Black background on betta tank?

[bassbonediva]

Hey all. As you've probably read, I am going to be setting up a 40gL tank soon to be a betta soririty/community tank. I was originally going to paint the back of the tank black for the background, but someone on another forum (a forum dedicated to bettas, I might add) said that black backgrounds tend to stress bettas out. Does anyone know the validity of this? I know that Newman has a black background on his 40gal flat-back hex and both Silver (his delta tail male) and Flash (his plakat male) don't seem bothered by it in the least. Any thoughts on this? What I was really going for in the 40gL in the background was something dark that my bettas, neons, platies, DW and plants would stand out against. Black seemed the most logical choice, especially considering my substrate is going to be darker as well.

 

[emmanuelchavez]

I have a black background on my 29g which houses a male betta. He doesn't seem bothered at all.

I also have a black background on my 100g, which has 2 female bettas, and they don't seem bothered by either the black background or large space.

 

[tom91970]

I've kept bettas in tanks with black backgrounds (14g, 29g, 55g) and they were nowhere near being stressed.

 

[Newman]

It's good to hear that the black background is just a myth
silver-reflective background might be the real problem lol.

 

[bassbonediva]

That's kinda what I'm starting to think, Newman. I'm going to do matte black, not gloss black, so that should help a bit.

 

[Newman]

now i wish my background was matte and not shiny gloss >_<

 

[beckyd]

I have one male with a mostly black background. He seems fine. I'm not buying it as valid either.