I'll say this I have breed and rasied betta's for the last 5 yrs. The flaring of a betta Is not something you want them to do every day or make them do everyday. The flaring of a betta is a sign his pissed off. Not anything more then a act of aggrstion. By making a betta flare your in fact upsetting the betta and there for causeing undo stress on the fish. Betta's have been breed for 100's of year to do nothing but fight and even thou 99% of all betta's bought today have never been fought a day in there life. Put it close to another male and it's frist reaction is to attack the other fish. It's not being playful. It's not showing off to the point of I look better then you do. It's flat saying I'll kill you if you come any closer.
By making your betta flare at either it's reflection or another betta you are in fact. Upseting this fish for no reason at all other then to make it look pretty to you. Flaring is done for two reason and two reason only.
1. To so it's wilness to fight the other fish it thanks it see in the glass or the the other fish close to it.
2. It's a sign for the female to see how tuff it is to spawn.
Anybody that's ever breed betta's will tell you. Even just in spawning the male is so mean it will kill a female to get what it wants. Nothing more then just saying it's the boss and you'll give me what I want or else's. For those of you who havn't seen this here's a piture of a female right after spawning with a HM palkat { half moon }
Now if he will do this just to spawn why would anyone thank that making a fish mad just to see his true colors is ok. I don't under stand. Yes they'll flre on there own from time to time. But why would you house a male close to another male just to make him flare. IMO that just mean. I can keep two blue males from the same fry in the same tank for up to 8 months. But after that you had better get them apart or they will start fighten. Never been fought never will be. But it's there the willingness to kill another of it's kind. Born in them and will be for genaration after genaration.
No matter what you do it's there. This is a fish that oz for oz is the meanest fish alive. If this fish was the size of any of the preaditers out there on the market it would kick any of them's A_ _ and even kill it. oz for oz pd for pd it's the meaest fish alive and that's no lie.
For those who keep the betta in a 1/2g to 1g jar or gold fish bowl and thanks this fish to be happy. For those of you who say it comes from small bodys of water and there for can be housed in a small bowl.
Does this look like a small body of water to you?
http://www.bettadreams.com/ricepaddies.html
I'm sorry if I steped on anyones toes or feeling with this post. If i did I apolagize. But this is a fish I love and and will do my part to see that it's not treated like a peace of you know what. I've wrote over 300 letters to wal-mart and other LFS and the human socitey to help stop the shipping and storage of the betta in a cup not big enought for a bunble bee goby much less a beautifal fish who by all means isn't the tamest of fish. But it's not the fish it's the human who bred this fish to fight and kill over and over and over for 100yrs. This fish has been hard wire to be a killer and nothing more for so long. That no matter how many time a spices is rebred this killer still lies under the beautie of the long fins and bright colors.
So there for when you place a male either in with or beside another just to see it flare and show it's color you are in fact frocing it to show this killer that it was bred to be and by doing so you are frocing this clam fish to get upset just for your pleasure!!
Now I'll leave you with this.
If you truly call your self a fish lover and will do everything you can to insure your fish is happy and health. Then why would you place your fish in a situwaytion that would upset him to a point of driving him mad with anger?
Just to see a differnts in his color of maybe 5% brighter?
When in fact the betta will show it's true beautie just by feeding it and loving it and caring for it with the right mix of high protain foods and giving it the room you'd give your other fish.
Again I apolagie if I have said anything to upset anyone and have steped on any toes.
For I'm a true fish lover and this out all my fish I own is my very faverite and they have been mistreated for year and years. So it's time to brake away from the normal so called care of the betta and treat it as a equal among fish and by no means will they get use to each other being a fighting fish and you can not say that your betta got use to each there over time. If it takes it 3 weeks to get so called use to each other is that fair to him to stay pissed off for that 3 weeks. Then once he's moved away from the other betta for 2 mins. Place him back beside him after that shot off time and it will start all over again. Why would you do that to a fish.
I can take a male from the fry tank for no more then 2mins. and place him back in the tank and he is automatily seen as a introuder and froced to fight to stay alive, in it's own home. Sorry that's crual and dispointing as a fish love to force this on another fish.
the frist picture didn't come hrow so this try it here
