Setting up a bowl/vase with live plant

[crazed natives]

Hello, brand new here! If I am not posting in the right spot, mods feel free to move this.

I saw this idea in a home decorating magazine where they took a nice clear vase and added some water, aquarium rocks, a handful of aquarium charcoal, and a live plant. To top it off they added a small goldfish for a nice indoor garden display.

Is something like this really feasible? I take it the plant and fish help balance each other out as far as oxygen/carbon dioxide mix?

I asked about this at a local pet store chain and the employee told me this would never work. She said the plant would die and the water would need to be changed every few days.

The employee may or may not have been knowledgable so I thought I'd ask for more opinions.

Also, their plant selection was pretty bad. The plants were not anywhere close to as attractive or varied as in the magazine spread examples. I suppose aquarium hobby stores would have better selection than the local big box style chain.

Any feedback is appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[rich311k]

No fish will do well in a vase. A gold fish can grow to be well over a foot long. The water would need to be changed every other day. Even a betta needs 2.5 gallons of water to do well. It is not a good idea.

 

[dapellegrini]

I keep a betta in a vase and he does fine. I do change the water every two weeks or so and do not attempt to grow any aquatic plants in there. He swims among some roots from a terrestrial plant trimming that is growing the water.

I think a male betta may be the only kind of fish that will be ok in a vase. A goldfish would not work.

 

[Sicklid]

Want to get into fish keeping? Petsmart sells a ten gallon tank with all the fixins' for about thirty bucks. A single feeder goldfish will cost you ten cents and will outgrow THAT tank before you know it, but at least it could turn around in there and not be cramped in a solitary confinement cell.

 

[JustOneMore20]

I wouldn't keep any live fish in that vase...only some bamboo or something. If you want a goldfish, you should get atleast a 20g tank. You could keep a betta in a 5 or 10g tank and then put plants in it....aquatic plants.

 

[fish_4_all]

I don't see why some plants wouldn't be fine in a vase, after all there are nano cubes out there that are less than a gallon and you can grow a fair variety in them. As for fish, unless the vase is huge, not much of a chance of a fish being very happy, maybe a betta but it needs to have room to roam and still wouldn't recommend it.

If it was set up like a nano with heater and filtration then sure, fish would be fine in the right capacity. I have seen glass vases that were easily 1 gallon if not larger. I have one here that I would guess is over a gallon.

 

[physicsdude]

Well, I have a friend who has a 1-2 gallon set-up that is heavily planted with one Inca snail in there. She's had it set-up for over year and has virtually nil minatenance, beyond turning the light on or off... Still, I would not put anything smaller than a betta in there myself.

When I was growing up, I kept a betta fish in a small bowl for over 3 years. I did as I was told- I cleaned the tank and gravel thoroughly once a week and changed out half the water. He did well; I just learned to not over feed. No filter, no air pump, no heater was used; just cleaning and watching what I fed it kept him alive.

So, yea, it is possible for a betta to be kept in a small container or vase, but nothing else IMO.

 

[joannde]

Hi CrazedNatives.
About the magazine - its quite possible (and I suspect likely) that they sunk some nonaquatic plants into the vase to make it look so colorful. I'm not saying that there aren't some very nice colorful aquatic plants, but they tend to needa a decent amount of light. Either that or perhaps they were artificial (those silk plants can be very nice indeed - just get one from the petshop to ensure that its not held together with metal).
If the bowl were something like 2 gallons you could have a betta. For the first month or two you'd have to change about 1/2 the water every day or two. A betta CAN live in a smaller quantity of water, but once you've seen a betta in a larger tank you'd really wonder why people keep them in tiny containers. I call mine "dogs with fins" - they have that much spunk and personality.
Another alternative to the fish are a couple of interesting shrimp or a mystery snail. I love watching my shrimp pick microscopic bits off my plants and gravel, constantly picking and taking their pinchers to their mouths. As for snails - I have 20 of them - I know it sounds impossible to believe, but are exceptionally interesting. Its something to think about at least, if you don't want to get into the hobby full blown
BUT if you DO want to get into the hobby and get a larger tank we'll help you set it up, cycle it (before you get fish), and help you select appropriate species that catch your interest.

 

[crazed natives]

This has been great advice and I thank you all.

The magazine article was from something called Cottage Living. I do not have the article in front of me but they listed several types of aquatic plants they would recommend but from what I am reading here, the whole idea doesn't sound worth pursuing. The article showed a couple of pictures, each with a happy little goldfish swimming in the vase among the plant's stalks/leaves in a vase about the size of a gallon or maybe a little larger.

I see betas at the store in tiny little jars and they always look so sad. I've also seen people at work with them on their desk. I do not know how long their life expectancy typically is in that arrangement but the containers are certainly nowhere near 2.5 gallons as listed here!

I am not interested in setting this up if its only going to be detrimental to the life of the fish.

Thanks again!