My Beta Fish Jumped Out Of His Bowl!

[choandy13]

I'm not sure exactly how long he was out, (I wasn't in my room for about 2 hours) but my beta fish jumped and flopped on the ground behind my dresser...when I found him he was almost completely dry, on my floor, covered in dust and hair. I freaked out and I picked him up gently and filled my sink with lukewarm water and put him in real quick. He wriggled around a little but he couldn't move very much because he was so tangled up with dust/hair, so I had to take all the junk off with my fingers. I really hope that I didn't hurt him...
He's swimming in his bowl fairly fine now, he just turned a real dark red and isn't eating anything...also, his fins are kinda squished together. Online, it's recommended to change his water then use the anti-stress drop stuff, but I really don't want to stress him out even more by taking him out of his bowl AGAIN!

What should I do???!!!??!!

 

[Mr.September15]

Well thats not good... . Hopefully he gets well soon, the poor guy. I wonder how hair gets on the carpet. errrr, I hate that, I always get stuff stuck on my clothes from rolling on the ground. Well all you can do is keep him in a slightly dark room for a while and put some stress coat in the tank. Leave him without any sudden movement for a while then slowly add light to the room or to his surroundings.

 

[Synirr]

I always get stuff stuck on my clothes from rolling on the ground.

Sounds like you do this often

I wouldn't change his water right now... just leave him be and let him rest and recouperate for a couple of days. I think changing the water now would just stress him worse.

 

[choandy13]

Thanks so much...
Is there anything I can do for his fins?
I've noticed today that some of them have been ripped...he fell a pretty long ways...

 

[IceH2O]

Do you guys really keep Bettas in bowls?

They really do need filteration.Don't believe the Water changes BS.How big is this bowl? I'd at the very least get the poor thing a 5 gallon tank.

If you really are convinced that a bowl is good enough,which I hope you're not,then maybe you should put something on top of the bowl so he doesn't jump out again.

 

[Naanu]

I agree that you shouldn't keep bettas in bowls. I think that a bowl is not good environment for any fish at all! I have my own betta in 89 litres tank (which is about 24 gallons). Bettas are swimmig more and more active in bigger tanks where they have bigger territorys and plenty of things to do. In bigger tanks the waterchange is also easier to do, you don't even have to do it so often! In bigger tanks it's easier to control temperature and pH and so on..

In Finland there we have also a law, which says that you shouldn't keep fish in tanks under 40 litres (about 10 gallons).

Do you think that in nature bettas are just using 1 gallon of the water they could use for moving and having their own terrotory?

 

[choandy13]

I agree that you shouldn't keep bettas in bowls. I think that a bowl is not good environment for any fish at all! I have my own betta in 89 litres tank (which is about 24 gallons). Bettas are swimmig more and more active in bigger tanks where they have bigger territorys and plenty of things to do. In bigger tanks the waterchange is also easier to do, you don't even have to do it so often! In bigger tanks it's easier to control temperature and pH and so on..

This beta is my first fish, and his bowl was definately temporary...It was one of those starter things where all the "necessary" stuff came in one box. I really didn't think that he'd jump out. I'm not an expert (obviously) but now I can definately see why I need to get a bigger tank for the poor guy.
Is there anything I can do for his damaged fins though? I just got him some of those de-stressing drops and some quality food and also feed him peas...he's eating now.

 

[splashluff]

Just keep his water nice and clean for now, when he starts feeling better you can worry about medicating the fin damage. Bettamax should work well to aid in re-growing the fins. Also, start shopping around for a nice big tank with a hood for your boy ! Ask for a 5gallon Mini-bow for X-mas! Until then, you can use a CD or a lid to cover up the top of his bowl... I'm glad he survived it

 

[soritan]

Don't let them feel too guilty for keeping a fish in a bowl. So long as you provide him with proper care, a bowl can be an adequate place to keep a fish in.

It's a little sad that you'd be picked on for that, in your very first thread on "the friendliest forum around", especially when bowl-keeping is a common practice on this forum.

I'm sure your betta will be fine. He's just in shock. Put him in a low traffic place or gently cover his bowl with a dark cloth. Medicate him lightly, or salt his water slightly (google or search this forum for salt/medication to water ratios). Attempt to feed him. If he takes food, great, feed him normally. If he doesn't, use that turkey baster I mentioned in your emergency thread and suck it up to keep his water clean.



I kept my boy, Sori, in a 1.25G bowl for just shy of a year. He was happy in there. He was listless in a 2.5G bowl, and paranoid in larger tank. He's now in a 5G tank, and I'm eyeing him closely to make sure he's not listless or paranoid in there, as well. Bettas are great fish because they have a personality to them, it takes different things to make them happy. If you think your fish is fine in a bowl (as long as it's over 1G), you can safely leave him there so long as you care for him accordingly. On the other hand, if he's really active and obviously wants some 'elbow room', definately upgrade him, he'll reward you with brighter colors and greater activity.

 

[choandy13]

Thanks everyone for all your help, Ludwig is looking a lot better! He's eating and changing back to his normal color.
You guys will probably see me around this forum...I'm definately interested in learning more about fish.

Don't let them feel too guilty for keeping a fish in a bowl. So long as you provide him with proper care, a bowl can be an adequate place to keep a fish in.

It's a little sad that you'd be picked on for that, in your very first thread on "the friendliest forum around", especially when bowl-keeping is a common practice on this forum.
I'm sure your betta will be fine. He's just in shock. Put him in a low traffic place or gently cover his bowl with a dark cloth. Medicate him lightly, or salt his water slightly (google or search this forum for salt/medication to water ratios). Attempt to feed him. If he takes food, great, feed him normally. If he doesn't, use that turkey baster I mentioned in your emergency thread and suck it up to keep his water clean.

I kept my boy, Sori, in a 1.25G bowl for just shy of a year. He was happy in there. He was listless in a 2.5G bowl, and paranoid in larger tank. He's now in a 5G tank, and I'm eyeing him closely to make sure he's not listless or paranoid in there, as well. Bettas are great fish because they have a personality to them, it takes different things to make them happy. If you think your fish is fine in a bowl (as long as it's over 1G), you can safely leave him there so long as you care for him accordingly. On the other hand, if he's really active and obviously wants some 'elbow room', definately upgrade him, he'll reward you with brighter colors and greater activity.

Thanks very much for the advice.

 

[Mr.September15]

I keep my Betta in a Drum Bowl. It said that it was 5gallons in Petco but I can't believe that. It only held about a gallon or 2 of water... .

 

[tank212]

Do you guys really keep Bettas in bowls?

They really do need filteration.Don't believe the Water changes BS.How big is this bowl? I'd at the very least get the poor thing a 5 gallon tank.

If you really are convinced that a bowl is good enough,which I hope you're not,then maybe you should put something on top of the bowl so he doesn't jump out again.

I keep bettas in bowls and they seem less stressed then if I had them anything bigger so no I wouldn't use anything bigger than 2 or 3 gallons because they are less active with a bigger tank. Atleast the ones I have are anyways.
You do not HAVE to have a filter. I would like to know your reason that water changes are bs. Because that's all I do as I don't use filters and my bettas are fine.

 

[IceH2O]

They seem fine,but they will never live a complete life cycle.Bettas don't live in puddles in the wild.They need moving water.Any fish could live in a bowl without filtration for an amount of time,doesn't mean its healthy as it could be.

I'm not saying its not possible,just not right imo.But I'm not judging you,just trying to point you in a better direction for your fishes sake.

 

[tank212]

Im not causing conflict just responding to your response. I've had experiences with bigger aquariums where every betta I've had wouldn't move around alot which didn't make sense because it seemed like they had more energy in the bowl vs. the larger aquarium. Your bettas might be different. I'm just talking about my experiences and I've had over 20 of them. Also the comment that bettas are in moving water? From what I've heard and read from people on this forum that is not true. I am not saying your wrong I'm just saying that I haven't heard that said by anyone that bettas live in moving water. Now I will say one thing the female bettas LOVE more room but the males I've had just prefer less space. I've also kept a betta in a 1gal bowl for over 2 years so I would say that is around the average of any betta kept in captivity.
There are also many people that have been in this hobby for awhile that keep bettas in bowls. They also keep bettas in rubbermaid or plastic containers and I'm sure those bettas are very happy.
I will stop now before this gets out of hand.

 

[DragonLass]

They seem fine,but they will never live a complete life cycle.Bettas don't live in puddles in the wild.They need moving water.Any fish could live in a bowl without filtration for an amount of time,doesn't mean its healthy as it could be.

Ummm yes they do, traditionally they live in rice paddies which is relatively still water. Also wild bettas aren't really a whole lot like the domesticated bettas that we have today anyway.

I used to have a filtered tank but my betta absolutely hated the current, despite it being fairly low. He would just sulk in the corner. Now I have an unfiltered tank and he is a lot happier and more active.