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Zoology Science Fair Project

Betta Fish and Mirror Aggression

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Betta Fish and Mirror Aggression | Science Fair Projects | STEM Projects
What happens when a betta fish sees its own reflection over and over? Male bettas flare their fins and gills to warn rival males away. You place a mirror against the tank and watch the betta react. Then you remove the mirror and show it again after one minute. Each time you present the mirror counts as one trial. You repeat trials until the betta stops reacting. The next day you test again to see if the fish remembers. This shows two ways animals stop responding. Extinction means the warning fails to work. Habituation means the fish gets used to it.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis is that the betta fish's aggressive behavior will diminish with time.

Method & Materials

You will observe the reaction of the betta when presented with a mirror, and record the number of trials before its response to the mirror diminishes.
You will need a betta fish and fish supplies, a mirror, and a data sheet.

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Results

The results of the experiment showed that the betta's aggressive behavior diminished with time. The most interesting observation was that the betta's response to the mirror decreased significantly after the first day of the experiment.

Why do this project?

This science project is interesting because it shows how a betta fish can learn to ignore a stimulus over time.

Also Consider

Variations of this experiment could include testing the betta's response to different stimuli, or testing the betta's response to the same stimulus over a longer period of time.

Full project details

Additional information and source material for this project are available below.

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