Can fish be anti-social?

Question

i just bought a betta fish atleast a week ago and all he does is hide. When i go near the tank if he is swimming around he'll go to the bottom under a rock, and i havent seen him eat yet because he hides when i go to feed him. None of the bettas that i have had before have done this for as long as he has. Does he just need to get used to me, and will grow out of this or could he stay like that?

Answer 1

fish can be shy, excited, nonchalant, anti social.. list goes on.

what type of fish they are mostly determined their traits.  

Answer 2

Bettas really do have different personalities.  This new fish may be shyer than the ones you've had in the past.  I used to have these three bettas in three different tanks, and I would put the tanks next to one another every now and then to watch them flare.  The one betta, a blue vailtail named Archer, was completely dominant over the other two and they would flare for two minutes and then hide for hours when his take was next to theirs.  The other two bettas, a cambodian veiltail named Klementari and a red crowntail named Dragon, were of nearly identical aggressiveness or shyness or whatever you want to call it.  When I put their tanks next to one another, they would flare at each other for hours and hours, all day long.  It was weird, but cool, and they both seemed to like it, so I let them have tanks next to one another.  They flared for months and months, whenever a light was turned on, it was crazy.  A few people have told me it's bad for bettas to flare all the time, but I know that it isn't because those bettas were the happiest when they were next to one another.  I separated them one time and Dragon moped around and was horribly sad and seemed to miss his buddy.  He was just pathetic.  So I had to keep them near one another.  

Anyway, back to my point.  What I'm trying to say is, bettas have a wide range of personalities.  Maybe yours is just shy.  Maybe the water parameters or the temperature are off.  Or maybe he wants a friend.  It's hard to tell without knowing that betta.  But there are a few things you can do.  Check to make sure his water is free of ammonia and nitrites and that the temp is always 75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit.  And try feeding him at the same time every day; maybe he'll figure it out.  Spend a lot of time next to his tank so he can get used to you and never tap on the glass.  Or you can try putting one of your other bettas next to him so he can see the "intruder".  That'll make him flare.  

But it really depends.  If nothing else works, try giving him two or three brine shrimp, alive.  Once he figures out how tasty they are, he'll spring for them and you'll see him eat.  :)  Bettas just love moving food.  They're carnivores at heart, really.  

Answer 3

It isn't impossible for a fish to get used to you, but it's a rare occurrence. Most often, if a fish is easily spooked by people, he/she will remain easily spooked by people.

Don't take it personally; the fish sees you as a potential predator, so it follows an instinct to hide.