Tank mate for a betta

Question
QUESTION: Hi Jaymie,
I've got a male Betta in a 2.7 gallon tank.I would love to add another tank mate.Is there is any fish that I can add to this? or will a female Betta work?My fish has already built a bubble nest.

ANSWER: Rifkhan,

The bubble nest means he is happy and healthy. You cannot add any more fish to that tank. Male Betta's need to be left to themselves, and they enjoy it. Please DO NOT ADD A FEMALE TO THAT TANK. If you do, you will lose one of them because the tank is not big enough. Do not place another make in there with him either. No female unless you want to get a 10 gallon minimum and 500 babies. So, males Betta's are better off alone. If you want to changes things up a bit, place a mirror against his tank for 15 mins a day. You will see him flaring up and being a boy. That's all you need to do for the male Betta.

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betta tank   QUESTION: hi, jaymie,
last time i made a small miscalculation bout the tank, my tank is 4 gallons not 2.7. i added a tank cleaner(PLACO) a bit larger than my betta. betta attacked it in the bigining but now they seems to be getting along quit well.but still they are keeping a distance. Shud i keep the tank cleaner???
my next question is..
when i keep the tank light on when my room lights are off, betta sees its own reflection and starts flaring @ it, is it ok to keep him like that for a long time? like for couple of hours??
i added a pic of my tank..


Answer
Rifkhan,

Glad to hear the tank is bigger. As far as the pleco goes, just keep an eye on the 2 of them. The Betta might start bothering him again. Your tank might not have enough algae so you might have to feed your pleco algae wafers. If it gets bad then yes you should remove him. The lights on the tank should be on for 12 hours and then off 12 hours. A way you can make it so he doesn't see himself is to put black construction paper on the sides of the tank. That way he won't see his reflection. I have painted the bottom and 2 sides of all my tanks black. That will help too. It doesn't hurt them at all to see themselves and flare but if he does it too much, he might stop doing all together.