keeping betta in bowl

[Allie]

Hi all, I have recently joined here and didn't realise that so many of you had tanks for your bettas. My first and only betta recently died after having him for 4 years. I want to get another one soon as I enjoyed my betta so much!

I personally don't care for tanks myself, that is why I got the betta as I heard they were easy and could live in small spaces. I only used probably a half gallon bowl with complete water changes with bottled drinking water once a week. I fed only pellets, 2-5 a day. No filtration or heater. He was only sick one time the entire time I had him, which was about 1 year before he died. In which case I gave him medication and he recovered.

I really don't even know what type of betta I had! But he was the sweetest little guy and blew his bubble nest until he got lots older....

Anyway, the reason for my post is.....do you think he was really unhappy living in these conditions, .....small bowl, no heater, no filtration....he seemed happy and paid attention to me....

I want to do the same with a new fish.....just wondering how many of you here have had this type of success with your bettas in a bowl?

Thanks for reading....

Allie

 

[wuvmybetta]

Obviously it worked for your little guy if he lived four years,you were doing something right! This time maybe upgrade to a 1 gallon and set it up cutely for both of ya's. You can get those cute little triangle AquaViews for like 10.00,with a light and all that good stuff.

 

[Bettaman]

if he lived for four years he was happy.....good life span for a betta....

 

[Allie]

Are bettas typically about 1 year old when you buy them in stores? I bought him at Petco.

Oh, I had no cover for his bowl either, luckily he never jumped out....

I was thinking of going to a one gallon....but I am not a tank person, lol I have a bird in a cage, and have realised cages and tanks to clean are not for me.

 

[Raechal]

The longest betta I've ever had was 2 years. He would have lived longer but my younger sister decided to change his water and add plain tap water with no dechlor. The fish died the next morning. No one knew she even changed the water.

 

[wuvmybetta]

Well,if it makes you feel any better...a one gallon is FAR from a 'tank' It's just a fancier bowl

 

[Allie]

Well,if it makes you feel any better...a one gallon is FAR from a 'tank' It's just a fancier bowl

LOL, yeah I should probably upgrade to a one gallon.

 

[MAM]

and one gallons don't take up much more room. they'll give your little guy more room to swim about. and cleaning them is easy too, even with decor. rather than trying to syphon in that small of a tank, i take my betta out, put him into a temporary container, empty out all the water, add some new, swish it about to dislodge crud in the gravel, then rinse. then i add dechlorinated water, let it sit a bit if need be to be room temp, then put my little guy back in. and those aquaview things wuv mentioned look great on a shelf or endtable in addition to giving your betta more room. and if you have two or three tanks together, it makes for a nice little grouping.

 

[Allie]

and one gallons don't take up much more room. they'll give your little guy more room to swim about. and cleaning them is easy too, even with decor. rather than trying to syphon in that small of a tank, i take my betta out, put him into a temporary container, empty out all the water, add some new, swish it about to dislodge crud in the gravel, then rinse. then i add dechlorinated water, let it sit a bit if need be to be room temp, then put my little guy back in. and those aquaview things wuv mentioned look great on a shelf or endtable in addition to giving your betta more room. and if you have two or three tanks together, it makes for a nice little grouping.

Do those "aquaview" tanks have to be filtrated or heated?

 

[fancyfish]

Do those "aquaview" tanks have to be filtrated or heated?[/QUOTE]
It is too small for a heater inside it. You could easily cook your betta that way.

It comes with an under gravel filter. Some folks use it. Some folks don't.
I use the filter; because I am so OCD about water changes and total clean outs so I am not worried about waste collecting under the filter.

The light in the hood can heat the water up real fast ; so you don't want to leave the light on for more than a few hours. (It states this in the manual, leave light on only when enjoying the fish).

Be careful to not fill up pass the fill line or your betta won't be able to have easy access to the air.

The pump isn't too bad for a little pump. Some folk find it too forceful. That could be adjusted.

And here is a biggie... when I bought mine we found many in the store had cracks in them, missing plants etc. To find 3... I went through about 12 boxes. Quality control apparently needs improving... or it was a bad lot or shipping. So if you are traveling a distance to purchase one, check them out in the store if possible.

They do look nice. I have them in the living room and at night I turn off all the lights in the room except the 1 gals bettas and a few lava lamps. Very relaxing.

But the smaller tanks require more work than say a larger tank; and 10 gal tanks are almost the same price. (not counting accessories).

The silk plants look real nice in the tanks btw. I hated the plastic plants, with the trays on the bottom. Big hassle to bury and also to clean them on clean out days.

 

[AlexsDaddy]

I've had a female in an Aquaview one gallon for a while now. The biggest thing that I have noticed about it is when the light is on all day, the water ends up getting pretty warm. Up in the mid 80's, sometimes more or less depending on the room temp. and I think the highest temp for a healthy tropical is 86F. Anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about that. The light that it comes with generates a lot of heat so if the tank is in a cooler room, you might not have to worry about a heater throught the day, but might want one for over night to keep the temp steady while the light is off. No filteration is needed though with dedicated water changes. Like wuv said, if you had a betta live for 4 years in a half gallon bowl, you were doing something right. That's an amazing life for a betta.

 

[littlefishie]

I have 4 of my 7 bettas in bowls. You're not the only one.
The other 3, well.. one is spoiled in a 2.5 gallon, another is in a 1 gallon kritter keeper, and the last is in a Marina betta kit. He hates anything larger than a 1/2 gallon.

 

[Allie]

thanks all for your replies! I will look to see whats in the pet supply stores for bettas. I hate cleaning tanks, cages....so simple works for me!

Again, thanks for your advice!

Allie