Mirror, Mirror, on The Wall… Did you know that a betta fish has a special relationship with a mirror? When you look in a mirror, you recognize that what you see is your reflection. Not all animals realize this. Many animals think the animal they see is another member of their species, and react with either fear or a show or bravado to defend to defend their territory.
Let’s examine the reaction of the standard betta. You’ll need a male betta in a bowl and a mirror… and a little bit of time.
1. Obtain a male betta, and place it alone in a bowl.
2. Place a mirror in the bowl.
3. When the betta sees his reflection, record his response.
What’s happening: Most male bettas will respond by showing all of their fins, a behavior known as flaring, designed to make the fish look large, and protect their territory. When mirrors have been left in bowls, males have become so obsessed with flaring they have even forgotten to eat and died, so take the mirror out as soon as the experiment is over!
In the animal kingdom, only primates have been shown to generally understand that they are looking at themselves in the mirror. Amongst humans, babies under 10 months of age generally don’t understand this concept. If your betta did not react by flaring, see if you can think of why. Is the fish used to living with others and not very territorial? This is the trouble with only testing one animal. There are usually other factors involved.
So cool! It reminds me of the Green Anole Lizard. They will puff up their chest so that it looks like a little red balloon!
cool! My aunt has a betta fish.
I was thinking of getting a betta. I will have to try this if and when I do! This is so cool! 🙂
~Lucy Aslinger
That’s really cool! I never thought betta fish would react if you put a mirror in his bowl…… : ) ~ Isabel Picher