Male flaring at female? Flirting?

[britishbetta]

Hi all, my male doesn't really seem to notice my juvenile female betta unless I push their tanks together (she's still in quarantine from arriving from petco). When he finally does see her, he flares at her, and I think the poor little girl is scared off - she swims to the other side of the tank desperately. Due to this, most of the time, I keep a piece of paper between their tanks so they can't see each other.

Is he trying (and failing miserably) to flirt with her, or does he see her as a threat? Will she need some time to "become sexually mature" before she won't run away from him?

(Eventually, I think once she gets bigger, he'll see what a beauty she is. :P )

Thanks!

[indjo]

When not in breeding mode, they will view others as rivals and will try to attack them.
Look at youtube vidoes and compare their swimming when fighting to breeding.

[Myates]

In time, if exposed enough, she will calm down around him. If you plan to breed them though make sure they only get a small exposure a day - 10-15 minutes once or twice a day. You don't want her too calm/brave around him, otherwise he won't impress her much. If they are just for pets then expose them as much as possible if you want them to live side by side.
Less exposure to other fish = more aggressive fish.