my Hope (betta male fish) is way too aggressive.

[shotokun16]

Hello betta lovers!

I would first like to say, whoever organized this forum is a genius! i didnt realize there is sooo much to know in maintaining a healthy betta environment. Luckily stumbling across this site has tremendously helped me in a number ways (i.e. water changes, feeding schedule, etc). Anyways these are my specs: 2.5 gallon tank, 3 real plants, drift wood+java moss (attached with strings maybe 2-4 days ill cut the yarn so the moss can catch the driftwood), heater at 80F, With 3-4 drops of black water extract (probably replace the drops with Indian almond leaves until it comes in the mail), 15-watt bulb, and a little shrine.

But back to my question... Why is my betta sooo aggressive in the night? whenever its lights out, except for the lights in the tank he tends to flare for almost 15-18 minutes straight! Should i turn off the aquarium light when i head to bed? However, i worry that shutting down the aquarium lights will lead to shriveled up plants. THANKS GUYS!

Proud owner of a crown tail (name:Hope)
-shotokun16

[shotokun16]

ONe more thing-- is a snail really needed in a 2.5 gallon tank? or should i stick with my javamoss+indian almond leaves+filter?

[essex14]

well if you think it would maybe you should get plastic plants...

[wiccansinger]

It wont kill the plants, i dont have a light on my tank and my plants are at the point where i am going to have to discard some of them they have grown so much.
Yes a snail or two is ideal for any type of tank, they help keep alge at bay which is good for your betta.
dont go with plastic plants though, the plastic can tear their fins, i have one silk plant in mine, although it is just there for extra cover in my female tank. I would recomend keeping your live ones, they are good for keeping nitrate levels down and oxygenating the water.
I am not sure about the flareing though, do you have any idea what is in the general direction of him when he flares (or what he is looking at)? I think you should send a message to BettaLu&Meg as well as one to FishMomma, they are definatly the experts, they can help you... if either of you two read this i hope reccomending you doesnt concern you >.<

[shotokun16]

Originally Posted by wiccansinger

It wont kill the plants, i dont have a light on my tank and my plants are at the point where i am going to have to discard some of them they have grown so much.
Yes a snail or two is ideal for any type of tank, they help keep alge at bay which is good for your betta.
dont go with plastic plants though, the plastic can tear their fins, i have one silk plant in mine, although it is just there for extra cover in my female tank. I would recomend keeping your live ones, they are good for keeping nitrate levels down and oxygenating the water.
I am not sure about the flareing though, do you have any idea what is in the general direction of him when he flares (or what he is looking at)? I think you should send a message to BettaLu&Meg as well as one to FishMomma, they are definatly the experts, they can help you... if either of you two read this i hope reccomending you doesnt concern you >.<

I would say hes flaring all around the tank and his moUTH is WIDE OPEN (about to eat something) like hes threatening his envionrment! However when the lights are back on hes back to his normal self.

Ookay hes been flaring for like 15 minutes straight again. i think ill shut off the tank light light to be safe.. Guess he sees his reflection all over or just simply afraid of dark? i'm kinda worried that he'll suffocate him self. Very odd. Where does he get the energy??? hmmm. A betta that flares for almost half an hour straight when the lights go off. Interesting. Ill youtube my fish and set a stop watch and record his flaring endurance.

THANKS

[wiccansinger]

The natural instinct of anything is to survive, which may be why he is flaring, but the same basic instinct will tell him to breath, it is unlikely that he will suffocate.
(to reflection part) - I dont know, iv never actually had it happen to me, my males are pretty placid, my females tend to flare more (even had to separate one from the others because of attacking the others nonstop, she is the only female with without any tears on her fins because of her behaviour).
you may be right about the reflection, unfortunatly i have never actually been inside an aquarium with only tank lights on, for some reason i dont think id fit so i cannot know if that is happening or not.
Dont just take my advice though, you should talk to BettaLu&Meg as well as FishMomma, they know a lot more than i!

and its ok ^.^ i love to try to help anyone who asks

[FishMomma]

I have one Betta who does the same thing although not for the length of time that you're talking about. If the kitchen lights are off and the house is dark but his tank light is on and I walk up to it, he flares! I think it comes from not being able to see out of the tank so he just flares out of his survival instinct trying to scare away the unknown. I wouldn't worry too much. Flaring is normal and also healthy when they don't do it for too long since that causes stress. Try turning off the lights at night and see if that helps. I have live plants in all my tanks, too, and they do fine with the lights turned off at night. An apple snail for a 2.5 gallon tank is a toss up. In a tank that small, unless you're having trouble with algae, I might hold off on one. They tend to produce a lot of poo which is okay in a larger tank but it can make things dirtier faster in smaller tanks. Here is the link to the apple snail website: [Registered users only can see links. ]. The golden apple snail is the one that won't eat the live plants as much as the others if you decide to get one. What kind of plants do you have in your tank? Just curious.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!

[shotokun16]

Sweet thanks FishMomma.A lot of your responses are extremely informative and touching--so thankyou for what your doing to the community. I guess ill just turn the light off. lol.

I just have random plants. A tied up java moss on some drift wood, Trichomanos plant (Fern plant), two aloe vera looking plants (which do not have sharp edges), and one day indian almond leaves. Is that too much in a 2.5 gallon hmm? will the indian almond leaves make it to acidic?

[shotokun16]

Originally Posted by wiccansinger

The natural instinct of anything is to survive, which may be why he is flaring, but the same basic instinct will tell him to breath, it is unlikely that he will suffocate.
(to reflection part) - I dont know, iv never actually had it happen to me, my males are pretty placid, my females tend to flare more (even had to separate one from the others because of attacking the others nonstop, she is the only female with without any tears on her fins because of her behaviour).
you may be right about the reflection, unfortunatly i have never actually been inside an aquarium with only tank lights on, for some reason i dont think id fit so i cannot know if that is happening or not.
Dont just take my advice though, you should talk to BettaLu&Meg as well as FishMomma, they know a lot more than i!

and its ok ^.^ i love to try to help anyone who asks

Thankyou Wiccansidnger--must be his unique behavior. But i will youtube his flaring endurance tonight or tomorrow.

[FishMomma]

You're welcome! Always glad to help out! Sounds like a great tank setup. The only thing I might be worried about is the number of plants in a 2.5 gallon tank. You want to leave a good amount of space for your Betta to swim around. I have several 2.5 gallon tanks and they do great in them but I only put one or two plants in with them. As for the Indian Almond leaves use 1 square inch of leaf per half gallon of water. For a 10 gallon tank, use 1 leaf. They do lower the pH so watch that. Bettas like their pH stable and around 6.8-7.0. If you're concerned about the acid level, get a pH testing kit and test it occasionally. BettaLu&Meg knows about Indian Almond Leaves and I believe uses them in his fry tanks. They have great qualities and benefits for Bettas!

Hope this helps answer your question! Let me know if you have others.