Betta Gardens

[Stayingalive]

My sister is planning on making betta gardens for her children (adults) as Christmas gifts and I told her it isn't a healthy environment for the bettas. I tried to find information on the internet regarding this but only coming up with conflicting opinions.

Are these gardens okay (plant stuck in the top of a vase with the betta swimming below) as long as certain guidelines are kept (i.e., the betta is able to get oxygen, feed the betta--don't expect it to live on the roots of the plant alone, etc.)?

I would like your opinion of the betta gardens and also if you know of any websites where I can pass the information along to her. Thank you.

 

[Inchworm]

Hello Stayingalive

Giving bettas for Christmas gifts sounds like a wonderful and thoughtful idea. But the vase part of it is not. Here is a link that will explain why:

http/www.bettasrus.com/products/bettavase.htm

Bettas are beautiful fish and do not need a big live plant to enhance their desirability. A simple one gallon bowl with maybe a little gravel and a silk plant or other small decoration would make an elegant gift. Small tanks are also available at a modest price.

 

[wuvmybetta]

Here's another link,tell her to come up with another idea



http/www.bettatalk.com/betta_in_a_vase.htm

 

[Inchworm]

Both of these very reputable sites sell bettas. If the idea of keeping these fish in vases was good, it seems that they would be promoting it as a way to sell more fish. But they are not, instead they condem the idea.

That tells me a lot.

 

[Stayingalive]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I will pass all this information on to my sister.

One thing I have really noticed in trying to give my betta the best possible life is how contradictory the advice on the various betta websites is. One very old saying: "don't believe everything you read" surely applies to the Internet and it is really difficult to "cut the wheat from the chaff" (another old saying).

 

[Inchworm]

One thing I have really noticed in trying to give my betta the best possible life is how contradictory the advice on the various betta websites is. One very old saying: "don't believe everything you read" surely applies to the Internet and it is really difficult to "cut the wheat from the chaff" (another old saying).

You are certainly right about that, Stayingalive.

But when it comes to fishkeeping, there are often more ways than one to do things and still get good results. There is rarely a single right answer to any question. Keeping fish alive is one thing but giving them a decent quality of life is another.

Let me use, for example, the betta. You could have one in the vase or in a tiny little jar. To keep it alive, a little water change and a bit of food from time to time is all it needs. Or, if money is no object, you could keep him alone in a beautifully planted 55 gallon tank with heating, filtration, etc. But these are both extremes; neither one is the right answer for everyone. For most of us the way to provide our fish with the best quality of life lies somewhere in between.

On this forum, you have found a community of people who share a common interest, but who live in different parts of the world and come from different economic situations. Location is a big factor in that the science part of the hobby is effected by local water conditions. Money limits the possibilites we have to do what we would like in the hobby. Here we share information and ideas about what practices worked or failed for us in our individual circumstances.

Fishkeeping is not purely science and not just art. It is the craft of combining the two. Results will vary.

 

[BettaBoyz]

i find the vase, if it's the proper kind, makes a very nice Betta home. tell her to get the widest-bodied vase she can find, one that is clear and free of any paint or designs, get some bright and colorful gravel, a tall alternating-rosette type silk plant, a shorter bushy silk plant, and perhaps a nice old shell that has been boiled to death and given the vinegar test. tie a bow around the lipe of the vase if you want some 'beauty'. this is probably not the ideal Betta home (not enough back-and-forth siwm space, not the widest top, etc.) but it is better than the tiny vase-with-plant setup.