Siamese Twins

[Mr Tomato]

In one of my community tanks I have broken the rules on keeping Siamese Fighting fish. No reads the book! NO! not 2 Male Siamese Fighters in the same aquarium. So how am I getting away with it? It's the trusty old mirror trick again. 2 thinly cut mirrors either side of the tank towards the back sneakily positioned. These two fellahs' one metallic blue and the other red; rarely ruck now and in fact sometimes, they even gang up on their seemingly terrible mirror imaged twins. Hours of fun watching them do the puffed up gill threat at their reflection. An exception to the rule but it keeps em out of trouble though..And of course I get the added colour variance.. lol

 

[nurglespuss]

It won't last.

 

[soybean]

They'll get bored of a reflection that doesn't fight back and find each other eventually.

Plus I think it's rather harsh on the fish to constantly be squaring up to a reflection and preparing to fight them off, it must be very stressful.

 

[smokeyjo]

You never know what could happen chances are that they will turn on each other. But fish do have personalitys and I don't care what people say I belive they do. So you never know they could get along even tho its hughly unlikly. Lol.

 

[Liquid skills]

I agree with both points that they may turn on each other but it is an extremely rare occasion that male Bettas get along but when ever I have read that they have been siblings it would make keeping Bettas easier if they could live together but then again it would take away what makes Bettas special

 

[Rummynose]

The constant flaring causes stress in the Bettas. You very likely are lowering their immune system by doing this! The mirror idea is something you can do occasionally, just like it would happen in their natural habitat, but as a constant living condition I would not do it!

To keep them safe from each other some people put dividers in their tanks, but in my opinion it is the same as the mirror deal! It will cause them stress!!!

May I ask how big the tank is that they are sharing, and if there are any other fish in it with them?

 

[swanseastilo]

The constant flaring causes stress in the Bettas. You very likely are lowering their immune system by doing this! The mirror idea is something you can do occasionally, just like it would happen in their natural habitat, but as a constant living condition I would not do it!

To keep them safe from each other some people put dividers in their tanks, but in my opinion it is the same as the mirror deal! It will cause them stress!!!

May I ask how big the tank is that they are sharing, and if there are any other fish in it with them?

You serious. Any ideas how i can stop the side of my tanks having mirror effects itrs just plain glass but my betta keeps flaring up at the side of his own reflection.

 

[Rummynose]

The constant flaring causes stress in the Bettas. You very likely are lowering their immune system by doing this! The mirror idea is something you can do occasionally, just like it would happen in their natural habitat, but as a constant living condition I would not do it!

To keep them safe from each other some people put dividers in their tanks, but in my opinion it is the same as the mirror deal! It will cause them stress!!!

May I ask how big the tank is that they are sharing, and if there are any other fish in it with them?

You serious. Any ideas how i can stop the side of my tanks having mirror effects itrs just plain glass but my betta keeps flaring up at the side of his own reflection.

The reflections in the glass are not the same as in a mirror! Mine flares at times also!

 

[swanseastilo]

you sure as mine always stays by the filter and flares up at his reflection??/ lol got me woried now

 

[Rummynose]

Do you have other things in his tank like plants and decor? If you are trying to give him a good habitat, and not purposefully place things to make him flare constantly you are doing just fine!

 

[swanseastilo]

Its a fully planted tank hes normally in with amazon frgobit's swimming. But its oonly in 1 place he flares im gona move the filter there

 

[Mr Tomato]

They'll get bored of a reflection that doesn't fight back and find each other eventually.

Plus I think it's rather harsh on the fish to constantly be squaring up to a reflection and preparing to fight them off, it must be very stressful.

Nope.I cant agree' Stress is what they do best they were born for it. And mine are nearly four years old by now, and if stress were a an important factor, would they not have died yet? The fact is..That these two fellows are well, Healthy, and in a four foot well planted tank..and are Pals. A freak exception to the rule as I pointed out. hope this helps.

 

[soybean]

Hope this helps who? Me?

They've got a distraction at each end of the tank in the form of a reflection that won't back down. Do you think they'd still be pals, buddies, bffs 4eva if you took the mirrors away?

Squaring up to an opponent all day CAN be stressful for a betta. Am I the only one who's said it? What does that tell you?

If it works for you, great, I'm glad, but frankly I find it irresponsible of you to post "I've got two bettas in the tank and it works cos I have a mirror at each end!". For, what, 98% percent of the time, this wouldn't work out very well. Hopefully people coming across this thread from searches when when looking to see if you can keep bettas together will realise that it is really unlikely to work out and it would put their fish under more stress than is really necessary.

 

[Blubble37]

Even i have to divide my male and female up.. let alone keep 2 males in a tank.....

and to those who will complain at me for keeping a PK male and a SD female in the same tank... its because the male was in a female tank at P@H and i didnt notice untill i got him home and he was harassing my female..... so i split them up with a thick wall of plants...

 

[Mr Tomato]

Hope this helps who? Me?

They've got a distraction at each end of the tank in the form of a reflection that won't back down. Do you think they'd still be pals, buddies, bffs 4eva if you took the mirrors away?

Squaring up to an opponent all day CAN be stressful for a betta. Am I the only one who's said it? What does that tell you?

If it works for you, great, I'm glad, but frankly I find it irresponsible of you to post "I've got two bettas in the tank and it works cos I have a mirror at each end!". For, what, 98% percent of the time, this wouldn't work out very well. Hopefully people coming across this thread from searches when when looking to see if you can keep bettas together will realise that it is really unlikely to work out and it would put their fish under more stress than is really necessary.


[The one thing my fighters do well is 'get on. and I did say 'an Exception to the rule' I was careful to write this point. But who's to say what's in a fish mind?

If there were some magical electronic fish mind reading gadget you could plug into a fish brain maybe we'd all know for sure. So since there isn't I'm afraid it's just down to guess work and gentle experimentation, coupled with the fact that we cause the fish stress enough capturing them..bagging and tagging then

shipping them critters half way around the world is most likely a wonder, that they may not find it quite so hard to get on in a community tank ...after all.
And I have taken the mirrors away this morning after reading comments. The results are in....No change. All is bliss in the watery depths/ Hope this helps.