Flaring... constantly...

[SpookyTooth]

I'm sincerely sorry if there is already a topic like this on the forums, I'd also like to apologize if this is in the wrong section, it isn't so much a disease but I am concerned... my week has been an utter <insert expletive here> and I'm at the end of my tether, I desperately need some form of advice because I'm stressed out of my head. Right now my problem is Echo. Echo is a very flarey and puffy fish. You come over, he flares, you view him from afar, his fins are puffed out, you feed him, his fins are puffed out. You ignore him, his fins are puffed out. You clean his water, his fins are puffed out.

You get the picture.

I know that excessive fin-puffage can cause fins to burst, well this has already happened once and it has happened again. Every single one of his fins are covered in pin holes from where he is flaring... almost all... the... time.

He is in a 7 gallon planted tank with no tank mates. He is heated to 79 degrees C and his tank is fully cycled and filtered. I do weekly 40% water changes. I use StressCoat+. He cannot see Kaze in the other tank nor do there appear to be any reflections, he does not flare at a reflection but his fins are almost always erect except for when he's sleeping (and even then they sometimes are). He has never been a tail biter and the holes aren't caused by that, I can also say that the holes are not caused by decorations or ornaments. There is nothing there for him to hurt himself on and the holes are right near where his fins join his body and spread out like he's been shot with a scatter gun. They are definitely holes and not ich, I can see through them.

I feed him twice a day, 2 to 3 pellets in a sitting with an occasional pellet meal replaced with some form of freeze-dried treat or bloodworm jelly stuff. His behaviour is absolutely fine (except for the FLARING).

Now, I know it's good when a betta's fins are slightly puffed out and not clamped but Echo is in full-on flare mode almost 24/7. You can see the rays of his fins pulsating he is that puffed out, he doesn't always expand his gill covers (unless he sees me then he swims over and makes sure I know he's the boss), he does his wiggle dance when he's hungry and his fins are still puffed out. He's hyperactive.

I can keep his water warm and clean no problem but my concern is that there is something that is causing him to puff up all the time and that this might be causing him to stress. I do not understand this fish at all, when I bought him he was a friendly little thing but now he is always "angry", I don't know if it's me or something in my room that he doesn't like but he's just not willing to stop puffing his fins out.

I have considered rehoming him because if it is me or my house and he's stressed then that would be better but if it's something I can fix myself then I would dearly love that, Echo is a wonderful fish despite his determination to have fins that look like Swiss cheese.

I cannot get a photo of him, I'm sorry.

Does anyone have any advice at all? I'm tired, frustrated and just want to curl up and sleep -- too much stuff going on this week and this just adds to the pile of <insert another expletive here>. Bleh.

Sorry for ranting, I'm hoping this isn't that big of a deal and that he's fine but I'm finding everything too hard to cope with right now and I'd really appreciate any help.

[shellieca]

I doubt it's you some fish are just more aggressive than others & that be the case with him. Yes it's not healthy for them to be constantly flaring. In your post you said his water is 79 C, I hope you meant 79 F? Does he do it when the light on his tank is off? If the tank light is on & the room is kind of dark then they can typically see their reflection & that could be causing the problem. Try leaving the light off for a day or two & see if that makes a difference.

[SpookyTooth]

79 F, yes sorry! My brain cut out heh. Echo does seem to still "poof up" when the lights are out but that would be worth trying. I'll have to switch it off and see how things go -- hopefully the plants won't sulk too much.

Thank you for the suggestion.

[shellieca]

I have my lights on a timer & they're on 8 to 8-1/2 hrs a day, they all have live plants. One of my 10g tanks comes on for a couple of hrs early in the morning as my night light when I get up, Berry my CT Betta usually does some flaring because the room is dark & he sees his reflection but that's the only time he really flares. Hopefully someone else may have a suggestion. Oh, I did read where someone discovered their Betta didn't like something near the tank, once they're removed it he stopped flaring. Is there anything around the tank?

[SpookyTooth]

In all honesty, not that I would have thought would bother him. His aquarium is sat next to Kaze's (though they can't see each other) and that in turn is sat on a table at the end of my bed. He's been through a couple of tank moves and was in the same place back when I had a divided 14gal, though he was still very angry there.

[shellieca]

Do you have something opaque between them? If the tanks are close to each other they can still usually see each other. But if he's been where he couldn't see another Betta before & still was doing it them that probably isn't much of a factor. But it could add to his stress.

[SpookyTooth]

I have an opaque sheet between them, yes. I've had a few issues with getting Kaze a tank in a similar shape to Echo's (Echo's is a cube, Kaze's is rectangular) so I've had to be careful with blocking views to prevent stress.

[shellieca]

Sounds like you've done all the right things.