I got my first betta the yesterday and after just half an hour of him being home he looked, well, not brilliant. another half hour past and he was just layed still on a plant, so still in fact i thought he was dead. as i reached the net toward him to lift him out he shot away and for a while he looked a bit healthier.

Anyway, just been to check on him now and his colour is coming back and he's swimming about more. Will he be ok? is he just stressed from moving homes? and a bit shy?

It could be just the stress. I used to have a betta, and he got like that sometimes. But keep an eye on him and let us know if he gets better or worse.

could well be stress my female shows stress bars at water change and sits on bottom like shes dead if water temps not spot on.

Congrats on your new Betta.Although quite beautiful,those guys sure can act odd at times and scare the crap out of you.
Aslong as you evenly matched the temps of the water with the water he came in,treated his new water with a dechlorinator,etc.,it may just have been an adjustment period.I had a Betta sit an hide and not eat for days when I first got him. As mentioned,they do sometimes stress out rather easily,so it may just be he needs a bit of time to adjust to his new settings. What are you keeping him in?

Don't worry too much...yet. Keep monitoring him closely and keep the water quality perfect.

I've always found bettas to take up to a week to settle down after shipping (even a short trip home from the LFS followed but a period of acclimatisation can be very stressful for bettas). He should settle soon. Feed sparingly while he's like that in order to keep the water good

My betta is getting... better. He's swimming around more now, but keeping to the edges or hiding in the ship with his head poking out. His colour has come back too, a lovely red, so i called him Señor Blaze.

And for whoever asked what i was keeping him in- i'm keeping him in water, what else would i keep him in?

I'm glad he's doing better now.

I think Devs was refering to what type/size of tank you are using?

Betta setups can vary considerably, yet water volume has a direct effect on water quality and the ability to maintain it for the health of your betta. A smaller water volume will become polluted more quickly than a larger one.

Devs was just enquiring as to your setup in order to try and help/advise you

When you acclimated him to the new water temperature, did you also acclimate him slow enough to the new pH? Did you use dechlorinator? How was he acting in the store? Do you have a test kit? Is there filtration or aeration in his tank?

I'd leave the light off in his tank (if you have one) for a few days to let him settle. It's very good that you gave him a cave-like hiding place. Petstore males are generally more skiddish when you put them into a tank at home, because they have been in little cups for half of their lives. Water flow is also new to them. Filters are great and almost all bettas will get used to one. Air stones are not needed since they breathe occasionally from the surface, and just make too much noise to stress the betta.

If that is is problem, he should be comfy in a week or so

Does he have a heater?

of course he has a heater