After posting the "how to train show fish" video, a great breeder in Hawaii told me that she never cards her fish, and yet the flare very nicely at the shows. I decided to try partially carding my fish, so that they are able to retreat from the gaze of their neighbors, but also engage in when they want to. You can see that the card allows for the top 2-3" of the jar for viewing.
The fish seem to be even happier and more active. They can choose to rest at the bottom, or flare up top. They seem to flare periodically throughout the day, without exhibiting signs of exhaustion to stress. I still get an aggressive flare response when I remove the card, which is ideal for showing. I may still fully card them right before sending them to a show, but for maintenance purposes, this works very nicely!
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