Betta Bowls

[captmicha]

i notice a difference between my betta in my 10g w/ company and my sisters betta in the 1.5 hex w/o company.
the betta in the 10 goes everywhere, explores everything.. but he does like having his little plant area in there to swim through/chill in.

Same with mine! Except, my brother has the smaller tank. Which I bought for him. I bought everything for that betta. I couldn't stand him being in a tiny bowl. He has a 2.5g now.

His betta is really old though, he's had him for like five years now even when he spent a good part of his years in a tiny bowl. Which is ironic because mine died of a tumor, mine who was in a 5g and then in a 10g.

Katie, that looks NICE. I think the tall ones are okay as long as you have tall plants reaching just below the water surface for resting. Mine is going into a tall 15 or 20g, I can't remember which it is. I have to go out and buy some tall plants.

Even being a breeder and having no space for larger tanks is still not having larger tanks which is cruel, IMHO. Until they go to their new homes, they still have to live in their tiny spaces.

 

[-KT-]

Same with mine! Except, my brother has the smaller tank. Which I bought for him. I bought everything for that betta. I couldn't stand him being in a tiny bowl. He has a 2.5g now.

His betta is really old though, he's had him for like five years now even when he spent a good part of his years in a tiny bowl. Which is ironic because mine died of a tumor, mine who was in a 5g and then in a 10g.

Katie, that looks NICE. I think the tall ones are okay as long as you have tall plants reaching just below the water surface for resting. Mine is going into a tall 15 or 20g, I can't remember which it is. I have to go out and buy some tall plants.

Even being a breeder and having no space for larger tanks is still not having larger tanks which is cruel, IMHO. Until they go to their new homes, they still have to live in their tiny spaces.

that looks a nice size for a betta

Thanks! though i'm not sure if it's going to be his permanent home, he might go into my ten after my friend takes my guppies as long as he can play well with others. Even with water changes, food and other things I still think a bowl should be a last resort for any fish. I highly doubt they are just as happy in a 1 gallon bowl compared to a tank but we really have no way of knowing that, so it's all just opinion.I'd just rather give my pets the best they can have.

 

[SchizotypalVamp]

Inka: love the tank. Bettacreek: I honestly think that in a well maintained tank fed a variety of foods in ultraclean water with its own territory, where it does not have to worry about the every day stresses of the wild, a Betta can be happier. I have stated my previous experience with Bettas before, but this Betta is not going to have neighbors, even if he has a human to stare at. Mine gets frozen food, and he lives in a five gallon. Live plants are therapeutic to humans who are much more removed from their natural habitat and promote good water quality. With how Bettas love to explore and make use of their entire tank, it breaks my heart to think of one who is trying to be active but can barely turn around. Mine is constantly rediscovering the tank. I support Betta breeders, and don't think that it is cruel to keep them in a 1 gal for them generally, but for a pet betta, I think it deserves a bit more than that.

 

[-KT-]

Inka: love the tank. Bettacreek: I honestly think that in a well maintained tank fed a variety of foods in ultraclean water with its own territory, where it does not have to worry about the every day stresses of the wild, a Betta can be happier. I have stated my previous experience with Bettas before, but this Betta is not going to have neighbors, even if he has a human to stare at. Mine gets frozen food, and he lives in a five gallon. Live plants are therapeutic to humans who are much more removed from their natural habitat and promote good water quality. With how Bettas love to explore and make use of their entire tank, it breaks my heart to think of one who is trying to be active but can barely turn around. Mine is constantly rediscovering the tank. I support Betta breeders, and don't think that it is cruel to keep them in a 1 gal for them generally, but for a pet betta, I think it deserves a bit more than that.

You summed up my thoughts exactly.

 

[Danyal]

I know how these cheap little tanks work. You buy a cheap little tank then a hood, then a light, then a filter, heater, gravel, then you have to cycle it. By the time you do all that you are already at $50.

wow, i get this same lame excuse every time i go to work(deathco, oh how i hate it)
1) you don't "need" a light, same as a bowl
2) a hood is very important, bettas can and do jump
3) a filter is needed even more in a bowl than a larger system. a decent air powered corner filter for smaller tanks/bowls can be picked up for under $10, usually about $5 although i got mine for $.89
4) gravel isn't really needed, going bare bottom makes for very easy maintainence although you'd need a decent filter
5) a heater is going to be needed weither in a bowl or 1000g tank, bettas are TROPICAL fish and don't do well at cooler temps. long term
6) you've got to cycle the bowl too.
go get a used 2.5g or 3g eclipse(the eclipse is going to be pricier but all you'd need is a small heater and deco) you could probably find one on craigslist for under $15~$20 or better yet just go down to deathco, wally world, petstupid etc and get a 2.5g for $12 and pull the deco and gravel out of the 10g(that way you're not paying anything for them and instant cycle) the heater and filter could probably fit as well if not then pick up a small heater while your there for another $10~15 and for about ~$25 you've got a proper betta home.

 

[Inka4040]

Thanks Bettacreek!! SchizotypalVamp, methinks you are referring to KT's very nice tank. As far as bettas needing the mental stimulation of being able to explore, I have to say that they don't do much of that at all in nature (not that anything about the domesticated betta is natural). I've had the privelege of spending ALOT of time in Thailand, as I used to have to spend every summer there, and the back of my family's house in bangkok butts up against a rather sizeable marsh. I've collected wild betta splendens before, and they tend to just chill in their little spots. The males tend to pick the crotch of a taro or grass plant to call home, and basically spends all his time tending his nest, chasing off intruders, or waiting for a female to pass through. Even with all the space they have in nature, they tend to confine themselves to their little areas anyway...

As far as how I do my 100% water changes, the betta and all his water are gently poured into a large tupperware, the jar is rinsed in hot water, and then I refill with warm aged water with ketapang in it. The betta gets scooped back into his jar, and the water goes to my plants.

 

[SchizotypalVamp]

I totally believe you, especially with how territorial they can be in tiny corners. It's just that in my and many other people's experience they are intelligent creatures who love to explore the whole tank, at least up until 10 gallons, I've never seen a Betta in upwards(someone chime in who has one in a bigger tank?). Maybe we bred some smart genes into em? Or maybe they are secretly smart. I don't know. Even in the sticky on this site it describes their intelligence, exploring every nook and cranny, making up games. Though, intelligence isn't needed to feel the benefit of live plants of course, on that note. But that point, at least, is moot for the starter of this thread, who's name I can't remember.

Hey, I feel you, don't get me wrong, on the money? I'm in college, and all the little pennies, they are your friends. The fish tank was the one expensive thing that I bought, and it turned out the betta needed a bigger territory from the frogs. That picotope cost $50 freakin dollars, 50. Now it's sitting around so my landlord doesn't throw me out of my apartment.

 

[Bettacreek]

I had a male in a 20 standard. He didn't really do much in there. :/ I'll let you know when I get the 65 set up, I'll put a male in before I get the piranhas moved around, see if it does anything more enthusiastic.

 

[equus_peduus]

I had a male in a 29 gal community tank... he went everywhere, and liked to play in the bubbles. Then the next boy I put in after the first died always stayed in one corner behind the filter outflow where there was little current, and never came out. So I think it varies by individual. My current betta I tried in my 5gal which has a filter in it... he was always hiding. So i put him in a large vase-ish thing I've got, and he's become much more active and has been making bubble nests for me. I'd like him in a bigger container, but I'm also poor I'll be moving in a few months (hopefully with a job then) anyway, so I'll probably try to upgrade him then... in the meantime, I'm trying to do 2-3 times weekly 50ish% water changes.

 

[-KT-]

I had a male in a 29 gal community tank... he went everywhere, and liked to play in the bubbles. Then the next boy I put in after the first died always stayed in one corner behind the filter outflow where there was little current, and never came out. So I think it varies by individual.

I agree. My friend has 2 Bettas in a 10 and a 20 long and the one in the 20 is very active and the one in the 10 likes to sleep in the plants all day. My boyfriend has had a betta in a 10 for about a year and he's super active, likes to play in the filter output with the pygmy cories.He just put one in his 20 high and it sticks more to one side, but he might just be shy since he's new.