# Flaring, and too much light?



## BigChap (Apr 12, 2017)

Hey guys, new here as of today, but I have been a long time Betta fan. I recently (2 days ago) got a new Betta, and set up his new awesome home. However I have been noticing he is seeing his reflection way too much, flaring all the time, and dancing around because of it. The LED light on this tank is pretty bright, really bright, and I'm not even sure what Kelvin it is because the box and instructions never mentioned it. The glass tank itself is a nice rectangle with plenty of space for him to live at 5 gallons and is the Top Fin brand. I got it because it looked the most modern and well designed. 

My questions for all of you is this:

Is too much LED light causing him to see every single reflection of himself and stressing him out? I don't want to put backgrounds around the tank because at that point, why even buy this tank if I cover up all sides. 

I don't think any timers will work with this LED fixture, and it clips onto the tank, so would raising it higher and diffusing it a bit might help?

I have color gels I can put over the LED to change it's color completely, RED, BLUE, GREEN, AMBER, any color really. I noticed when I went to RED, he calmed down a bit, and wasn't flaring as much. Strange. 

Attached are some images of Mr. Big Chap. :nerd:

Thanks!


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Betta are what I call "shadowy" fish. They are not comfortable in bright light and spare tanks. A good rule is: If you can see your Betta at a glance there aren't enough plants. BTW, it's not the amount of time the lights are on; it's how bright the tank. And, after a week a _majority_ will stop flaring.

I would buy some stem plants and anchor, not plant, them in a bunch or two in the left back corner and the left front corner. Or you can put all in the left back corner and turn the to flow along the back and left side. Letting them flow over the surface provides shady places and somewhere for him to rest near the top. It also helps with reflections.Hornwort does not develop roots so it's a good one to anchor. I also like Narrow Leaf Anacharis.

BTW, if he doesn't have a heater, he will need one. I have either a 20 watt or 50 watt Hydor Theo adjustable heater in my 5.5 gallon tanks.

Welcome to the Forum! :wave: And enjoy Mr. Big Chap!


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## CaptByMoonlight (Mar 5, 2017)

Agreed welcome! 

And to add to ShihTzu's post yes the lights can be too bright and in my experience sometimes it's better to just have the tank light off (unless you have live plants, then you have to adjust the brightness or the lighting period as to not stress out your betta but also keep your plants alive)

Best of luck! Hope everything works out 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Sorry, but IME it's not about too bright or dim. A couple of mine are on the bottom shelf, totally shaded, but still flare while the ones on top (very bright light) don't. 

However, as stated above, you shouldn't worry as they will usually stop flaring after a frw days.

Welcome to the forum!!!!


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