Is This Normal Betta Behaviour

[mattlee]

just bought my first betta and he looks wicked (mainly red with pinky sides) when i first introduced him intp my tank he went around flaring up at all the other fish, i guess just introducing himself...... but as he did it his fins straightened as expected but also his gills flipped out to make his face wider. is this normal? as i have since noticed he has a small amount of red gills kind of hanging below him...... i have never seen a picture with this on it so i am asking for your opinions/ help on this. forgive me if its quite normal as its my first betta and my first tank.......

Matt.

 

[tibby25731]

Sounds like he is just flaring. Male bettas have a 'beard' that comes out when flaring from under his chin and up round the sides. You can usually see a bit of it when he is not flaring too. What other fish do you have him with? Male bettas are safest kept alone as they can get very aggressive with other fish - do you have a back up plan in case things get violent?

 

[mattlee]

he is in with 2 dwarf gouramis, 1 polkadot loach, 4 blue rams, 2 amano shrimp and an apple snail. was told he would be fine with these by lfs, they said never put one in with guppies. i have a 90L tank and they seem to be getting on fine so far. just thought his beard as you call it looked a bit odd as it hangs out a bit when not flaring and i have never noticed this before on other bettas, also didnt know that the sides of his head opened out when flaring, like a cobra almost if you get me.....

as for a back up plan..... erm!!!!!

i do want to set up another tank so maybe thats the reason to get it going, but at the minute i only have the one tank.......

 

[matchstickman47]

lfs tell you this so you will buy it lol...
you casn just get a small 30-40 litre tank ..that will satisfy him if kept alone. price about 30 50 pounds
the gouramis are probably quite bad to keep is one a male? they may fight alot i had a very teritorial dwarf gourami

 

[mattlee]

i thought that i had 1 male and 1 female but was told by lfs that they are both males when i went to buy a second female..... still not sure as pics on internet of female looks identical to mine but lfs said its a male as its a blue/ silver colour and the female is dull grey/silver in colour. im unsure still and have doubts so put a post on in gourami section and have had no replies yet!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Vengeful Silence]

While I respectfully disagree that bettas need to be kept alone, gouramis tend to be poor choices for tankmates, and blue rams wouldn't be ideal either. If the betta doesn't settle down, or if it becomes the target of aggression (something that happens a lot more than peopel realize), and you MUST have a betta in there (a need which I certainly understand), you may consider a female rather than a male. While females were once drab and unattractive, it is now possible to find females that are equally as colorful as males. They will be lacking the long fins, but they have every bit of the color and personality without all the aggravation toward other species of fish.

EDIT: I thought you meant you had a male and female betta. I apologize for the misunderstanding.

 

[tibby25731]

Gouramis are not good tankmates. If you are thinking about another tank, get a 40 litre or similar, pop a couple of dwarf frogs, pygmy cories or snails in there, then move your betta into there They are much happier by themselves or with tankmates that they barely notice, and have so much personality! It's a shame when all they do is flare to defend themselves, get him a bachelor pad!

 

[mattlee]

oh dear..... i will see how it goes over the weekend. i really hope they get on as they are all beautiful fish although the orange gourami does chase the other silver/blue gourami, which made me think it may be a female. i hope he keeps away from the betta, the rams are quite small and dont seem too bothered about anything except themselves at the minute although they are relatively new additions too.


as for my typing i am a one fingerist with little experience on computers apart from things like this and ebay....... i thought i was the slowest

 

[Vengeful Silence]

as for my typing i am a one fingerist with little experience on computers apart from things like this and ebay....... i thought i was the slowest

LOL I guess that doesn't speak well for my typing speed.

If your betta flares for more than a day, it's pretty much a done deal, I'm afraid. He won't likely stop. I don't know what to say about your gouramis. The only gouramis I've really ever been fond of are pearl gouramis, which are much easier to sex and much more peaceful. I'd agree with the above, in that a new aquarium may be your only recourse at this point.

 

[mattlee]

he has only flared up for about 1 minute when i first put him in, just thought he was saying hello to the other fishes........ not seen him do it since but unfortunately i have to go work n stuff, shame cos i could watch then all day........