How much flaring is too much?

[Briggan]

Hi!
So in my divided 10 gallon, I have a black crowntail and a mustard gas betta, both males. Since the divider is see through, I’ve added some tall plants (fake) and some slate to block their view of each other, however they e been flaring almost non-stop for 10 minutes now. They do occasionally break away from each other but then end up back at the divider.
How long can this continue before it becomes unsafe or unhealthy?
Thanks!

 

[Back in the fold]

They seem to be able to do it all day long. Like a parakeet with a mirror. Nothing to worry about.

 

[Briggan]

Ok, thanks. They’ve calmed down a tiny bit, I was worried the crowntail was going to hurt itself, he seemed to be very upset with his neighbor.

 

[FishGuest5123]

I have to disagree. They even say not to leave a mirror in too long as it can stress them out. You need to black out that divider.

 

[Colin_T]

As Deanasue said, you need to black out the divider so they can't see each other.

Normally in the wild, the fish might come across each other and flare up a couple of times a week. The bigger fish will usually cause the smaller fish to swim away pretty quickly. If two fish of equal size come up against each other they will normally fight to the death.

If you want the fish to see each other and flare up, then that is fine but it should not happen more than 3 times a week and should not last longer than 15 minutes each time.

If the fish are flaring continuously for an extended period of time, it will stress and weaken both fish and they will die prematurely. ​

 

[Briggan]

They’ve stopped flaring at each other, they seem to be relaxing by themselves for right now, I’ve blocked their view of each other as much as possible.

 

[FishGuest5123]

They’ve stopped flaring at each other, they seem to be relaxing by themselves for right now, I’ve blocked their view of each other as much as possible.

I’ve actually heard they can smell each other too. I had a divided tank and one of my males deteriorated so bad. I didn’t realize what it was until he had died. Be careful!

 

[Briggan]

They were fine until I turned the light on, hopefully they’ll calm down again, I’ll look into getting a better divider.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Yes, a divider with no holes in it, is always a better choice. (Now that I think about it, needs to have some holes, or no water would be able to pass through it.)

 

[FishGuest5123]

I put a piece of black binder plastic between mine so they couldn’t see each other. They could still smell each other though. Pheromones in the water.

 

[Back in the fold]

Emphatically, no. Their flaring at each other is not stressful to them. I have spoken.

 

[Colin_T]

Emphatically, no. Their flaring at each other is not stressful to them.

I disagree.

Think about how you would feel if confined to a small cage, and there are hundreds of other cages all around you. Each cage containers another person. Each person is there for committing a violent crime. Each day the people around you threaten you and try to kill you through the bars.
How would you feel?
Would you suffer from stress?
Your adrenalin would be running continuously and you would probably die from heart failure caused by the stress.

Fish and animals are the same. If you have male Bettas in clear containers where they can see each other, they suffer from stress and die prematurely because of it.

Betta splendens are highly territorial fish that will fight to the death with any male that comes near them. Whilst this is encouraged in various third world countries, it should not be encouraged here. And deliberately causing fish to suffer from stress, by having them in jars or containers next to each other so they are constantly flaring at each other, is not good for the fish.

 

[Back in the fold]

OK, then how come body builders don't have strokes in a competition ? How come husbands don't die within a year of marriage ? Answer : You adapt to stress. Survival of the fittest. I have spoken yet once more.

 

[Colin_T]

Some body builders do die from heart attacks and stroke, but it usually happens during training. They exert too much effort and a blood vessel pops and they die.

Some husbands do die shortly after marriage, but usually to a black widow. Many husbands want to die after 5-10 yrs of marriage, due to stress.

You can adapt to small amounts of stress that happen once in a while, but you need time to recover from it. You don't adapt to major or regular/ constant stress. I lived in a house where I was the victim of domestic abuse for 9 years. I had 3 heart attacks while living there. And I had another heart attack when I was living on the street. And I have had 2 more since I have been off the street and living in a different area. All the heart attacks were caused by stress.

 

[FishGuest5123]

OK, then how come body builders don't have strokes in a competition ? How come husbands don't die within a year of marriage ? Answer : You adapt to stress. Survival of the fittest. I have spoken yet once more.

Your examples made those choices. The bettas did not. Don’t Make me show you pics of my beautiful betta after a year in a divided tank. They are so sad and embarrassing. I’ve lived through the consequences of divided tanks. One betta suffered fin rot but survived in my case, the other died.