betta in bowls

[amitnarain]

hello. when i go to my lfs i often see bettas (siamese fighting fish) in small bowls with no space at all to move around. is that right? why dont they die out of claustrophoby or ammonia poisoning? can their ability as labyrint fish help them to surpass amonia poisoning in the water by breathing ir directly?

 

[amitnarain]

and also can all labyrinth fishes be kept in bowls such as the fighting fish? e.g. gouramis

 

[Bubble_B0y]

and also can all labyrinth fishes be kept in bowls such as the fighting fish? e.g. gouramis

that's a good question.
before we start, let me clear something up... "labyrinth" and "bowl" are NOT related.
But "labyrinth" and "oxygen" are related.

So being a labyrinth fish doesn't mean you can live in a bowl, it just means you can live in water with a low oxyen level.

A bettas is special because they can live in small bowls & they can live in water with low oxygen
They are territorial and they like living in small, confined spaces (NOT TOO SMALL !!)

Gouramis will outgrow a bowl.
So gouramis can live in low oxygen water, but need space!

 

[tetrin]

paradise gourami - supposed to be hardier than the betta when living in confined small spaces...just read somewhere....

 

[lmw80]

I am going to play devil's advoacate, Bubble_B0y, and say that while most of your information is quite accurate, I would not go so far as to say that

they [bettas] like living in small, confined spaces

While they are definitly equipped and able to live in small confined spaces, I have found in my personal experience that they love to move around and swim freely.

 

[amitnarain]

WHAT ARE OTHER FISHES THAT CAN LIVE IN CONFINED SPACES WITH LOW LEVEL OXYGEN?

 

[lannen]

The labyrinth organ has nothing to do with over coming the toxicity of the water. Bettas still put out waste just like other fish, and (even though they are not dependent on it for oxygen) they do circulate water over their gills so they are susceptible to water toxicity. But bettas are fairly hardy fish and will survive in the little cups of dirty water. Retailers who stock bettas in the little cups often change the water in the cups everyday (this is what they often claim, though I'm certain it doesn't happen everywhere), which doesn't allow much waste to build up.

I don't know anything about keeping other anabantoids (fish with a labyrinth organ) in small containers. Most of them could probably survive like the bettas do, but why would you want to stress them with very quick and strong swings of water conditions as you do 100% water changes every day or two. Look at how bettas react when you get them home in a stable environment; they perk up very quickly, the color improves, the show much more personality, they often blow nests. I don't know why you would want your fish to act like a pet store betta.

 

[oxymoron]

NO FISH SHOULD BE KEPT IN A CONFINED SPACE WITH LOW OXYGEN!

If I stuffed you into a port-o-potty and sealed it shut, you could live for quite a while as long as I occasionally dropped in some food and water for you. Would you be happy and healthy in there?

 

[Blizzard]

Sure bettas can live in bowls, but I wouldn't go as far as saying that they "like" it. If you are going to keep a betta in a bowl PLEASE don't put one of those stupid plants on top of them. People these days are so stupid (I'm not talking about anyone here, I'm talking about the people at Wal-Mart etc.). They say that bettas live in mud puddles, which is totally not true; they live in rice patties. Back to the plant thing, many people will tell you that it is ok to put a betta in a bowl with a plant above it. They tell you that you will never have to feed it, because it will eat the plant's roots, and it won't die. This is an absolute outrage for two reasons. 1. Bettas can, and will die if they do not have access to the surface so they can breathe. (The plant does not allow them to breathe from the surface.) and 2. They are carnivours for crying out loud!!!
Err...Just thought I
d point that out...
-Blizzard

 

[amitnarain]

lol

ok

 

[megladonsharky]

I dont know of any fish other than lybranth that live well in low o2 ... my white clouds survieded but a pleco didnt.. I didnt know that the filter didnt provide enough o2 at the time ..

 

[greenmaji]

I used to work in a big department store and we had about 20-30 betta's in the betta cups.. btw. absolutely nothing I could do about it.. The water was changed every day.. and I mean every day.. I stocked the shelves at night and if the lady that took care of the animals was not able to come in I was the only other employee that passed the certification test to work with the animals.. I would clean the betta bowls myself when she couldnt make it (she came in about 2 hours before I was to leave). How well this is done at other stores I dont know but the retailer I worked for had pretty good practices as far as upkeep is concerned.

 

[Elmware]

I am thinking of buying a beta from PetsMart and was considering getting one of those betta kits. I've seen these 1/2 gal. betta kits for about $13 CAD, and one almost twice the capacity (0.94 gal.) with a removable divider for the same price. I was thinking of getting the nearly one gal. kit.

Or maybe I can opt for a small tank.

I might jokenly say to the staff at PetsMart that the betta kit looks like it's big enough to fit two fish in it.

Anyways, what do you all think? Do you think the betta will be happy in this?

 

[greenmaji]

I would opt for a 10 gallon tank.. they are $10 US (the smaller ones are more $ per gallon).

 

[dr_girlfriend]

gouramis are alot more sensitive than bettas. when i was really young, i had one in an uncycled tank (wonderful petsmart education!) and it was what I know now sucumbing to ammonia poisoning. I tried to keep him in a seperate bowl, but he died shortly afterward. So while they can survive in low oxygen levels, they cannot tolerate high toxicity for very long, just like any other fish.
The little containers retailers use, are ok for short term but not long term. And most I know of dont change the water everyday, they put some blue chemical in the water and change the water like 1-2 times a week. I'm sure they have a pretty high mortality rate, and thats easy to see if theyre not quick on removing the dead ones from the shelves, like the walmart by me.
I believe bettas like smaller spaces, like 1-5 gallons. They like to have their own territory that they can patrol. Some Ive seen in big tanks get freaked out, and then having to swim so far to the top. I know some people have had luck with them in bigger tanks, I'm just posting my observations. I also have noticed they prefer little to no surface agitation, which in a community or heavily filtered tank is hard to come by.

 

[severum mama]

Elmware... if you would like to keep a betta happy but you still want a small tank, maybe you could find a deal on an Eclipse hex 5 gallon. I have one on my desk at work with a betta and he builds bubble nests for me all the time. I know that the 10 gallon is cheaper per gallon like GM said, but the Eclipse 5 is cool too because the light and filter are included in the hood. And, if you replace the bulb with a 10 watt CF bulb, you have 2 wpg to grow plants. IME it is a great betta tank and mine was about $35. I don't think bettas like the 1 gallon setup too well, that was my first tank and my betta was so much happier when I upgraded his tank to 10 gallons.

 

[Meredith]

The very first betta I had was kept in a bowl. Looking back, I didn't take the best care of him. Water changes were infrequent and the temperature was surely not stable. Bubba was the little trooper though, building bubble nests, seemingly very active. He lived for just over a year. I really wonder how much longer he would have lived if I had taken better care of him.