Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
I feel it necessary to try to explain the deal with Bettas in bowls.
I see from time to time people posting that they saw a Betta in a bowl in a pet shop and thought the pet shop was being cruel to the fish so they bought the fish and put it into their 30 or 40 or 55 gal tank so it could swim around and be free. To all those people who believe they did good by doing this, I am directing this towards you. Please pay attention
You see, most fish in today's aquarium hobby are actually man made creations of a wild breed. If there had been no manipulation by man, there would be only 1 kind of goldfish, 1 color swordtail, molly, platy or guppy, no albino fish, no long finned variations, 1 color of angelfish,no balloon fish, no colored/ painted fish, etc. I think you are getting the point. All these new "creations" are just color or fin adaptations to the wild specie. They act the same as their forefathers and foremothers did when they were swimming along the rivers, lakes or ponds or esturaries (Yes, Mollies are actually brackish water fish if you research their ancestry.)
So here's the deal with Bettas (specificly male Bettas):
Bettas in their wild state came from the Thailand area of Asia(formerly known as Siam hence the name Siamese Fighting Fish) and were short finned and lived in shallow, stagnant areas of water. The only water flow that they experienced was from the frequent rainfall which cleaned their water by replacing most of it during the storm. In order to survive this existance, however or whoever you believe is responsible for creating this fish, this fish was given or evolved a special organ called a labrynth organ which enables this fish to extract oxygen from the air in the same manner you and I do so with our lungs. So unlike other fish you might have in your aquariums like tetras or barbs or cichlids or whatever, these fish do not need the heavily oxygenated water that other fish do. That's why Bettas can live in an unfiltered bowl. But that's only half the story....
Man's manipulation of this fish besides creating new colors, also enlarged their fins. (You will not find a long finned Betta in the wild!) Since this was not a constantly swimming specie, I would venture to say that the first Betta "engineers" where not concerned that these new long fins would hurt the specie in any way. It did tho in one respect, it made it harder for the fish to swim when placed in an aquarium with fast moving water. However, I'm sure the intention was not to keep these beauties in a regular aquarium. It was to keep them in as easy a container they could find because they were being raised to fight each other. Swimming away would be a sign of weakness so these fish were not engineered to be able to get away. They were made to stay there and fight. (As cruel as that may sound.) So to bring this to today's aquarium hobby, the only thing that has changed from those newly created long finned specimen's we all now love as pets has been colors and more longer and flamboyant fin adaptations. The labrynth organ is still there and the fish is still not a big fan of or equipped for fast moving water.
So you see, the cruelty is not that the fish is in a bowl. The only cruelty is that the fish might be in dirty water. Taking them from the dirty water to put them into your fishtank, at least to me, is crueler! You are making this fish struggle to breathe because they must come to the surface to breathe. This is not an easy task with oversized fins and little control.
There have been many discussions as to the proper housing for a Betta ranging from baby food jars to 2 gal. or larger bowls. I tend to use the height of the water as a guide. If you have a long shallow tank, that's a great setup for a betta (but not many other fish.) I tend to not keep my Bettas in anything over 5-6 inches of water. If I am using a larger aquarium, I don't fill it all the way up. (For example, right now my 30 gal tank only has 5 gals. of water for my males. They are in cubicles that flush every day via a filter that's on a timer.) The key is that the smaller amount of water you use, the more frequently it will need to be changed or cleaned.
Female Bettas are a bit of a different story. They have not been changed much from their foremothers and forefathers and have finnage that can swim in deeper water. You'd still want to control the water flow.
So here's a tip for the next time you see a Betta in a bowl full of dirty water thinking the store is being cruel: Instead of buying the fish to release it into your aquarium, go up to the store manager or store owner and nicely say " I just wanted you to know that I would have bought your Bettas if they had been in clean water." That would help them know that they are not being good fish keepers and how they need to improve.
I hope I have shed a little (actually a lot of) light on the subject.
I now have to go change some water in my Betta jars......
I see from time to time people posting that they saw a Betta in a bowl in a pet shop and thought the pet shop was being cruel to the fish so they bought the fish and put it into their 30 or 40 or 55 gal tank so it could swim around and be free. To all those people who believe they did good by doing this, I am directing this towards you. Please pay attention
You see, most fish in today's aquarium hobby are actually man made creations of a wild breed. If there had been no manipulation by man, there would be only 1 kind of goldfish, 1 color swordtail, molly, platy or guppy, no albino fish, no long finned variations, 1 color of angelfish,no balloon fish, no colored/ painted fish, etc. I think you are getting the point. All these new "creations" are just color or fin adaptations to the wild specie. They act the same as their forefathers and foremothers did when they were swimming along the rivers, lakes or ponds or esturaries (Yes, Mollies are actually brackish water fish if you research their ancestry.)
So here's the deal with Bettas (specificly male Bettas):
Bettas in their wild state came from the Thailand area of Asia(formerly known as Siam hence the name Siamese Fighting Fish) and were short finned and lived in shallow, stagnant areas of water. The only water flow that they experienced was from the frequent rainfall which cleaned their water by replacing most of it during the storm. In order to survive this existance, however or whoever you believe is responsible for creating this fish, this fish was given or evolved a special organ called a labrynth organ which enables this fish to extract oxygen from the air in the same manner you and I do so with our lungs. So unlike other fish you might have in your aquariums like tetras or barbs or cichlids or whatever, these fish do not need the heavily oxygenated water that other fish do. That's why Bettas can live in an unfiltered bowl. But that's only half the story....
Man's manipulation of this fish besides creating new colors, also enlarged their fins. (You will not find a long finned Betta in the wild!) Since this was not a constantly swimming specie, I would venture to say that the first Betta "engineers" where not concerned that these new long fins would hurt the specie in any way. It did tho in one respect, it made it harder for the fish to swim when placed in an aquarium with fast moving water. However, I'm sure the intention was not to keep these beauties in a regular aquarium. It was to keep them in as easy a container they could find because they were being raised to fight each other. Swimming away would be a sign of weakness so these fish were not engineered to be able to get away. They were made to stay there and fight. (As cruel as that may sound.) So to bring this to today's aquarium hobby, the only thing that has changed from those newly created long finned specimen's we all now love as pets has been colors and more longer and flamboyant fin adaptations. The labrynth organ is still there and the fish is still not a big fan of or equipped for fast moving water.
So you see, the cruelty is not that the fish is in a bowl. The only cruelty is that the fish might be in dirty water. Taking them from the dirty water to put them into your fishtank, at least to me, is crueler! You are making this fish struggle to breathe because they must come to the surface to breathe. This is not an easy task with oversized fins and little control.
There have been many discussions as to the proper housing for a Betta ranging from baby food jars to 2 gal. or larger bowls. I tend to use the height of the water as a guide. If you have a long shallow tank, that's a great setup for a betta (but not many other fish.) I tend to not keep my Bettas in anything over 5-6 inches of water. If I am using a larger aquarium, I don't fill it all the way up. (For example, right now my 30 gal tank only has 5 gals. of water for my males. They are in cubicles that flush every day via a filter that's on a timer.) The key is that the smaller amount of water you use, the more frequently it will need to be changed or cleaned.
Female Bettas are a bit of a different story. They have not been changed much from their foremothers and forefathers and have finnage that can swim in deeper water. You'd still want to control the water flow.
So here's a tip for the next time you see a Betta in a bowl full of dirty water thinking the store is being cruel: Instead of buying the fish to release it into your aquarium, go up to the store manager or store owner and nicely say " I just wanted you to know that I would have bought your Bettas if they had been in clean water." That would help them know that they are not being good fish keepers and how they need to improve.
I hope I have shed a little (actually a lot of) light on the subject.
I now have to go change some water in my Betta jars......