Worried about my new betta

[kitsune93]

Hey. I'm new to these forums and it's been a lot time since I've kept fish so I've got a lot of questions. I got a betta Friday night and I named him Nitro. He keeps swimming to the sides of the tank and flaring. I know he sees his reflection and is freaking out. Is there anything I can do to reduce the reflection? It's mostly occurring on two sides of the tank but not so much on the others. While it looks very cool, I know it can't be healthy for him. There's also a big raft of bubbles he's made on one side of the tank. When he's not flaring at his reflection, he's staring at the bubbles. Should I do anything about the bubbles or just leave it be? Also, his fins are changing color. When we bought him, he was dark blue but now the bottom fins are dark red and the other fins are light blue. His body is also getting lighter. The red color is also spreading to the rest of his fins. They're now tipped in red. Why are his fins changing color?

[audjree]

welcome to the forums of this great website! c:

i'm not exactly sure what to do about the flaring, but the bubbles are a bubble nest!
male bettas make these when they are happy and healthy, so that's a good sign.
you can leave it be, and when you're changing the water, he won't mind if you wreck it.

some bettas change color when they are stressed, but since he's making bubbles,
i don't think he's stressed. usually if they are ill or stressed, they lose color and become
pale. his body is getting lighter, but his fins are turning red, so maybe he's just changing
from blue to red. he may be happy, so he's changing, but i'm not entirely sure about this.

i hope this helped, maybe someone else can give you a clearer answer
about the flaring or changing color. c:

[PewPewPew]

The fact that his body is getting lighter worries me. You may be noticing the red color now that the blue is lighter. He can be stressed and still make a nest. My dying fish with melting off scales is still nesting.

What is the temp of the tank right now? And its size? Did you make sure to properly acclimate the fish?

bettas need 76-81'F, constant. Fluxuating changes are not good. They should also have clean water, so if you have a 1 gallon tank, a 100% change every few days is needed. The fish needed to be accliamted properly to the new tank, otherwise may become ill and stressed out.

If hes flaring at the sides of the tank, he can probably see himself. Put a peice of white paper against the offending sides and see if it helps.

If its the teta 1.5 gallon (piece of crud lol!) its always gonna do that and is a tank that is known for being too reflective.

[kitsune93]

The "tank" is half a gallon. I looked into in from above and the sides are like mirrors inside it. It's made specifically for betta fish :\ I'm gonna try to talk my mom into going to the pet store to buy something better. The really creepy thing is my Nitro now looks almost just like the fish on the box.

[SmokeNLark]

Flaring is good for them as long as it's not a lot. try moving some decorations to the sides he flares at to break up the reflection. If that doesn't help, he should calm down on his own.

To me, a half gallon is not big enough. Get him at least a gallon, 2.5 is ideal, and 5 is wonderful. He'll thank you for it. :) Even if it says it's for bettas, they're usually too small.