Over exercising a beta?

[bunlet]

I put a mirror next to him so he'll flare up. How long can I do this without killing him?

[OrionGirl]

You shouldn't really do it at all. Imagine having to go through a full on temper tantrum daily--the rush of hormones, the stress, etc. It's not 'exercise'. It's stressing the betta out for absolutely no reason and no benefit.

[Boohoo]

What about a betta in a divided tank? It is just as stressful, or do they eventually get used to one another? I have a 10g divided, with three bettas. I don't want them to spend their life stressed out.

[shaunakadub]

Some of the best breeders out there say it is perfectly fine to mirror or leave them next to each other. I belive I read over at bettatalk.com that shes had two bettas constantly flaring at each other for over a year.

Edit: Found the writing

"Because bettas are not as intelligent than us (or are they? :)) ) you can get the same result by putting a mirror in front of them. Well, it’s not really that they are dumb, but they don’t know what they look like, so when they see the betta in the mirror, they don’t know the betta is actually THEM.:) This makes for hours of fun watching the whole commotion. And no, bettas will not get exhausted, as a matter of fact, I have two brothers jarred side by side who have been continually flaring at each other for a year now. I believe that a little action and company is good for the moral. So I let my bettas see each other." (Quoted, bettatalk.com)

[patoloco]

This makes for hours of fun watching the whole commotion. And no, bettas will not get exhausted, as a matter of fact, I have two brothers jarred side by side who have been continually flaring at each other for a year now. I believe that a little action and company is good for the moral. So I let my bettas see each other." (Quoted, bettatalk.com)

Hope the bettas think it's funny too.

I've never kept bettas, but the mirror thingy don't make any sense in my mind.}

[shaunakadub]

I don't know about the year round flaring, that might be a little to much. But I think its a good idea to give them a little mirror every once in a while to give them some sort of stimulation. They sit around usually in a tank smaller then 10gallon, so they need something to do =p