Mirror background?

[Alfcea]

Hello you guys!

Who has a mirror in their background? I just got one in a garage sale and it fits the tank almost perfectly... Is it OK to use it? Is there anything I should be aware of? Any problems? I have a male swordtail and he seems to not like "the other one" very much... Do you guys think I should worry about it?

Thanks!

[gm72]

If it causes stress to the fish I think it's obvious you shouldn't keep it there. If you like it though and the fish don't mind, go for it. I think it will cause some problems though.

[Owlbehere]

I have no experience but have also heard it stresses the fish.

[PostalPenguin]

I would imagine a mirror would stress a fish since it will constantly try to continue swimming into the "other" part of the tank. And since they cant reason that its a mirror they will likely constantly bump against the glass looking to get through.

[pandalize]

i agree. my fish try to fight their own reflection when they see it, I imagine a mirror would make them stressed 24/7

[Ashley]

when it's dark and my tank lights are on, the fish try to get the other fish on the other side (which there aren't any since it's a reflection). I think a prolonged amount of time of this behaviour could cause an obsession and stress the fish out.

[-Lp]

I have a mirror behind my 150, but its attached to the wall not the tank. No background on the tank and the fish don't seem to mind, but now you've got me thinking.


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[domjd05]

I see you have mbunas mixed with some SA's... does your large tank size enable you to do this without causing problems?

[-Lp]

Exactly, everyones got their own area. Both the SA's and the mbunas in my tank are pretty mild mannored, everyone plays together nicely. :)

[domjd05]

Well thats good.. when your mbuna get bigger I hope it stays that way.. I keep a tanganyikan with my mbuna and they do just fine... that is a very nice looking severum by the way. Your water almost looks blue lol.

[-Lp]

Well thats good.. when your mbuna get bigger I hope it stays that way..
Me too!

I keep a tanganyikan with my mbuna and they do just fine... that is a very nice looking severum by the way. Your water almost looks blue lol.
Thanks! I think the camera angle and natural light through the backdoor helps make it look blue.

[HorrorShowRot]

I have a tank with a mirror behind it. My dresser has a mirror on it and thats where my tank is. Anyways I have seen some very funny and interesting behaviors with a mirror that the fish can see. Its like them looking into the glass and seeing themselves but this time it stays even if they swim to the front of the tank xD I had a Guppy that would honestly play tag with his mirror image xD

[domjd05]

I don't think this will stress a fish out to the point of death... I think it could work.. try it, see what happens, I'm pretty sure it won't kill your fish.. if it does... why didn't you listen?? haha:hmm3grin2orange:

[Lady Hobbs]

Won't be easy to take photos of the tank due to flashback.

[HorrorShowRot]

What I do is throw a blanket infront of the mirror before I take a picture:)

[Owlbehere]

But if you have a back ground then you can't throw a blanket in front. :P

[Alfcea]

Well.... I ended up taking it off. It is a pity because it looked pretty and most of my fish didn't seem to mind it at all... The only problem was the swordtail. He was acting very weirdly trying to dominate the "intruder"... At one pint he was even trying to flirt with himself! (lol!!!)... I took the mirror off and now he's back to his normal life chasing the girls all over the place. I guess the females enjoyed the few moments of peace and quiet, but I didn't want to give the guy a heart attack...

... I guess sometimes we have to learn the hard way... (sigh)

Thanks for your comments and suggestions, everyone!