S Stevenson wrote:
Yep, I've been bitten. My bf sent flowers to me at the office on our
anniversary, I thought the "vase" looked a bit odd lol, turns out it was a
betta bowl. During a bad day at work - he popped by with a little guy,
Figaro, for me. Talk about a pick me up! After getting Figaro digs more
appropriate for the handsome devil he is such an active happy little fellow.
Well now he has 5 more brothers lol. I didn't mean to get that many (fingers
crossed), but I just had to. Poor things were miserable at the pet store,
cramped ugly little bowls, hanging around the bottom, couldn't even be
bothered to flare at their neighbors. It's been a few days now and they are
all happy and active and flaring like mad when in sight of each other. So,
on to the point of the post, other than the brag, how should I keep them in
terms of contact/sight? I've heard that they should only be in sight and
flaring for short periods of time, say 20 minutes, or else they will become
stressed. Or is it ok for them to see each other for longer?

TIA,
Owned by water dwellers: Figaro, Armand, Sebastian, Prince, Caine, Pascal
and felines Moo and Spade.

It's sure hard to have only one betta. I've found that bettas have
different preferences for contact time with other bettas. Some fish are
farily inactive, but perk up with a full time "flare buddy" in the next
bowl. Other bettas don't seem to be able to settle down with another
male next to them. I had one who was so aggressive that his fins were
constantly shredded from flaring too hard and nipping at his own fins
with another male nearby. Alone, his fins grew back, he explored his
tank, rested on the plants, and blew bubble nests.

So, watch them and see which seem content with a "flare buddy" and which
seem to need some time alone.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com