Setting Off Bettas with Color

[BettaLover223]

So I am sitting by my fish feeding them and all of a sudden my fish starts flaring. At first i thought it was because he saw the other fish, but no. He was flaring at me. Why do fish flare at colors? Now everytime I sit by him wearing dark blue he gets angry.

[LizardFish]

Very interesting…I have never heard of that. I couldn't tell you why that happened, though. Maybe Google??

[ZackyBear]

...can bettas even see colors?

Though it would make sense. It's like with fancy guppies; they don't go well with bettas since their fins and colors send a betta into attack mode D: But I used to think long finned anything would trigger a betta's attack response

[Olympia]

Yes, they do see colour. That's why he got upset, seeing brighter colours, especially moving around, makes him think there's another betta and he must defend his territory.

[ZackyBear]

Originally Posted by Olympia

Yes, they do see colour. That's why he got upset, seeing brighter colours, especially moving around, makes him think there's another betta and he must defend his territory.

Ahaaa....pretty cool. I wonder if a betta can be taught tricks with colors~

[misty1477]

I had to remove Sparkle's filter because he flared at it constantly. For the first month he was okay with the filter.

I noticed that whenever my dark-colored cats walked in front of his tank he would go into full-flare-mode.

Soooo...I did a test. I put a sheet of dark-colored paper in front of his tank.....YIKES!!! .... total flare-out. I then used a sheet of white paper ... no response at all.

And, yes BettaLover223 .... if I have a dark-colored shirt on when I go near his tank to talk to him, he flares at me too.

Since he was okay with the filter at the beginning, I don't believe it has anything to do with seeing his reflection. I think he is just being a silly fishie.


I am in the process of adding more plants to his tank and I am afraid to buy anything that is 'dark' in color....even basic green has me wondering.

We all love our Bettas ... even with their odd behaviors.

[LizardFish]

I wonder what colors make what bettas go nuts, and why?

[homegrown terror]

haha guess it's a good thing i wear mostly black and white :)

[dramaqueen]

I had a betta that flared at some Christmas earrings I have. They were red. Lol

[bahamut285]

Originally Posted by misty1477

Soooo...I did a test. I put a sheet of dark-colored paper in front of his tank.....YIKES!!! .... total flare-out. I then used a sheet of white paper ... no response at all.

The dark colour probably mimics the effect of a tank in a dark room. He will see his reflection in the glass :P