New Idea for a betta bowl.

[misterpenguin4]

I was wondering if I could get a betta bowl with a betta and sand and put dwarf hairgrass in it. I know it sound crazy but I have a lamp that i could put over it with a 20 watt cfl. I currently have 2 of those bulbs oer my 10 gallon with dwarf hairgrass and its doing fine. Just a idea sounded like it could be pretty cool.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

How big of a bowl? If its a decent size and you will be keeping it in a warm position (heated room) then it could work. You'd need to do extra water changes since the bowl won't be cycled. A 20w cfl would be too much IMO. Maybe a 14w or even an 8w would be better depending how close the light is.

 

[misterpenguin4]

Its probably a gallon or so bowl and i could use water from my 36 gallon tank for it so i dont have to cycle. I also do have 14 watt bulbs.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Its probably a gallon or so bowl and i could use water from my 36 gallon tank for it so i dont have to cycle. I also do have 14 watt bulbs.

It's not going to be big enough for a betta. They really do better with at least 2.5g if not more. You could have a very small shrimp colony or a few small snails in a 1g bowl. Using used water from an established tank isn't going to provide optimum conditions. The water from a cycled tank has negligible amounts of nitrifying bacteria so its not going to cycle the bowl. The presents of nitrates may give the impression but they would have come from the other tank. The best way to maintain a small, uncycled bowl is multiple large water changes, using fresh water, per week to remove toxins.

 

[librarygirl]

+1 to Mumma.of.two. A 1 gal bowl isn't really enough for a betta and you'll never see it's true personality in such a small space. They can get to a good size too when their fins grow out. I got mine about 10 months ago and he was small in the store and I had him in a 5 gal. As he grows he takes up a good amount of room and I felt that even the 5 gal was limiting for him so now he's in a 10 gal.