Bettas and Mirrors!

[roulfi004]

Allright, now does anyone know if it's a good practice to put a small mirror for a minute or so in front of a betta just to "train" it or have it exercise its fighting showoff once in a while?

If yes why? and how many times max per month?
If not why?

[Drumachine09]

You arent fighting your betta are you? Because if you are, i will have to personally come down and insert my foot into the southern end of your digestive system. :thumb:

I wouldnt do it, because it stresses them.

[roulfi004]

Oh yea! show me what u're made of! :19:

oh... hehe i just remembered. Im a Guppy, and u're a ... some Aro-scary-wana something... with 4 medals on ur chest (is that how many guppies u swallowed? :14: ) .. so cancel that. heheh

No im not fighting my bettas. I like them too much for that sort of thing

Thx for the advice! :luxlove:

[Abbeys_Mom]

I imagine it would just stress the fish. He would think his territory isn't safe. I wouldn't do it.


If you want him to have exercise, get him a bigger tank. Or do what I do, shake the food where he can see it before you feed him. You can teach him to do an excited "Feed Me" dance

[willisrad]

My last betta new EXACTLY what it meant when I picked up the food dish!

I agree, the mirror would probably stress him out a bit.

[Drumachine09]

Oh yea! show me what u're made of! :19:

oh... hehe i just remembered. Im a Guppy, and u're a ... some Aro-scary-wana something... with 4 medals on ur chest (is that how many guppies u swallowed? :14: ) .. so cancel that. heheh

No im not fighting my bettas. I like them too much for that sort of thing

Thx for the advice! :luxlove:

*chomps 4 guppies*

lol, im just messing with you.

The betta looks in the mirror and sees another male betta. They are very smart, but they dont really know what they look like, so when they see another one, they will flare. If you leave the mirror on (for better viewing purposes) the mirror will act like a stimuli. Soon, he will habituate the stimuli (habituate meaning ignoring stimuli that neither help nor hurt him). He will be slighty stressed, but the he should habituate it after 24 hours or so.

[Tails]

Not that i'll ever do it, but is fighting betta's illegal?

[cocoa_pleco]

Not that i'll ever do it, but is fighting betta's illegal?


i doubt it. you easily could get 5 people in your house with money and a few bettas without being caught

[Tails]

Hmm true....thats so sad though :( And barbaric too! *sigh*

[KBlane]

I'm probably going to be "slaughtered" for saying this, but I do play with my Paradise fish in a similar manner with the mirror.

Now, I've kept A LOT of anabantids over the years and I find that in the male Paradise, it actually tends (though I recognize it stresses the fish momentarily) to increase the "ownership" the male has of his territory. For example, a random day I decide to just toss up the mirror for a minute or two (literally a minute or two), the next day a bubble nest will be built, he'll remain much more active througout the day and tends to have a more voracious appetite. Also, I find that priming him with this "mirror trick" does wonders for when I'm feeding live food, as sort of "primer." Now, I'm sure this all seems like a generalization and such, but I don't think it does any long-term harm--if kept reasonable.

As for a schedule of certain times of the month or whatever, I don't make it much of a practice. However, if I've got company coming over and want him to look magnificent for them--I'll toss up the mirror for a bit and he'll be amazingly colored for the rest of the evening--quite active also. I realize some of this is stress reaction, but you really aren't doing harm in bringing out nature's gift to these little guys. However, if you're sticking a mirror in the bowl/tank twelve times a day I believe that's excessive and borderline abuse.

If you really want to amuse yourself and the fish, you can probably train him to do some relatively safe tricks for a treat.

Just my two cents . . .
K. Blane.

[Lady Hobbs]

I wouldn't do it either. Stressing a fish for fun sounds like NO fun.

[roulfi004]

Well, i was thinking about this mirror thing.. and i thought: if the fish in nature fight or scare each other away, and like Kblane experienced with his Paradisefish, it is normal for bettas to puff up, say once every 2 or 3 months, for 1 minute in front of a mirror, and then show off as he scared off his opponent by looking big and strong

Otherwise, the only good full muscles exercise would be a mating opportunity.

Yes in fact, i got one of my male bettas a female and im attempting to get them together... hope this works, it would be my first fish hatching experience!

[cocoa_pleco]

mines puffs 1-2 times a day. If a gourami or another fish gets too close its just a little warning puff

[gm72]

Every once in a while my daughter's betta catches a reflection off something and he flares. Pretty cool to see, but I'd be worried if it happened all the time.

[ren]

you should try using a hookless flies used in fly fishing ya know the ones with feathers...just dangle it around your betta, each one does something different. some court it, some ignore it others chase it a bit out of curiosity. there are other great ways to stimulate your betta. other than to stimulate nest building i would go "no mirrors". :hmm3grin2orange:

[Fre nchy]

I have two mirrors on the back of my betta's 10g and he loves it. I think he realises that it's not another betta because he puffs up for the glass (not the mirror). He just swims back and forth in the mirror's and admires his own beauty. Sometimes he'll puff up (like when I just turn the light on).