View Full Version : Beta bowl size
I have a couple each in it's own roughly 20 ounce size bowl. I've heard it's ok for them, but are these small beta holders really ok?
ChilDawg
04-03-2003, 2:23 PM
20 oz? That's like 1/6 of a gallon...not even that! I would say that you need a half-gallon for the absolute bare minimum, and that's only if you feel like doing almost-daily water changes. I would go with at least two gallons (they make tanks that size with filtration and everything) per betta in order to keep them for the long haul.
Oh my. I feel awful now.:( Would he be ok in a 20 gallon tank w/ some swordtails and Hifin teras? And would one of them be ok in a 75 gallon tank w/ Gouramis and Tiger barbs?
ChilDawg
04-03-2003, 2:35 PM
No, don't feel awful! Your LFS probably just made a quick sale without thinking about the quality of bettas' lives. Plus, you cared enough to ask the right question about the quality of your bettas' lives, so you are a compassionate fishkeeper, and that's not a bad thing to be at all!!!
The 20 with the swordtails would probably be all right, but watch to make sure that the swordtails don't start to lose those fins (bettas probably won't see them as rivals, but you never know).
IMO, bettas and barbs should never be mixed, as barbs are notorious fin-nippers, and Tigers are among the very worst. BTW, your gouramies might suffer the wrath of the barbs, too, as those pectoral fin "feelers" make rather tempting targets...keep an eye out for that.
Bettas and gouramies don't mix well as those fish tend to know that they are closely related and start to scrap a lot. I would get a 2g for the second betta, and keep a close eye on the Tiger/Gourami tank, as well as the betta with the others in the 20g. Best of luck, and hope that this helps,
Matthew
Looks like someone's heading out to get a 2 gallon setup then. Thanks for your help dawg! It's time to free the little guys!!:D
wetmanNY
04-03-2003, 2:42 PM
You need a bowl big enough to accomodate that extra "t" A bowl that will only carry a beta is not an alpha bowl. A Betta needs a full five-letter bowl.
ChilDawg
04-03-2003, 2:44 PM
No prob, BBN...and nice catch, Wetman...I never even notice that anymore...
I knew the spelling. I don't know why I was using a different word. Thanks for catching that though.;) :D
wetmanNY
04-03-2003, 3:25 PM
heh heh heh ...can't be dead serious every minute!
Seriously, a betta needs plants. The tank doesn't have to be larger than a gallon-- if it's full of plants giving him security and eliminating any ammonia. The plant nursery, where you throw every smidgen of growing plant too small to be any use yet in the real aquaria-- bits of perfectly good Java Moss, the Java fernlet off the edge of a mature leaf, a pruning of stem plants-- that's a good home for the Betta too.
I have a Paradisefish happy in small quarters, made even more cramped by the jungle in there. The water is always crystal clear and never a trace of NH3...
ChilDawg
04-03-2003, 3:33 PM
Really? I've never seen a tank done like that, but I may have to try it now that my roomie has thwarted my plans to keep a lionfish in the dorm next year...
Thanks for the info, Wetman...that sounds like a good tank!
I put my bigger betta (he's been here for 6 months so he has seniority rights):p in the 20 gallon tank. I'm glad you guys told me to do that. His purple color really comes out under the fluorescent lighting. I'm off to wallyworld to get a 2 gallon jobber for the other guy. The other has a very pretty color too. His head is a dark blue and the rest of his body is sort of a turquoise color. My wife is going to kill me when she finds out I'm off to buy another tank!:D
andruboz
04-03-2003, 6:03 PM
i always thought the animals that get the rawest deal in a pet store is the gerbil/hamster and the betta fish. wouldnt it be cool to buy a 125gallon aqurium and set up one portion as 'the shire' a hamster sized replica of the hobbits little village [live grass and everything] and set up the other portion as a betta fish pond. now if i could just figure out how to keep a bearded dragon in a portion that looks like the orcs underground inferno. but that would take another 3 foot of tank...
Dragon_Lord_Tia
04-04-2003, 1:46 AM
my betta bowl is 12 gallons the best ive seen apart from a actual tank