I would like to formally address this issue and clear up the confusion. I have quotes from experienced betta breeders bellow and their opinions about placing mirrors next to a betta's tank.
Direct quote from Faith at Bettatalk.com
"Because bettas are not as intelligent than us (or are they?
) ) you can get the same result by putting a mirror in front of them. Well, it’s not really that they are dumb, but they don’t know what they look like, so when they see the betta in the mirror, they don’t know the betta is actually THEM. This makes for hours of fun watching the whole commotion. And no, bettas will not get exhausted, as a matter of fact, I have two brothers jarred side by side who have been continually flaring at each other for a year now. I believe that a little action and company is good for the moral. So I let my bettas see each other."
If you look up the betta profile on this site and read Lux's response you will see the next quote
"It's stimulating for a betta to place a mirror in front of him; he'll think it's a rival male and will flare up. However, don't overdo it, and DON'T leave the mirror by the tank; he'll get overstressed. And the mirror might awaken aggressive tendancies if he's not been stimulated in a while, so there could be repercussions against his tank mates."
This one comes from Stella Mavis at bubblenest.com
"Putting a mirror or another betta next to it will not hurt him if you do it for short periods of time."
Even the creator of www.bettasrus.com uses mirrors and places their bettas within view of each other. I cannot copy the information, since it is copywritten, but here's the url: http://www.bettasrus.com/faq/behave.htm.
So, the point of this is: You can place a mirror by your bettas tank for short amounts of time (10-15minutes). In fact, it is a healthy exercise to do so. Just don't over do it, or you could stress out your betta, making it suseptable to diseases.
Alexa
P.S. If you still believe this shouldn't be done please refrain from posting just to argue. Gather your facts, and then share. I have hundreds of opinions if you need further proof of this issue.
Direct quote from Faith at Bettatalk.com
"Because bettas are not as intelligent than us (or are they?
) ) you can get the same result by putting a mirror in front of them. Well, it’s not really that they are dumb, but they don’t know what they look like, so when they see the betta in the mirror, they don’t know the betta is actually THEM. This makes for hours of fun watching the whole commotion. And no, bettas will not get exhausted, as a matter of fact, I have two brothers jarred side by side who have been continually flaring at each other for a year now. I believe that a little action and company is good for the moral. So I let my bettas see each other."If you look up the betta profile on this site and read Lux's response you will see the next quote
"It's stimulating for a betta to place a mirror in front of him; he'll think it's a rival male and will flare up. However, don't overdo it, and DON'T leave the mirror by the tank; he'll get overstressed. And the mirror might awaken aggressive tendancies if he's not been stimulated in a while, so there could be repercussions against his tank mates."
This one comes from Stella Mavis at bubblenest.com
"Putting a mirror or another betta next to it will not hurt him if you do it for short periods of time."
Even the creator of www.bettasrus.com uses mirrors and places their bettas within view of each other. I cannot copy the information, since it is copywritten, but here's the url: http://www.bettasrus.com/faq/behave.htm.
So, the point of this is: You can place a mirror by your bettas tank for short amounts of time (10-15minutes). In fact, it is a healthy exercise to do so. Just don't over do it, or you could stress out your betta, making it suseptable to diseases.
Alexa
P.S. If you still believe this shouldn't be done please refrain from posting just to argue. Gather your facts, and then share. I have hundreds of opinions if you need further proof of this issue.
