Bowl Vs Tank?

[Sesshis_grl]

I'm having moral issues with my betta

When I bought him I had him in a tank with 3 other fish..however I then went on vacation and my grandmother moved him to a bowl. So now I'm back and he is in this vase with fake grass like plants in it. I don't really like the fact that he has such a small swimming space but he has been in this for a few weeks and seems fine with it. I know that they are supposed to be in small rice patties in the wild and thus he should be happy in a smaller space but he seemed to enjoy the room while he was in the tank. So the question is do bettas do better in these smaller spaces or is it better for them to have spacious swimming room like other fish?

 

[Assaye]

Bettas need exactly the same level of care as other fish.

They can do well in small spaces if their water is kept free of organic toxins such as ammonia and nitrite, if they are fed a good diet, if they have places to hide and if they have enough space to exercise.

However, it is a myth that they do better in small spaces. Bettas do brilliantly in proper tanks that are set up for their needs.

The disadvantages of vases are thus:

+ Often inadequate swimming space. How many litres does your vase hold?
+ Require daily 100% water changes (which is stressful for the fish) unless they can be filtered.
+ Are often taller than they are wide, which is bad for bettas as they need to regularly come to the surface to breathe
+ Are nearly impossible to heat - bettas need a stable temperature of 25-28C and DO need aquarium heaters

The small rice paddies thing is a myth as well. For one thing, rice paddies are not small. They are pretty vast - thousands and thousands of gallons. When the dry season comes and some bettas get trapped in small puddles, many of them die. This is not a model for how they should be kept. Wild bettas comes from rivers, streams, ditches, rice paddies and other large bodies of water.

Bettas get a condition called fatty liver if they do not get enough exercise and many vases provide very little lateral swimming room.

My personal view is that any fish should have an absolute minimum of 6 x its own body length to swim, including fins. I also believe that 3 gallons is the absolute minimum for long term betta housing and I'd prefer to see bettas in 5 gallons or more. Those are my personal views and I'm not going to argue with anyone who wishes to keep their bettas in bowls.

If you show us a picture of the vase or of a similar vase, we'll be able to judge better.

Finally - never judge a fish by what he seems "fine" with. The inadequacies of a small vase may take weeks or months to show. Fish may seem fine with a lot of things such as ammonia in their water or being kept with unsuitable tank mates. The problems don't always show up early.

 

[Inchworm]

I'm having moral issues with my betta

Hi Sesshis_grl

I'd like to make something perfectly clear before this thread goes any further. Caring for any fish is not about moral issues but about being able to provide an environment that will enable it to stay in excellent physical condition.

That being said, if you have any doubts about the suitability of your container, now that you're home, why not just move him back to the tank with the three other fish?

 

[BethK]

Bettas living in paddy fields and small 'puddles' refers to wild bettas and not their hybrid cousins, Betta Splendens.

I personally think tiny bowls and vases are unacceptable, they leave no room for any fish to swim about, you can't control the water parameters or temperature. But it's personal choice for any fish keeper, with what they do but given good research and time, I hope they 'see the light', so to speak.

As said above, fish keeping is not about moral choices but about caring for a fish and giving it the best atmosphere possible.

Please do ask us questions, we are here to help to the best of our ability.

 

[Curiosity101]

What size tank was he in and what were the 3 other fish just out of interest?

To answer your actual question...

So the question is do bettas do better in these smaller spaces or is it better for them to have spacious swimming room like other fish?

Long answer:
I have seen bettas kept for their whole lives in 1gal unfiltered bowls/vases, equally I've seen them in 5gal filtered and heated set-ups where they are the main fish and the tank/tank mates are basically planned around them. I've also seen them in communities of 60l+ aswell. I've also seen them in everything imbetween.

Although some people make the tiny unfiltered unheated bowls work and the large tanks with lots of community fish work I believe the fish is a pet. More often than not when kept in unfiltered un-heated bowls the fish doesn't last for it's full lifespan, so as I class a fish as a pet I would always give it the minimum conditions to give it the best chance of a full life.
For this the minimum is that it's in a heated filtered (and pref pre-cycled) tank, I agree with assaye in that I would keep a male in a min of 5gal but so long as it hits the two conditions of heated and filters (therefore keeping the water withing 'healthy' parameters for the fish) then that's the main thing to consider.

Male long finned bettas don't do well with strong currents and some don't do well with tank mates... but I'd expect the fish to be healthier and more long lived in a larger tank with tank mates (presuming they're peaceful) than in a vase with very little swimming room and no heat/filtration.

Short answer:
More often than not a bigger tank will be better. There are higher success rates (long lifespans/less disease) when in a reasonable sized tank that's heated and filtered. But some people do keep their fish well in small bowls/vases. If it's what's best for the fish then I'd put it back in the larger tank as it has a higher liklihood of living out it's full life.

 

[Sesshis_grl]

Ah lots of responds!

Thanks to everyone for all the opinions. Before I left for vacation the betta was in a 29G with an angel, a gourami, and a severum. I then got rid of the gourami because it was attacking my angel and the betta was chasing it. Apparently while I was gone the betta started flaring at my angel, which scared my grandma, which led her to go buy a vase for him and make it "pretty". So now I've been home for a few weeks and was talked into leaving him in the bowl and buying the angelfish I was debating getting anyway. So I don't know if it would be wise to put him in the tank again...I'm scared of overstocking and he already seemed to be having issues with my one angel (now I have four total). What I was debating was whether to buy him his own tank or to buy a bigger bowl for him because I really don't feel comfortable with his swimming room at the moment. But wanted to make sure I wasnt going to screw him up by changing him from big to small too often..

obviously the majority seems to be bettas need a tank

 

[BethK]

angels and bettas don't mix, the severum and betta are a no-no too.

If I was you, i would either rehome your betta or buy something bigger than a vase to put him in. Or you could get a tank divider and section off part of your current tank, making room for the betta.

 

[Curiosity101]

Beth K is correct, the angel is likely to have a go at the betta as it grows. If it's the betta bullying the angel atm then I'm guessing the angel is still quite small?

Another issue is a sevrum in a 29gal... Link to data sheet about sevrums, link to another data sheet about sevrums

 

[Sesshis_grl]

Actually the angel was and still is about half dollar size? shes probally a bit bigger now but only a smidge. The severum, betta, and angel were perfect before I introduced the gourami and then I guess things got messed up. The angel has never shown aggression until I started introducing dime/quater sized angels into the tank...but after rearranging the plants n such the territorial crap ended. The severum is no longer with me though, I've had a couple people express their worries about him in a 29G.

I was debating seeing how my betta would do if I put him back in the tank..but I think my best bet might be seeing what I can afford to buy him. What are good tank mates for bettas? I don't want shrimp and I love my kuhli loaches but I'm looking for more of a middle to top swimming fish

thanks =)

 

[BethK]

with bettas, they are top dwellers, so i would avoid other territorial top tank dwellers.

I have khulis and corys with my female bettas and they get along fine. if you know the size of the tank ou will put him in, we will be able to suggest better tank mates x

 

[Sesshis_grl]

Not sure...have to check prices but I was thinking something around a 10G? Maybe bigger if there are other top/middle fish I can put with him..but if its just bottom dwellers than probally 10-15G

 

[BethK]

you could try Harlequin Rasboras, they are shoaling fish, so you would need a min of 5 but for a 10 gal, maybe you could add a max of 6.

If you wanted anything else, possibly 4 julii corys for the bottom but i would leave that as a max for a 10 - 15 gals (15, 5-6 corys)

 

[Sesshis_grl]

mmm maybe I look at more pics of the Harlequin Rasboras..it seems ok. I love corys but had horrible luck with them in my smaller tank but I think that was due to overstocking..I really like the albino and spotted ones though =3

thanks again for the help

 

[5-star_plakat]

The BIGGER, the BETTER. All my bettas (4) live in at least 10gal tanks by themselves. They're much more active and alert! A bowl should really be a last resort. At the very least, purchase a 2.5gal tank!

 

[Deek]

Gotta agree a larger filtered tank is always better for the fish, My Bettas get at least 25L each even have one in my 200L bought 5 "Females" when they were very young and one turned out to be a Crowntail male who still lives with the girls with no problems, I did get worried and rehome him about a month ago nice new tank with plants, rocks, bit of wood and he got all depressed so moved him back to the big tank and he is his old self again.