Aggresive Male Betta?

[s72450]

I work at a daycare center and we've had a male betta in our classroom for nearly seven months now. He's grown from a little guy into a fairly large one and over the past month or so I've noticed an aggresive change in him.

George was always pretty mellow and I keep him on a high shelf so none of the children can tap his tank or upset him and for the most part it's not very loud in the room. He's always been very friendly towards me and to be honest fairly loving when I feed him, he usually nuzzles my fingers.

Well for the past month or so I've noticed that George tends to flare out at me or anyone else whenever we walk past the tank or feed him. He's gotten very aggresive, going so far as to ram himself into another teacher when she put her fingers into the water.

I'm curious if I am doing something wrong or if he is stressed or what. I miss my loveable fish.

[iamntbatman]

Well, if he's flaring at people and whatnot, there's not a whole lot you can do. If he's flaring at his own reflection, you could try putting some live or silk plants near the offending wall of the tank to obscure his view.

Bettas (males especially) tend to be pretty aggressive fish, and if you've witnessed him physically grow in the time you've had him, then he's grown from a juvenile to a full-fledged adult. They tend to get meaner as they mature. You're not doing anything wrong - it's just the nature of the fish.

[s72450]

Thanks for that, I just wanted to make sure something was not wrong.