# Please help. Betta trying to attack his reflection



## eaturbyfill (May 22, 2012)

Please help me. I moved a little over a month ago, and Percy was doing fine. I had to buy a new tank, because the other one was damaged. I bought the EXACT same kind. But, now he is acting loopy. He is usually fine, and rarely flares. Now, if I turn on the aquarium light, he flares at the tank constantly, so I have to turn it back off. I have tried changing the lighting in the room, using a different color bulb, switching him to a different room, and covering up the walls of the tank with paper. None of it made a difference. I have to have a way to heat his tank by this winter, or his water will be too cold. He is eating fine and showing great appetite, and is very active. But he tries to attack himself when I turn on the light. I have tried to find a solution but have been unable to. Please help.

Additional info:

Housing 
What size is your tank? 1 gallon
What temperature is your tank? About 74
Does your tank have a filter? No
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Yes, an airstone
Is your tank heated? I heat it with a light since it is small
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Betta pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? Twice daily

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? 1 1/2 - 2 wks
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? %100
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Drops to help with slime coat


Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? His tail is slightly frayed.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Percy's gone crazy.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? The past week or two
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? No, I have no idea what to do
Does your fish have any history of being ill? He had ick once a long time ago.
How old is your fish (approximately)? I don't know, but I bought him last September.


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## TheCheese909 (Aug 11, 2011)

If you are worried about heating problems Aqueon makes a 1-3 gallon heater for their MiniBow.

Flaring and attacking his reflection isn't a big deal, he will eventually stop, it might take him a few days to a week but he'll stop eventually. So long as he's not charging and ramming his head into the side of the tank he'll be fine. If he's just flaring and going up to the side of the tank and swimming at it and "yelling" he should be okay. I've had lots of Bettas do this and they stop after awhile.


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## eaturbyfill (May 22, 2012)

I am afraid to leave it on because he doesn't seem to calm down and headbutts the tank.


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## xjenuhfur (Jan 30, 2012)

My roomies fish did this in his 5 gal tank, and its a hex tank. He will eventually get over it, just watch for signs of stress.  If he still doesnt stop, I've heard paper on the sides of the tank can cut down reflections.

Also, I'd try to do water changes more often.


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## MissFutureVet (Dec 26, 2011)

Both of my fishies did this. Bj for about 2 weeks and Fernando for about 4 days. I tried everything: from adding backgrounds, to gluing plants to the back of the aquarium. None of this worked, but they eventually got used to it. I just used stress coat at full strength and let them figure it out it is only their reflection


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## vaw103 (May 21, 2012)

I had a major problem with that when I first bought my betta. He was constantly tearing his fins from flaring so much. Adding a background didn't help, because he would find his reflection in the bubbles in the background. I ended up using vaseline to plaster the background onto the tank, and used a spatula to get all of the air bubbles out. Once I got the background on he stopped :-D He'll flare if I don't keep the class on the outside of the tank clean, too.

I also found that if I had the tank light on, but the lights in the room off, the entire tank would turn into a giant mirror and he found his reflection everywhere he went. Maybe try that too? :-D


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## eaturbyfill (May 22, 2012)

Thanks to everyone for the advice!
He's calmed down a bit now.


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