Beta fish question? (see details)

Question

Today I was taking pictures of my Beta fish with the flash on, and I've never seen it do this before but it had something around it's neck flare out around it's entire head. Then as I tapped on the plastic several times it kept doing it. Is that their defense mechanism?

jw. and please no bs if you don't know for sure. thanks =)

Answer 1

when they sense danger/threat..they do that...its pretty impressive ehh??..although make sure he does not flare too much...cos that will stress him out...

Answer 2

Beta's are fighting fish. They do that when they are mad and ready to fight other males ... If you get a mirror and let him see his reflection he'll do that because he thinks there is an other male in the tank with him. My beta would do that to my nail polished fingers and anything that was by his tank. He was always ready for a fight I miss him RIP :(

Answer 3

yea its flaring showg its fin to warn you usually means that its getting cranky or upset

Answer 4

It's called "flaring". when a betta is doing that, he's defending his territory, he's saying "hey, back off, this is my tank." It's only natural for bettas to do this, it's also a sign of a healthy betta.

Answer 5

It is perfectly normal.  When a male Betta makes a threat display, he flares out his fins, and his gill-covers, which makes him look big and nasty.  Well, it would impress you a lot more if you were his size.

If you look closely at his gill-covers the next time he does this, you'll see an extension across the bottom, that connects the left and right sides.  In the 'normal' position this is folded in, and you can just see a little bump or 'beard' there.

Your Betta felt threatened, and tried to scare the monster away.  He'll probably do this if you show him a mirror, or even a colorful candy-wrapper.  I'm guessing you have not had him for very long.  He would take a day or longer to get settled in his new home, and then he'll defend his territory from intruders, like that nasty camera.  It looks like a really big eye to him.

Answer 6

When a betta is around another betta, or is just angry, they "flare" their fins.  They open their gills up and spread their fins to look bigger and brighter to scare their opponent away.  You starteled him with the camera, so he tried to show you he was boss and you better not do it again.  If you want, you can get a small mirror and stick it in the tank for a few minutes so you can see him in flaring action.  They get really into it, its pretty funny.  Just make sure not to leave it in the tank to long.  Flaring is completely normal, its actually unnormal for one not to flare