My girlfriend's betta bowl...

[dlwn88]

Hey guys,


This is probably an easy question I should already know the answer to but I've never dealt with keeping betta so I'd figure I'd ask. My girlfriend got a betta about a months ago, in a decent size bowl. I usually don't really bother with it, my two tanks keep my busy, but today I decided to use my API test kit and found that although my girlfriend has been doing her water changes about every week, ammonia was past 8ppm!! I quickly did several water changes to bring it way down, and even added a tiny drop of Prime to help. Talk about a hardy fish, it looked perfectly fine in there.

I'd imagine fish bowls, just like tanks, can cycle, the only difference I see is no filter thus no real oxygenation of the water. I know the majority of people that have betta's in bowls probably don't think to this extreme but could I add a tiny but of gravel from my established 75g to get things going? There's currently no nitrite or nitrate in the bowl, just a ton of ammonia, which is currently down to 1ppm atm. Any other advice would be great.

I jokingly sent her a txt saying to help I put the betta in the 75g with the cichlids and she called me all worried before I even had a chance to text "jk" ah man that actually made my day . The water in there is sure a lot better then that bowl though.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Meagan.Marie]

Bowls do cycle. It would be advisable to put some gravel from your tank into hers, I am sure it would really help. bettas are extremely hardy but they can only handle so much. When I had a betta in a bowl I changed the water at least twice a week, my roommate thought I was insane, but my Merlin is still alive I now have him in his own bowfront take with a filter and heater but I mean the betta will live just fine, He wont thrive to his full potential but as long as she keeps up the water changes and you add gravel he should be good to go

 

[BigJim]

You would actually be best off getting that betta out of the bowl and into a 5g or a 10g with a filter and heater. The temperature in a small bowl will change quickly stressing the fish. A heater will take care of the temperature fluctuations and a filter will take care of the ammonia problem.

 

[joy13]

Surprise her with a fish tank and help her cycle it. It doesn't have to be a big one but a 10 gallon with a filter that has been running in your tank for a couple of weeks and a little bit of gravel will go a long way to keeping the betta healthy. She will see a difference in the fish it will be much more active. If she likes clown puke gravel get it and put it in a mesh bag in your tank for awhile.

 

[jasurf21]

Keeping it in the betta bowl is fine. I have a betta in a .5 gallon tank and do 100% weekly water changes with the water I remove from my main tank.

Just make sure you change the water once a week or they tend to get popeye due to the dirty water.

 

[JoyFunWow]

I have a betta in a 1 gallon tank with a heater, but no filter. I do 100% water changes every 2-3 days. Ive tested the water 2 days after a full water change and found 1.5ppm ammonia without a filter. I do plan to move him to a bigger, filtered tank. I think their happiness is more dependent on the quality and temperature of their water, but the more space you can give them, the better. They are very active fish when they have the right water conditions...

 

[dkpate]

Keeping it in the betta bowl is fine. I have a betta in a .5 gallon tank and do 100% weekly water changes with the water I remove from my main tank.

Just make sure you change the water once a week or they tend to get popeye due to the dirty water.

So your betta gets dirty waste water, and never any fresh water???

Doing 100% water changes is no good, it kills all of your beneficial bacteria.

I would surprise her with a 5 gallon tank, filter and heater.

 

[Kat1103]

I agree with most people and don't like bowls either. The water gets to cold. Bettas do so much better with a heater. You should get a small tank even if its only 1 gal, 2.5 gal or 5 gal. I saw small ones for 20 bucks at petco. good luck!

 

[Bettababe1011]

So your betta gets dirty waste water, and never any fresh water???

That's exactly what I was thinking when I read that. Why would you put in dirty water for your Betta if you wouldn't put it in your other tanks? All the fish waste from the other fish would be floating around in that water. That's no way for a Betta to live!

Courtesy of Dakota's iPod.

 

[Homedog98]

Doing 100% water changes is no good, it kills all of your beneficial bacteria.

No it doesn't! All of your good bacteria is in the gravel and filter media. Almost none of it is in your actual water!

 

[jasurf21]

So your betta gets dirty waste water, and never any fresh water???

Doing 100% water changes is no good, it kills all of your beneficial bacteria.

I would surprise her with a 5 gallon tank, filter and heater.

That's exactly what I was thinking when I read that. Why would you put in dirty water for your Betta if you wouldn't put it in your other tanks? All the fish waste from the other fish would be floating around in that water. That's no way for a Betta to live!

Courtesy of Dakota's iPod.

No it doesn't! All of your good bacteria is in the gravel and filter media. Almost none of it is in your actual water!

Thanks guys, I will start giving him fresh water. I figured the cycled water would be better... The other tank is very clean when I do 35-40% water changes every week on the 30 gallon so the water coming out is pretty clear/clean.

Appreciate your input I will switch it up.

 

[Bettababe1011]

No it doesn't! All of your good bacteria is in the gravel and filter media. Almost none of it is in your actual water!

As long as the gravel and filter media don't dry out, I don't see why it would kill your bacteria. I guess I've read and been told to never do full water changes, but I didn't think of it like this before.

Courtesy of Dakota's iPod.

 

[dkpate]

No it doesn't! All of your good bacteria is in the gravel and filter media. Almost none of it is in your actual water!

And these tanks have no filter....So the BB is probably mostly on the tank walls. I don't care how fast you are with putting new water in, the walls will dry out. Besides, how do you do a 100% water change with a fish in there? Too stressful to take them out every time.

 

[Bettababe1011]

And these tanks have no filter....So the BB is probably mostly on the tank walls. I don't care how fast you are with putting new water in, the walls will dry out. Besides, how do you do a 100% water change with a fish in there? Too stressful to take them out every time.

Oh, yeah. Good point. I wasn't thinking about that when I added my two cents. I'm tired though, and not feeling good today.

Courtesy of Dakota's iPod.

 

[Homedog98]

I'm not feeling 2 hot either. But the gravel wouldn't dry out in the time it takes to do that.

 

[Bettababe1011]

But the sides of the bowl would, an my guess is that in a bowl like that, the glass would hold about half, maybe, probably, less.

Courtesy of Dakota's iPod.

 

[George9]

I would get her a five gallon tank. They sell them at my lfs for like thirty bucks. Ok sure it will make her day and the Bettas day lol

 

[Homedog98]

Or a ten gallon at walmart for ten bucks, filter for twenty, and heater for ten.

 

[jasurf21]

And these tanks have no filter....So the BB is probably mostly on the tank walls. I don't care how fast you are with putting new water in, the walls will dry out. Besides, how do you do a 100% water change with a fish in there? Too stressful to take them out every time.

I take him out everytime. He doesn't get stressed.

 

[Bettababe1011]

I take him out everytime. He doesn't get stressed.

You may not be seeing him physically stressed, but imagine if someone had to clean your house, and put you in a little place with no hiding spaces, in a fish's view, and then dumped you back in there. If that happened every single time, wouldn't that cause at least some stress to you? Now think how the Betta feels.

Courtesy of Dakota's iPod.