Should Male Bettas Not Be Allowed To See Each To Prevent Flaring?

[Sp00ky]

Just wondered thats all

 

[soritan]

Some people allow themselves to see each other all the time, citing that it lends excitment to their life. Others only allow them to see each other sometimes, so that they don't overstimulate. If they see each other constantly, they do risk some physical injury, such as 'blowing their tail', where they flare so much their tail shreds up, spilts, or falls off. While some might feel that these injuries are purely cosmetic, they are indeed breaks in their skin that would allow infection to creep in, so a blown tail does risk the betta's health a bit.

 

[kali426]

youve definetly gotta let them see eachother sometimes.it is a natural instinct and it can only bring out the best in your male betta allowing him to feel confident and dominant over his territory.but i wouldnt leave them beside eachother constantly.it will cause some stress and they may eventually just stop doing it.

 

[Sp00ky]

youve definetly gotta let them see eachother sometimes.it is a natural instinct and it can only bring out the best in your male betta allowing him to feel confident and dominant over his territory.but i wouldnt leave them beside eachother constantly.it will cause some stress and they may eventually just stop doing it.

thanks for the info guys

 

[drw32]

Too much is stressful on the fish and if it is flaring constantly it can eventually lead to death.

 

[Joby]

Mine get to see eachother constantly, most are fine with that, and sulk if they can't see anyone. I have had one or two though get very stressed and bite their tails so you have to be on the look out for the ones like that

 

[RandomWiktor]

As is the case with most betta issues... it depends on the betta. If you have a hyper-agressive male who will flare to the point of exhaustion, shred his tail, and injure his gills, I would suggest doing it minimally, if at all. I have a very agressive male who gets his kicks perfectly well flaring at me. If you have a moderately agressive betta, it probably wouldn't hurt to shake him up a bit with a flare session in short spurts. If you have a shy or fin-biting male, it'll probably send him into a miserable nuerotic frenzy and stress him out too much to be worth it.
I personally do not flare any of my bettas; I do not see the reason. They are all healthy, active, and seem very well entertained because they have an appropriately sized tank which allows them to explore. I change around thier plants and ornaments with every cleaning to keep the environment interesting, and occasionally even move the tanks themselves around. I haven't suffered any lethargic fish yet, so I'm guessing that for bettas, there can be more to life than just flaring. But, if you can't afford a large tank, or prefer to keep your bettas displayed in an environment with few or no plants/ornamentation, it'd probably good to give them some exersize with a brief flaring session.