"Danya" wrote in message
om...
oh yeah, i have at least 1 more question...

i have 1 male betta in a 1 gallon "aquarium". the last couple of
days, when i check on him after i get home from work, sometimes i see
him flaring. i don't have a mirror or anything that i can think that
may be reflecting his image back at him, so what is the deal? i did
hold a mirror to him twice just to see him flare, but that is it. so,
any idea why he is flaring just out of the blue like this?

Regarding the Betta, my guess would be that he is reacting to
someone/something entering his territory, and is just flaring to remind
you who is boss. I wouldn't think that this is a bad thing.

Regarding the annoying Guppy, removed from their natural habitat (with
more space, shelter, constant foraging, suitable mates, competitors, on
guard against dangers etc), fish substitute other activities to pass the
time away. There isn't always much accuracy in predicting what they will
do and to who. Often they fall into the instinctual pecking dominance,
relentlessly affirming 'boss' alpha status, tormenting all the other
inhabitants (usually ignoring the bottom-feeders who don't fit into the
pecking order unless the fish is a substrate spawner). Sometimes larger
fish which are tormented by a smaller 'alpha' male of a different species
will be confused and let themselves be pushed around. In nature, they
might never meet each other again, so why spend any effort on a
psychopathic Guppy?

In the closed confines of an aquarium, you can influence their behaviour
by adding more fish, different fish, more shelter, re-distributing them
differently through your tanks etc. I don't know if that helps you.
It's just something which happens. You can plan your tanks in advance to
reduce the potential of misfits by having less different species, and
greater numbers in each species (shoalers). That helps by reducing the
chances of 'anti-social' behaviour, and when misfits do occur, they tend
to focus their attention on their own species more, and with more fish
per species, their behaviour gets spread more, making it less
problematic. hth
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