in China
Some betta owners have reported that they have been able to teach their betta to swim through a hoop to get a food reward. So, if you don’t want to splash out on a complete training kit, why not start small and buy just one hoop?
In their wild state, bettas inhabit a territory of several square feet. They spend their days foraging for food and patrolling the boundaries of their patch, fending off any would-be interlopers. In captivity, betta fish can become obese due to a lack of activity. So, encouraging your fish to work for his treats by swimming through a hoop is a neat way of keeping your pet in shape.
The Zoo Med Laboratories Betta Bling Diver with Hoop is a cute toy that features a scuba diver holding a hoop that the fish can swim through. The toy fixes to the side of your fish tank via a suction cup. Move the toy frequently to keep your betta interested.
Marimo Moss Balls
Marimo Moss Balls make a brilliant addition to your betta tank. These popular living toys are actually a form of algae, rather than moss.
Bettas love to use Marimo moss balls as a hiding place or shelter, and the bright green spheres make an excellent resting spot too. Also, moss balls absorb nitrates from the tank water, helping to keep your aquarium healthy.
In nature, Marimo moss balls occur in lakes where the water is cooler than that in a tropical aquarium. However, these adaptable plants will usually do just fine in the warm environment of your betta tank.
Floating log
- Make your Betta Happy. Helps relieve boredom from captivity.
- Comes complete with top feeding hole
- For use in a minimum 2 gallon Betta enclosure
The Zoo Med Floating Betta Log is a classic betta fish toy that is loved by bettas right around the world!
The floating log provides a perfect resting and hiding spot for your fishy friend, as well as giving your setup a neat natural look. The tubular ornament resembles a hollow floating piece of log. The log floats close to the surface of the water in the perfect spot for your betta to benefit from the handy hideout.
Indian Almond Leaves
- EASY TO USE - Only drop a few leaves into your tank. Bettas will start nibbling on the leaves, using them for cover or may even lay eggs on the leaves, easily creating black water quality which is the water condition in their habitat;create a comfortable rest area and a tropical rainforest environment for tropical fish.Before placing the product in the aquarium, rinse before use, even after boiling or soaking.
- BENEFITS OTHER has many advantages for fishes like goldfish and snail owners can benefit from the magical leaves. Giving your fish this environment calms them down and boosts immunity. It also helps accelerate their healing rate, prevents fishes from getting ill easily, imparts color to them and makes their scales firmer.Sample use only Two or three small pieces (cut) of 4 × 4cm size are sufficient
- Induced breeding and boost immunity.betta leaf can keep fishes more actively and vitality. Stabilize water quality, and promote fish breeding capacity. The tannins can add color to the water and stable the fishs color.It also helps accelerate their healing rate, prevents fishes from getting ill easily and provides fishes with a place to anchor their eggs. Suitable most kinds of tropical fish.
Fancyte Indian Almond Leaves have many benefits for betta fish!
The leaves give your tank an authentic, natural look. Also, as your fish nibbles on the leaves, he will benefit from a reduction in his stress levels, he’ll absorb extra minerals and other important elements, and his immune system will receive a helpful boost.
Click here to read a full article about why you should be using Indian almond leaves in your betta tank!
Why does your betta fish need toys?
Now, we reckon that most people don’t understand why toys are so important for your fishy friend. So, here’s why you should treat your betta buddy to a selection of the toys we’ve recommended in our guide.
Boredom breakers
In their natural environment, bettas are busy fish! Not only do they have to patrol the borders of their territory, but they must also catch food, seek mates, and build bubble nests too. Although you will see your fish engaging in these behaviors in his tank, wild bettas range around a large territory of several feet square, a much bigger area than they have in captivity.
So, adding a few toys, decorations, moss balls, etc., can help to keep your betta busy in a smaller home range than he would have in the wild.
Comfort and security
Betta fish are actually quite shy. In their natural environment, there’s lots of dense vegetation that offers shelter and hiding places for them. However, in your display tank, your fish will be more out in the open where you can enjoy his beautiful colors.
So, many of the toys that you can give your betta fish are designed to provide him with hiding places, as well as mental stimulation. If your betta knows that he can quickly dart into a shelter when he feels the need, he will spend more time out in the open water where you can admire him.
Chill-out spots
All bettas, especially those with very long fins, love having a selection of comfy resting places where they can chill-out. It’s actually very hard work for a long-finned betta to drag that extravagant tail around all day, and a resting place is very important for your fish.
So, if you don’t have any broad-leaved plants growing in your tank, you should definitely provide your betta with a silk or plastic leaf to rest on.
How to choose betta toys
When choosing betta toys, keep in mind that bettas with long fins and trailing tails can be injured by sharp objects or rough surfaces. So, before you add any toys or decorations to your tank, be sure to check them carefully for safety first.
As we mentioned above, mirrors don’t make good toys for betta fish. Although you might enjoy seeing your betta flaring at his reflection, that is actually very stressful for your fish. A stressed betta will be more susceptible to diseases than a fish who is calm and chilled-out, so we don’t recommend using mirrors in or next to your betta tank.
You can keep your betta stimulated in his tank by rearranging his toys and decorations from time to time. Bettas are curious fish, and a change of scenery will help to keep your pet happy and occupied as he explores the adjustments that you have made to his home’s interior décor scheme.
Final thoughts
Providing your betta fish with toys is not as daft as it might at first sound.
Because male bettas are extremely territorial and aggressive, you must keep them in isolation or provide them with a safe company in the form of a few suitable peaceful tankmates of a different species. So, to prevent your fish from becoming bored and frustrated, you must provide him with entertainment in the form of toys and decorations such as those we’ve suggested in this guide.
Also, adding living plants to your betta’s environment will not only help to mimic his natural environment, but the growing vegetation will also improve water quality, help to harbor healthy bacteria, and provide hiding places for your betta too.