Pet shops that sell bowls

[Yenko]

The betta-vase looked pretty acceptable. Not great but certianly better than most bettas get. As long as there's air at the top and water changes are done a betta could be kept there. It's much easier just to buy a regular 2.5 gallon tank for bettas anyway. A 2.5 gallon is cheap and easily maintained, and if its planted can be left unattended for days if you have to and the betta will be ok.

 

[Synirr]

I don't know why everyone sees the betta vase as Satan.... as long as you actually clean it often, feed the fish, and make sure the plant roots don't get overgrown and crowd the betta out of swimming space, I think they can actually be nice betta homes. Not perfect, mind you... but certainly not horrible, either. At least it's not as bad as the dreaded BettaHex (Tank Size: 3 in. W x 5 in. H)
As for the problem of people thinking it's ok to keep goldfish in incredibly small unfiltered bowls, I've given up. People are stupid, and I guess that's the way it will always be.

 

[Inchworm]

Many years ago, people kept goldfish in gallon bowls quite successfully, just as bettas are often kept today. I suspect that this was before they knew about cycling, etc. They changed the water and washed the bowl daily. I don't know what they did when the fish grew too large though.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Yes but they didn't really grow to large. The fish emits pheremones or something which stop the fish from growing. That is, only the outside of the fish. THe inside of the fish continues growing, and well, not a nice death, and early, too.