I just got a Betta fish for my 2.5 gallon. One of my friends had a Betta and put a piece of mirror in the tank so every time in swam by it would flare out it's fins and look really cool thinking there was another Betta there. Does this stress them out thinking there is another fish in the tank? I was thinking about doing it but I am not going to if it stesses it out.
2006-09-23 14:55:31 · 11 answers · asked by Luekas 4 in Pets ➔ Fish
Don't do it, its not a good idea at all, it will stress out your betta and shorten his lifespan
2006-09-23 14:59:26 · answer #1 · answered by smart mouth 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes it stresses them out. They see their own reflection, but think it is another fish and makes them angry. Some will even hit the side of the tank repeatedly until it kills them. Basically, he is a fish with a bad attitude problem. The thing is bettas are only peed off at other bettas, while quite gentle with other specie, which makes them good community tank prospects. They do get picked on a lot by other fish, so avoid putting a betta in a tank with fish that are aggressive, especially fin nippers such as tiger barbs, etc…When a male betta (and sometimes a female) sees another male, his first reaction is one of intimidation. The betta will immediately stretch out his fins as much as he can and open his gills as wide as he can, displaying his membrane, and suddenly looking twice a big as he really is. This is called FLARING or DISPLAYING. He’s doing the macho thing, sorta like “I am bigger than you , watch out, I can kick your butt!”. He will repeatedly do this and if the other betta has the same bad attitude, they will soon start attacking each other. (so never put two bettas together!!)
2006-09-23 22:10:14 · answer #2 · answered by misstigeress 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, it is usually only the male bettas that flare up at other males. It is telling the other betta to keep away and stay away from the females because they are "his".
Putting a mirror in the tank wont hurt, and provides some stimulation for the fish. I say go for it.
2006-09-23 22:03:14 · answer #3 · answered by ♫ Violinist ♪ 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes, Betta are fighting fish, it will definitely kill him to be put under this stress.
I have two/male and female in separate tanks. I knew someone who put two male in tanks next to each other and they died. My Betta's have lived for a few years and ar still ok.
Betta's are from rice patties and need more plant coverage than open space and other fish.
2006-09-23 22:08:12 · answer #4 · answered by crct2004 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
do not do it. i makes it sressed out all the time and it can die from the stress. tell your friend to take the mirror away. it is very important to take it away because it can start hitting the walls of the tank and can possibly bruise itself or break some of its bones.
tell your friend to put some stress reliever in the tank with a slime coating for its scales.
2006-09-23 22:08:16 · answer #5 · answered by Night visions 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I heard from that geeky animal guy on tv that it is OK to put a mirror up to your betta every day or 2 for a brief time. It is actually beneficial because it stimulates them. They are very territorial and instinctively need to protect their space.
2006-09-23 22:06:26 · answer #6 · answered by Doc 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
These guys that run this forum know a lot about bettas.
http://www.forumsvibe.com/betta/index.php?mforum=betta
2006-09-23 21:59:58 · answer #7 · answered by tikitiki 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
i think so i had 2 betas and they would flare out even though there wasnt any mirrors in the tank.i depends on what u want to do?
2006-09-23 21:59:27 · answer #8 · answered by 4le 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
i don't know about stress but it is its natural aggressive response to another male beta and having it always think this immaionary threat is in the tank is not nice
2006-09-24 00:00:41 · answer #9 · answered by darkainjul 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
yes it stresses them out because they think they will have to fight the mirror fish... it also may hurt itself by raming into the mirror
2006-09-23 22:00:10 · answer #10 · answered by caitybug10 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋