# Flaring questions?



## PiscisAmor (Jul 1, 2011)

Flaring, obviously, is normal. But I've heard that encouraging them to flare every once in a while is beneficial? Is that true? And does it have any purpose besides showing off to other males?


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## gbose (Dec 2, 2010)

I've heard it's good exercise (if done occasionally). Can;t say I know personally.

GB


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## PiscisAmor (Jul 1, 2011)

thanks


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## fishman12 (Sep 1, 2010)

It's good excercise... But only for 5 min max a day... And not every day...


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Regular flaring keeps fin spread at an optimum - specially for HM with excessive branching. Flaring helps develop young betta's fins. But once you spot them hesitating, DO NOT flare. They might be unhealthy or stressed in some way.

In my area flaring is advised for 15 minutes every afternoon. But I do it after feeding - morning and afternoon - duration depends on the age of the bettas and on my mood/time.


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## rainbowmissy (May 12, 2011)

Girls too?
How do you get them to flare?


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## PiscisAmor (Jul 1, 2011)

Aliquis pointedly told me that food was more important than flaring at the mirror last night... And I hadn't even fed him yet! I guess he thought since I was standing there it was on it's way. I'll try again today


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## PiscisAmor (Jul 1, 2011)

He still won't flare! I put the mirror right in front of him and he completely ignored it


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## rswfire (Jul 4, 2011)

PiscisAmor said:


> He still won't flare! I put the mirror right in front of him and he completely ignored it


How long did you put it front of him for? Bettas can be pretty smart; mine knows when I'm just trying to mess with him and I think he ignores the mirror out of spite, but if I follow him around the tank with the mirror, he'll start flaring at me instead of the mirror, lol...


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## PiscisAmor (Jul 1, 2011)

I left it up for a few minutes. He's too food oriented. Grrr. Maybe I will tape it up and leave for a few minutes, to see if once the chance of food is eliminated if he notices the "other" male


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## PiscisAmor (Jul 1, 2011)

I got him to flare! I stuck my finger in his tank to check the temp and he flared more than I've ever seen him flare. Then he tried to bite me. He kept flaring at the hole in the lid where my finger was even after I took it out. I took a video.


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## Shimizoki (Jul 8, 2011)

I'm not sure if I should congratulate him on regaining his manhood... or offer my sympathy that your fish hates you


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## PiscisAmor (Jul 1, 2011)

Hmmm... I am fighting a similar battle. Should I be happy he remembered his gender and hasn't been completely brainwashed by his sweet life? Or concerned he feels the desire to literally bite the hand that feeds him?

Are his teeth sharp enough to break skin? If they are then I will stop using my finger... But if not I'd like to work on convincing him the finger is his friend.


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## Shimizoki (Jul 8, 2011)

I cant find anything on google that says they are a danger... i'd let him nip you once and find out... maybe he will see that there is no point in eating your finger.


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## PiscisAmor (Jul 1, 2011)

Ok. If I die from some rare betta-carried disease we'll know it was dangerous. I'll let ya know.


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## Shimizoki (Jul 8, 2011)

well... if you die then you can't let us know... Lets hope you make it back alive


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## rswfire (Jul 4, 2011)

shimizoki said:


> i'm not sure if i should congratulate him on regaining his manhood... Or offer my sympathy that your fish hates you


lol


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## rswfire (Jul 4, 2011)

PiscisAmor said:


> I got him to flare! I stuck my finger in his tank to check the temp and he flared more than I've ever seen him flare. Then he tried to bite me. He kept flaring at the hole in the lid where my finger was even after I took it out. I took a video.


That betta clearly likes his space, hahaha.


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## PiscisAmor (Jul 1, 2011)

Hmmm... I'm still too nervous to keep my finger in long enough to get nipped. He's getting braver and flaring faster and closer to it, and sometimes just lunges at me without the flare warning. I can't believe I'm afraid of such a teeny little fish biting me, but it totally scares me!!!

Haha, just to mess with nonfish people and show off Aliquis's genius I've been telling people that I trained him to smile at me. They totally fall for it, and they think it's so cool


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## Jirothebetta (Jul 15, 2011)

XD thats so funny


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## PiscisAmor (Jul 1, 2011)

Jirothebetta said:


> XD thats so funny


Which part, exactly? Haha, theres like 4 different trains if thought going on. 

I shall organiza them!!! For the fun of it!!! And cancer is rising so I'm in major organizational mode!

1. Aliquis found his manhood
2. Aliquis wants to eat me
3. I don't want to be eaten
4. We are glad he found his manhood
5. If I die, I won't be able to tell the world not to let their betta bite them
6. Nonfish people think he is smiling and being a happy fish when he is trying to eat me

So I guess there's 6 trains of thought. Did I miss anything?


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## lessandler (Jun 5, 2011)

My fish gave his best attempt at a strong chomp when I was testing the water and and he did not break the skin. I am of the belief he absolutely adores me (aren't we all), but wanted to see if he could bite off a pellet from my finger as he never bites me when the whole hand or arm is in there.

I have also trained him to follow the finger to where the pellet is floating. And when he eats he "attacks" the food quite violently. I have to say it shocked me at first, but I am pretty certain they cannot break the skin or do any harm.


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## Trap (Jul 13, 2011)

lol..there nibble is cute and does not hurt. Will definitely not break the skin.


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## PiscisAmor (Jul 1, 2011)

Oh ok then. I'm safe. Thank you so much! Does it tickle?

He almost lunged at me out of the water today. It's cute in a violent way


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## Trap (Jul 13, 2011)

PiscisAmor said:


> Oh ok then. I'm safe. Thank you so much! Does it tickle?
> 
> He almost lunged at me out of the water today. It's cute in a violent way


lol! 
its more of a weird feeling. does not hurt at all. if i could explain what it feels like, id say like very soft velcro..if that even makes sense lol


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

rainbowmissy said:


> Girls too?
> How do you get them to flare?


Sorry I didn't follow up on this thread earlier.

Yes females too. All you need to do is isolate them - out of sight of other bettas for at least 24 hours. Some young and more peaceful ones may need longer isolation. But they will eventually flare. Never force .... if they won't flare and show stress signs, stop flaring and isolate. But if they remain vibrant, usually they're just too "smart" to get worked up over nothing... lol.

Mirrors often don't work because they never flare first. lol. Some bettas only "counter" flare but others will go crazy. It's best to use other bettas and if possible change the sparring partner (by color - don't always flare to one color). And remember stop flaring the second you detect the slightest signs of stress or health issues because this may make the betta stressed/afraid of its sparring partner's color for some time.

Beware: betta's teeth might be small but they contain dangerous bacteria.... like the comodo dragon, their bites don't kill but the bacteria in their saliva do :twisted: Joking ...... lol.


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## SnowySurface (Apr 25, 2011)

My bettas have always varied in levels of aggression. When Sparkle was alive, he would bite at my finger like crazy when I stuck it in his tank. Snowy isn't much of a biter, but he does a lot of lounging. He gives no warnings before he charges. Luigi doesn't seem to care. As long as I feed him and keep my water clean, he will tolerate my presence. I've never tried mirrors with any of my fish, so maybe that's why none of my fish flare much. : /


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## Norichan (Jul 16, 2011)

Yep, they're strange. The mirror trick never worked on Mongkut, but there's a statue in his tank that he's declared his mortal enemy (it's bigger and redder than he is), and there's ONE SPOT that he flares at, and has actually attacked/bitten on a few occasions. But I bet if I moved Mongkut out and put another betta in, he'd be totally nonplussed about it. I've been amazed by how much personality they each have.


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## PiscisAmor (Jul 1, 2011)

GAH i'm still squeamish about letting him bite me. im such a wuss

ANYWAYS weirdest thing ever. He has been flaring like crazy at my finger, but for some reason I put my left forefinger in the tank today instead of my right, and he didn't care. Put the usual right forefinger back in and off he went, flaring away. So only my right hand is a threat? Thats just weird


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## bettaloverforever16 (Jan 14, 2011)

I don't Bettas have teeth, they just swallow XD


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## Jirothebetta (Jul 15, 2011)

PiscisAmor said:


> Which part, exactly? Haha, theres like 4 different trains if thought going on.
> 
> I shall organiza them!!! For the fun of it!!! And cancer is rising so I'm in major organizational mode!
> 
> ...


XD I'm not sure...the whole idea of being attacked by your betta fish makes me giggle ;-)

To tell the truth, unless he gets a hold of some arm hair and really pulls it shouldn't hurt at all. I know I get bit by my guppies all the time and it feels really funny and ticklish, it suprised me the first time but after that it was like *giggle* THEY ARE TRYING TO EAT MEEEEE! LOL XD


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## PiscisAmor (Jul 1, 2011)

haha ok then. the whole situation is funny really


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## PiscisAmor (Jul 1, 2011)

I got him to like me! He's eating off my finger now and instead of flaring and biting my finger he's rubbing up against it ever so slightly


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## PiscisAmor (Jul 1, 2011)

He. Bit. Me. He actually did it. I'm proud and hurt all at once!


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

mine i'll flare if i put a mirror in front of him. then he'll flare all around the tank to show that he's the "big man". sometimes he wont flare tho, as if he's bored or something. he's never lounged or tried to bite me tho


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## PiscisAmor (Jul 1, 2011)

Aliquis has anger issues


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## GrellxUndertaker (Sep 5, 2011)

I've fed my betta Grell off my finger....Undertaker just flares and then goes away...I don't think he likes me until i feed him....


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## Potential4Evil (Aug 27, 2011)

I couldnt get Baldwick to flare for the life of me...until I divided his tank for a temp home for Ra...then he flared like no tomorrow. Ra only did it to Bal's back like 5 mins of Bal flaring at him. I eventually got concerned and moved Ra into a temp tank...homemade of course until the other comes in the mail.


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## Fieldz (Apr 6, 2011)

I think flaring is not good for ANY Betta . It makes the betta fins open and stress him sooo much they can even die. I do mine once a week for 1 minute as he get stressed, which is normal as he is a fighting siamese betta fish... Sadly he doesnt knows that the other beautiful betta he is showing off to is himself.

My betta eats the food from my finger, and I surely wash my entire hands with alot of water before doing that.


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## PiscisAmor (Jul 1, 2011)

I kinda torture Al. I put my finger in his tank, only feed him freeze-dried bloodworms once a week, put a scary tube in his tank and drain the water with it, yada yada yada. He hates me!


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Fieldz said:


> I think flaring is not good for ANY Betta . It makes the betta fins open and stress him sooo much they can even die. I do mine once a week for 1 minute as he get stressed, which is normal as he is a fighting siamese betta fish... Sadly he doesnt knows that the other beautiful betta he is showing off to is himself.
> 
> My betta eats the food from my finger, and I surely wash my entire hands with alot of water before doing that.



It is a form of exercising that can strengthen them. Yes, it can be stressful if done too much. Yes, if he hasn't been exercised and such, it may tear a fin. But it's not going to kill him by flaring. Doing a 1-3 mins a day or every other day can be good for him in ways. Plus, I think a lot like to do it.. why have such pretty fins if you don't show them off? IMO anyways.

Plus... if it could kill them then I'd have to get rid of one of my guys.. he loves to hide under a leaf and when I get closer to his tank he swims out at me and flares up. Then I fill my cheeks with air and "flare" back.. and it goes back and forth for a few mins. Then he stops and puts his mouth on the side of his tank for a min to tell me he still loves me lol. I can't stop him if I wanted, which I don't want to lol


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## PiscisAmor (Jul 1, 2011)

awww Myates I luvs it


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Hehe thanks.. it's fun to do. I am guilty of talking to them sometimes.. I will get all tough with him and go "Who you flaring at? Don't you flare at me!" ... my BF, daughter and dog look at me like I'm nuts.. =P


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## PiscisAmor (Jul 1, 2011)

Myates said:


> Hehe thanks.. it's fun to do. I am guilty of talking to them sometimes.. I will get all tough with him and go "Who you flaring at? Don't you flare at me!" ... my BF, daughter and dog look at me like I'm nuts.. =P


We all talk to our fish. It's a symptom of Betta Obsession Disorder. 

The other day when he bit me I had some friends over, and they've been hoping for me to get fish-powers. Hasn't happened unfortunately...


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

i think flaring can be good for them, as long as it isn't too frequent and for long periods of time.


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## OddballFishCoveter (Aug 18, 2011)

Been reading through this, and I thought you guys may find it interesting to know that bettas DO have teeth, they have two bottom teeth that curved inward to their mouths. This is because of their fighting behavior, as these teeth are used to lock into their opponents flesh and cause some serious damage. I think that these teeth were made more vicious by breeding, as well as their current domestic sparring behavior that we all are so well acquainted with.

Bettas probably can't lock onto our fingers as our skin is too thick and/or they can't stretch their mouths enough to have the points of their teeth penetrate the skin. ;D


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## PiscisAmor (Jul 1, 2011)

OddballFishCoveter said:


> Been reading through this, and I thought you guys may find it interesting to know that bettas DO have teeth, they have two bottom teeth that curved inward to their mouths. This is because of their fighting behavior, as these teeth are used to lock into their opponents flesh and cause some serious damage. I think that these teeth were made more vicious by breeding, as well as their current domestic sparring behavior that we all are so well acquainted with.
> 
> Bettas probably can't lock onto our fingers as our skin is too thick and/or they can't stretch their mouths enough to have the points of their teeth penetrate the skin. ;D


Neat!!! That must be why their bottom jaw sticks out a little, so the inward point can reach the "victim"


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