# Flaring



## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

Okay another question lol. Do all bettas flare? When i first brought Morado home he was flaring like mad. I tested him today with a mirror and he just ignored it. I even moved the paper thats blocking the huge mirror on my bathroom wall,and nothing. Is that normal? With Fishy, he flares at my finger,at his food,at his multi colored light,at himself lol. So I dunno...????


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I don't know, some flare all the time and others don't flare at all. Merlot is the only one of mine that flares. Jaden flared at me yesterday and the others NEVER flare. My female never flares but they say that females do flare. I wouldn't worry too much about it. lol


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

Oh..okay...didnt know...thanks!!! Glad its normal...kinda the same way with bubblenests eh...some do some dont...silly bettas! Ooh you have a female? I didnt know that...I wanna female lol! Hmm where to put her...haha...


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

You could keep the boys in their own tanks and put a female in with the Stooges.


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## Nataku (Feb 22, 2009)

I hear bettas are like people, all with their different attitudes and different pet peeves to set them off. Some are laid back and don't flare much, others go off at everything. My red VT flares at his thermometer and harasses it so much that I never actually leave it in his tank for fear that he'll hurt himself on it. Yet putting a mirror next to the tank so he can see himself illicits no response.
My new black HM, although I haven't had him long yet, totally ignores his thermometer (even though it's the exact same model as the one I use for my red VT) but he flares at the heater every time the light pops on. And his food. And me. And the camera. And at the floor of the tank (turns himself sideways momentarily at the bottom of the tank, flares, and then rights himself and swims off). 

Maybe your Morado is just a very laid back betta and doesn't feel the need to show off to everything he comes across?


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

Lol Nataku...Your fish sounds hilarious! Yeah he just might be...its all good...lol... Dramaqueen-Hmmm thats a thought lol! Although someone in the catfish forum said i could get 2 more pandas for my panda tank since they are the only ones in there,plus make em happier! So its either a female betta or 2 more pandas...i think i may go with 2 more pandas


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## Nataku (Feb 22, 2009)

The black HM has so far proven to be quite an energetic fish. If I knew how to shoot a video and be able to upload them somewhere online I'd try to show you his fascination with the floor of the quarantine tank, because as far as I can tell so far it's not that he has any swim bladder issue, as he swims upright at all other times without issue, and seems to purposefully turns himself sideways before he'll start flaring.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Could he see his reflection in the bottom of the tank if its bare bottomed?


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

Oh I wish you could figure out how to do a video...thatd be great to see lol.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

It would be funny! lol


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

oh yes...i need a good laugh lol.


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## Nataku (Feb 22, 2009)

Dramaqueen - yes I believe that is what is causing the flaring, as its a large glass jar, so the bottom, like the rest, is clear and probably does reflect (although the jar is sitting on top of a wooden chest, so I rather thought it wouldn't reflect as much on the bottom there as it would on the sides, but I could be wrong). He doesn't flare at the sides of the jar though, just the bottom.


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## MADxMAC771 (Oct 9, 2008)

I have heard all kinds of things about betas that flare at everything and bettas that dont flare at all. Ive read people saying that the more "inteligent" betta would not flare at his own reflection nor at random colored objects because they have the mental capacity to realize it is not another fish. I have also heard this explained with the idea that bettas that flare at everything are just a more aggressive fish that feel the need to be agressive. Who knows. My red VT will flare at food, my finger, me, his thermometer and all sorts of things but when he catches sight of my blue VT right next to him he only flares for a short time and then gets bored...


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

Hmm...thats interesting...


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I have onne that flared at my Christmas earrings. I agree that some are just more aggressive than others.


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

hehe..silly betta..


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

Hehe....I was checking on Morado today and he flared at me! yay lol. Also i think he is a lil constipated...he was looking kinda swollen...ive been fasting him for last couple days and its looking better! His color is coming back too.


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## Livelifelaughlove (Jan 11, 2009)

Oooo i want a black halfmoon *or was it a delta?* 
Surimi won't flare at a mirror, but he will flare at his reflection from the tank walls... constantly


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## Nataku (Feb 22, 2009)

He came labeled as a halfmoon, but I'm pretty sure my black betta is only a super delta, as I have yet to see him, in all of his flaring, open up his tail to a full 180 degrees or more. I don't really trust what any of the stores say anyhow, my local chain stores around here have already well proven that they've got no idea what they're talking about with their fish.
He's the only black betta I've seen so far in any of my local pet stores, but I suppose that's not terribly unusual considering most stores only carry your normal red/blue mixed VTs, instead of more unusual coloartions. I also think I read somewhere once that black coloration in bettas are is associated with a lethal gene, which causes a reduced survival rate in fry with that coloration.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I have never seen a black betta in a store. What I would like to have is a red, white and blue, patriotic colored fish.


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## Nataku (Feb 22, 2009)

I have actually seen a patriotic betta at one of my local stores (not one of the big chains), he was really pretty, primarily a white body with red and blue mottled fins. I know that the 'patriotic' combo is also one that is bred by several different betta-breeders online, as I see them advertised on Aquabid pretty regular.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

The breeder from Bettatalk also has them.She calls them 4th of July bettas. They're beautiful.


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

Oh wow...they sound cool looking! Never seen those kinds here...


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

They ARE beautiful. I even have patriotic names picked out if I could have some. lol


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

Lol cool! I saw some pretty females at petco...too bad im outta room!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I saw some pretty ones last week at Petsmart but I guess I'll have to wait for one of my current ones to die before I can get another one. Running out of room.lol


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## Livelifelaughlove (Jan 11, 2009)

there was a black with teal blue stripe halfmoon at petco, but i went back to get him and someone had already bought him >-(
I heard the same, that the black bettas are sterile.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Yeah, I just looked it up and the black bettas are sterile. The female's eggs aren't good so they cross a black male to a steel blue female. I read this in my betta book.


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

oooh...okay...well i just moved Morados tank to my moms bathroom cause my sink is not draining lol(using drano,so dont wanna kill fishy!)...There is more room on my moms sink than mine! My sink bowl is like huge..hers is smaller so his tank fits perfectly on there heheheh...maybe I get another betta...maybe a girl and put it in moms....*plots evil plan to get more fish*


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

My Mom would say "ABSOLUTELY NOT! You're not putting a fish in MY bathroom! " lol Yeah, you should get a female.


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

Lol! Hmm..must look for female betta...back to petco!


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

Haha...i went up to check on my sink and Morado...Moms like oh fishy tank looks good on my sink,you should leave him there! Lol...Maybe I will get a female afterall...for her! Course that be more work for me...ah well...


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Great idea to get a female I'm glad your mom likes Morado on her sink. lolI think bettas on bathroom sinks would look cool.


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

Yes they do...liven up the potty room a bit haha...we shall see what happens...ill definetly let you know if i do get another! Lol.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

lol ok.


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

I went to a different petco and their bettas didnt look good at all..and only 4 females...ah well ill keep looking..sometimes petsmart has them,ill have to check couple of them out next time im near there.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

My Petsmart has them. I wish they had female crowntails.


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

Oh okay...they had some kinda King bettas...they looked big! other than that they did have crowntails for the males.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I wouldn't want a king betta. I like the size we have.lol


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## Livelifelaughlove (Jan 11, 2009)

Yea im not big on the king bettas. I almost got a female the other day. she was SOOO tiny! but decided against it. I already am a tank short, since i am trying to get sush into a filtered tank...


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

I went to my local lfs and they had female bettas! They had like 5 of them in a 10 gallon tank. I didnt get one today,but I told my mom Im gonna get her one. Shes like okay,but do i have to do the wcs and stuff? Haha nah ill do it.  Next time we go up there if they still have them,Ill say okay pick one. I creeped her out by going through the saltwater fish area,they had huge shrimps,lobsters and other weird creepy looking fishies..I thought they were cool looking! They didnt have any more of the small tanks like Morado is in,so i might wait till they get those back in. Oooh im excited to get another betta! Lol.

Question though,females are fine without a filter right?? For Morado he has a filter,light and heater but in my moms bathroom we have a water fountain thingy that has to be plugged in for our cats. So a fishy in there will be without something,but not sure what would be better...no light or no filter?? Ill definetly have a heater for her.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Yep, they can do without a filter as long as the water is changed regularly. I don't have one in Jaden's tank but I change the water once a week.


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## Nataku (Feb 22, 2009)

None of my bettas have filters in their tanks, but if the water changes are kept up on then you can keep control of the ammonia problem quite easily. A single betta on its own isn't that terribly messy. I do 40-60% water changes twice a week on my tanks, but you could probably get away with doing it just once a week, I'm just overzealous.

I think a light is more important, as it helps the betta keep a somewhat more believable sense of day and night, especially if their tank is going to be in a room that doesn't normally have a light on all the time like a bathroom.


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

yeah thats what i figured...hmmm which girly to pick...


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I don't have filters for mine and I do water changes once a week. My 4 gallon gets 1/2 wc once a week.


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

Cool beans...sounds good to me...Im gonna see if this bigger critter tank i bought will fit on moms sink...if not i wait till they get the smaller ones in.Be nice though to give the girl a bit more room.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

What kind of filter do you use on the critter tanks? If I get a fish from Kim, I'm thinking about one of those curvy things with a filter and heater.2 and 1/2 gallon or larger.


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

What I have in Morados is this
Penn Plax Small World Pump & Filter Kit at PETCO

It works great for a little tank. Plus you can control the flow with a little dial on the airline tubing.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Sounds good. It says to replace the filtration unit every 2-4 weeks. Is this the filter cartridge? How often do you change yours?


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

yeah just the catridge...Um well i just replaced his because it was in with the pandas and got clogged with sand...so we shall see!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

So how often would you change it?


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

not sure...i think you can just take it out frm the holder and swish it around in the bucket of tank water to clean it up a bit.thats what ya normally do with the sponges in hob filters. i think its the carbon part of it that really needs replaced,but im not sure. i will look that one up.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

ok, thanks.


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

Hmm okay so what i read so far is that...copied from another site american aquarium products concerning both... 

Carbon is often not necessary in established aquariums especially tanks with regular water changes and plants. I generally only use carbon to remove chemicals after treatment then remove the carbon. You can also leave old carbon to become a nitrifying bacterial colony. This point about carbon also lends credibility to Sponge Filters which are often considered poor filters due to the fact they provide no chemical filtration, this is based on poor information as to the need for carbon filtration. 

[6] Simple to clean, simply remove the sponge and squeeze or rinse in old aquarium water or de-chlorinated tap water. The advantage here is the aquarist is less likely to ignore cleaning the filter (unlike many complex filters), which can lead to organic build up, increasing nitrates and lowering KH and ph. 

[8] Probably the best choice of filtration for breeding tanks, Betta tanks or bowls, hospital tanks, and even discus aquariums, due to the fact that they do not “suck” in baby or weak fish or attract noxious bacteria. 

[9] Easily the best filter for a small tank or bowl, especially for bettas with there long fins that can get caught on intakes of HOB or other filters. They excel over UGF in bowls or small tanks in that they are easier maintenance, and more efficient biologically and mechanically. 

so what i gather is that...its fine to leave the same one in,as long as you clean the sponge every now and again. Now this filter i have cant exactly take apart,but i could swish the whole thing in water...and you can leave the carbon in as well,as it can hold nitrifying bacteria as well... 

also read with a small bioload ( as in bettas) it doesnt have to replaced nearly as often. Says 4-8 weeks,so two months at the most. The sponge will start looking real funky,the water might not clear up as much as it did before,might start smelling a bit,then thats when you change it. But it should last a good while with just one betta fish.  HTH and didnt confuse you anymore lol!


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

haha...so i browsed over to the equipment part of our forum (still so many areas i havent checked out on here lol!)...many people asked about changing/cleaning filters...they said depending on your bioload (which would be way small with just mr. or mrs. betta) you could go like 3-4 months without changing your filter cartridge,as long as you swish it in old tank water like once a month or so. Then when it starts looking all beat up and stuff,time to replace! If the companies have their way,we would be replacing them like every week haha...so yeah....once you get it,its good for a good long time! confuse you enuff yet?  

good question though,as i didnt know the answer either! Now we both know...yay!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Thanks for the info. I would actually have to get my hands on one to see what they look like but how do you get the carbon out? Do you have to tear the fiilter apart?


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

I dunno I never took mine apart. I am sure you can somehow,but its not bad to leave the carbon in,as that states it keeps nitrifying bacteria in it. So its all good. Plus the sponge should be fine for like...well many many months...which is great! You can just swish the whole cartridge around in the tank water. No need to take it apart other than from the holder,which is easy enough.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

ok, thanks. I know nothing about filterslol, about as much as I do about heaters.lol Another question... does the water temperature go up if the room temperature goes up in a heated tank? Mine is set at 78-79 and its been warm here today . My water temp is at 81-82. And, of course you know that I don't have a filter to circulate the water. lol


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

yah i know haha. Its okay,we are here to learn! yeah,if your room temp goes up,tank temps will too. I noticed that the other day when it got quite warm here,in the 70s. Now its back to cold again,so their tank temps are back to where they were before lol. So once summer hits and if you dont have ac,then id be turning down the heaters a bit so fishy doesnt get cooked.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Hmm, I may not even have to use the heater in summer if it gets hot enough. Yeah, I have ac but sometimes it gets pretty hot up here in my room.I thought I read that if you cycle and it comes time to change the filter (only when its falling apart) that you need to put part of the old one with the new one to keep your cycle going.


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

yup thats right. with the hob filters,you want to only change one part at a time else risk messing up your cycle. for the internal ones like morado has,well what i do is put an extra filter catridge in fishys tank. that way,there is always an extra cycled. 

if you dont have another cycled tank,keep the extra filter or a sponge for a filter in that tank you have,so its ready to go pretty much. just would suck if you have a small tank,cause that would take up extra room.

wow i feel kinda smart,even though i havent had fish for very long haha...


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Yes, you ARE pretty smart. lol You've been doing your research, unlike me. lol So where would you put the other filter cartridge? Hang it in the water? Sorry if these are dumb sounding questions. lol


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

ty! never a dumb question lol. well i turn it so the carbon side is down that way itll stay on the bottom. otherwise it tends to float lol. you can hide it behind a plant or something too if ya dont wanna see an ugly filter sitting in ya tank. doesnt bother me though haha.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

So you just put it on the bottom of the tank. That sounds like a great idea. I'm going to have to have a filter if I get one of Kim's baby bettas. I promised her I'd take very good care of it so I'll need a 2 1/2 gallon heated, filtered tank. lol


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

haha...yeah...


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## amones369 (Mar 24, 2009)

Is it a bad thing if the fish sees its own reflection occasionally and flares up? My thermometer has a metal plate on the back of it and whenever my Betta swims near it he flares up. Is this stressful to him? Should I cover up the back of the metal or just leave it be?


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## fishyinpa (Dec 25, 2008)

If hes not doing it ALL the time,then its fine. Two of my male bettas flare at their own reflections,the thermometer,the heater lol. So occasional is fine. If all the time,cover it somehow. Hope that helps!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Yeah, he should be fine. If he's getting really stressed out by it then you could cover it up.


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