betta flaring at glass problem

Question
QUESTION: Hi,
I have recently moved my betta tank into a better location, and I took the time to clean the slime off the glass so the tank is nice and clean. However He can see his reflection on the bottom of the tank, and on the side of the tank. I put a white towel under the tank to stop him seeing his reflection there, however he is still flaring at himself on the glass. He sometimes gives it a little bud with his head and I am worried that he might kill himself doing it. He had done it before (about a week ago) in the old spot as the suns angle made a reflection visible. The stress caused fin rot as he was healing from it.

He is stressing out and I am worried it may cause another rot outbreak, or even death, either won't be good.

I heard that after a few days or so, this will pass? I can make the room completely dark which stops reflections at night, however it can't be a long term solution.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Alex

ANSWER: Hi Alex,
Depending on his personality, it should pass after a few days. But some bettas have very rambunctious personalities. I've had bettas bump their heads before when attacking their reflection, I know the feeling. It made me cringe anytime I'd hear it!

I'm not sure where the sun is angled at the tank. You could try putting some live plants or soft fake plants tall enough to block his 'battle ground' area. This may or may not work. I'm not sure if taping a small piece of paper to the area on the tank that is the worse would help. But it may. Again, it depends on how the sun is creating the reflections and you'll have to experiment.

If all else fails, you'll have to move his tank to a slightly different location.

But I hope at least one of my suggestions help!
Best of luck! :-)
Susan~

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks,

It did pass however he has now moved into his 54L tank! It has been cycling for over 6 weeks and there are nitrates, no nitrites, and I am hoping no ammonia as I can't tell if it is 0ppm or 0.25ppm. I have a few issues in comparing colours of similar looks.

I am going to buy two cory catfish in with him in a few weeks, however my friend has a molly that has just given birth to some fry and he wants to know if I would like to take two once they are 6 weeks old.

I was wondering if you know if mollies and a betta will be a good match? They seem fairly gentle.

Also I have set my 20L tank up again with rocks and going to get some new filter wool and live plants tomorrow. I was wondering, as I already now have a cycled tank if I can do anything to make the 20L cycle faster?

I am hoping to get a betta from a pet store this time, instead of a breeder as I feel so sorry for the little guys in the cups.


thank you for your help! you are very kind

Answer
Hi there,
I'm glad to hear it did pass for him. Sounds like your aquarium is cycling and establishing quite well.

Cory catfish make great tankmates for bettas. I think the mollies will be just fine especially if they are raised up with the betta. I feel there should be no problem.

You can certainly do something help your 20L cycle faster. If you have some extra filter media (like sponges or other porous soft material in your current 54L tank's filter) or ideally run a sponge filter on the tank, good bacteria will colonize all over the surfaces. You must not clean these for a couple of weeks though to insure an established population. When you are ready to add a few 'cycling fish' or critters (snails can do the job as well) then move about half of the established tank's filter media into the new tank at the same time you add the aquatic life. That way, the tank has a boost with the cycling process. But keep in mind unless you have a very well established sponge filter that has been running in the established tank for at least a month or more, the newly setup tank will still have to establish for a few weeks but 'seeding' the tank this way is a very smart move and will help cut cycling time short.

You can also take a scoop or two of gravel from your established tank and place it into the new aquarium to help introduce already established bacteria.

I do wish there was a better way petstores could house their bettas they have for sale. But unfortunately keeping them in those little cups is the most inexpensive and convenient way.

I hope this helps and best of luck!
Susan~