Betta Flaring At His Reflection

[ajgravedigger13]

How do you help a Betta with flaring at his own reflection in the tank walls? It only happens when the light is on but I hate keeping him in such a dark corner of the room all the time

 

[KimberlyG]

They do it less and less as time goes by.

 

[Samantha100113]

How do you help a Betta with flaring at his own reflection in the tank walls? It only happens when the light is on but I hate keeping him in such a dark corner of the room all the time

My old betta used to do this, eventually he either figured it out or got bored with it because he never does anymore.
His tank was in the corner so I also placed aquarium backgrounds on the two sides by the wall. Whenever I would catch him I would either put my finger against the glass and he would stop, or turn off his aquarium light and turn on my bedroom light. This usually helped the reflection go away.

 

[BettaBliss]

My betta did this once I got him an aquarium light. I put lots of plants in the tank and that seemed to help

 

[ajgravedigger13]

My betta did this once I got him an aquarium light. I put lots of plants in the tank and that seemed to help

Can't plant it yet but thanks

Thanks everybody so if I left the light on line normal he'll eventually get over it or something?

 

[Nanologist]

Thanks everybody so if I left the light on line normal he'll eventually get over it or something?

Depends on the Betta really. Some don't flare even when holding a mirror up to the tank. Mine still flares a lot, but he's definitely slowed his roll a bit compared to the first month I had him.

In the first month he flared at anything and everything! He'd even flare at me when I approached the tank.

The whole inside of the tank becomes a mirror when the inside light is brighter than the outside. It's just like if you have all the lights in your room on, but it's night time and pitch black outside. It's very hard to see out the window and you'll pretty much only see a reflection of your room. When the light is brighter or about equal on the outside (daytime or you shut all our lights off) it's much easier to see outside.

Also wanted to add, the reason heavily planted or decorated tanks work to combat this is because it stops the light from reflecting off as much of the walls of the tank. If you do the same test of having your room lights on at night but then go up to the window and cup your hands around your eyes with your hands against the glass, to block the light in your room from reflecting off the glass, you'll be able to see outside easier.

If you put a lamp in the corner near the tank and have it on when the tank light is on it'll stop the mirror effect.

 

[Callum47]

How do you help a Betta with flaring at his own reflection in the tank walls? It only happens when the light is on but I hate keeping him in such a dark corner of the room all the time

Flaring is a pretty normal occurrence for bettas, but it can make them nervous. If your betta keeps flaring at himself, you could try placing a picture (not a flat color, since this aids reflection!) behind the glass or putting a plant in front of the area where he sees his reflection most.