Mirror In Front Of Tank

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The color change is usually associated with environmental issues (substrate, background etc), stress or mating. Id guess that a mirror would cause the fish to think there is another male/female that looks just like him/her and cause un-needed stress on the fish.

Harmful or fatal? Doubtful, but it probably wouldnt be a good idea to put one there permanently or even do what that guy was doing in the video unless you wanted to stress the fish out.
 
Its more than likely a matter of opinion. I remember seeing tanks 20+ yrs ago with mirrored backgrounds, but weve learned a lot more about fish and their longevity since then.

I personally wouldnt do it because I like my fish to be comfortable and happy in their environment, not stressed thinking there is another fish they have to fight with for food when it comes...or tricking them into thinking there is a mate.

Like everything else here, there are probably others with the opposite opinion, thats just mine.
 
I've seen people do this with their Flowerhorns and get em all fired up angry lol. I've heard of people using mirrors to stimulate breeding in their fish. This is obviously something Convicts do not need. I'd advise against it, because if I remember right you have a pretty small tank and you don't need a lot of aggression kicked up in that tank or it will be a massacre.
 
It just pisses off and stresses your fish. Also a lot of fish change color based on mood. Oscars usually get more vibrant colors ( darker black and brighter reds, etc.) when pissed and more green when they are calm.
 
I read about flowerhorn owners doing this with their fish and thought about doing it with my cichlids. After reading more, I just decided not to try it. There is not a reason for doing it other than to see the fish flare up, and I'm not trying to antagonize or stress my fish in any way. I feel bad enough that I am a human and they are in a tank for my enjoyment, I might as well try and make it as comfortable as possible for them. I'd really just rather not trick them in any way which could stress them.
 
If you put a mirror in front of your tank and your fish says "candyman" five times then turns out the light, REALLY bad things will happen.
 
If you put a mirror in front of your tank and your fish says "candyman" five times then turns out the light, REALLY bad things will happen.
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If my sig wasn't full, I'd put that in it.
 
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