Betta fish angry/scared swimming up and down in tank

Question

OK so i got this totally beautiful betta fish (might update with pics!!) but hes swimming up and down in his tank every once in a while and flaring his gills is he seeing his reflection cus I've heard they'll do that if they see there reflection if so wat can i do to calm him down (its not constant but every hour or so he starts doing it)

Answer 1

It's no big deal if he's swimming around and flaring at his reflection.  As long as he doesn't flare his fins so hard he blows out his tail (this mostly happens with half moons, not pet store veil tail bettas).  It's actually good exercise for bettas to flare their gills and fins every once in a while.  If he's from a pet store, he's probably been stuck in a little cup for quite a while and is enjoying being in a larger space, so is going to want to swim back and forth or up and down for a while just to stretch his fins.  An active betta is a healthy betta.  Don't worry about it.  He'll probably chill out on his own after a day or two.

Answer 2

It sounds like he's flaring at his reflection. If he's doing it at the sides of his tank, you can try putting a piece of paper there to cut out the reflection. Other than that, he may just be getting used to his new territory and flaring to scare off any would-be invaders. Give him a little time.

Good luck!