Amorous Betta

[Saffron]

Here's a question. My son named his fish Nemo so of course, had to put the actual Disney Nemo statue in his tank when he saw it at Petco. The statue has been in there for quite some time but we recently changed around some of the decorations in his tank and moved it to the side a bit. Now, for the past 2 days, Nemo has been trying to mate with it. It's really funny because he's tried to nip at it's tail like he's trying to get it to move, and he keeps flaring up and struttin' around in front of it. He has even been leaning on it like he's trying to wrap around it! (or give it a lap dance! haha) Anyways, since he's soooo persistent we're wondering if we should take it out of his tank. Will it hurt him to leave it in if he keeps trying to mate with it?

[dramaqueen]

Haha, that's interesting! I don't think it will hurt anything to keep it in there, just as long as it doesn't have any sharp edges that he could tear his fins on.

[Saffron]

Great, I didn't want to take it out since we haven't had it that long. Want to at least get our money's worth out of it. lol My fiance just was thinking it might hurt him to be "worked up" all the time. It's funny because we're on day 3 and as I'm typing this, I see him still trying!! It's just too funny. Especially since the statue is twice his size. haha

[dramaqueen]

lol Just keep an eye on him and if he really starts to look stressed then you could take it out.

[LaniBaby]

i think as long as he's going ab out his normal activities as well, i.e. sleeping/eating/ resting it shoudln't be a big deal. if he gets obsessed about it and refuses to eat or do anything else, that could lead to health problems and I would remove it in that case.

[dramaqueen]

I agree with LaniBaby. If it gets to be a real issue then remove it.

[Saffron]

Thanks for all the advice, I have been watching him and he seems to be fine other than this slight obsession. If he doesn't calm down soon, I'll probably take it out whether he's stressed or not. But I'll definitely be keeping an eye on him!

[Nataku]

Also on the note of observing to see if he's becoming stressed, watch for horizontal 'stress bars' on his sides. If he starts displaying these, he's obviously getting frustrated or way too worked up over his statue friend and it will need to be removed... for both their sakes. xD