1 gallon bowl?

[Scottyhorse]

I will have to disagree. I know you breed bettas. But I would NEVER EVER keep a betta in ANYTHING less than 5 gallons. They are not active, not as colorful, not as healthy, and not as personable when kept in a bowl. Sometimes I will keep them in three gallons, but I MUCH prefer 5 gallons or up. Once you get a heater and filter in there, not much space for swimming. Let alone decor.

I will also say that in a 1 gallon bow, I need to change 75% of water once a day to keep it clean. In a two gallon, I would do it every 2-3 days.

JMO.

 

[Oohitsae]

That's your opinion, but I speak from 15+ years of experience. I see absolutely no difference in my fish at all when comparing a fish kept in 1-3 gallons vs 10 gallons. They are all just as active and just as colorful as log as they have a heater and clean water.
I'll agree that females should have more space as they are more active, which is why I keep them all in 25+ gallon sorority tanks, but with my males, there really isn't an issue. I know there is a huge divide in people with betta tank size, but it seems IME that the more experienced keepers are on my side of the split, which means IMO that it can't be such a horrible thing.

Now, if we were talking about anything smaller than a gallon, I'd say absolutely not unless it was for juvenile males you plan to show or sell, and even then, they should only be in something that small after they have been in the grow out long enough and only after they start getting too boysterous with the other males.

 

[Scottyhorse]

I respect your opinion and experience

But the OP asked for our opinions, and I am stating mine

Females, yes, lots of space needed there, but for males, since I am not breeding (but I have a lot) I like to keep them in more space, like a 5-10 gallon tank. Plus, I don't have to do daily water changes. Hehe.

 

[M4M]

I'm not a breeder, but I keep my males in 1.5 gallon tanks. Mostly for personal reasons.

Every animal is an individual, so just because it works for most bettas to put them in a larger tank, not every betta thrives in a larger tank. I have a male that won't eat, and won't come out of hiding if he's in so much as a 2.5 gallon tank. Once he's back into his 1.5, he's back to normal. Other people I know have had their fish tail bite, starve themselves, or jump from a tank that was "too big" for the individual. I don't see any reason to cause undue stress to my fish, just because someone else feels that I'm particularly cruel and unusual for accommodating his personal needs. I also have females that have been, or are currently in, 1.5 gallon tanks. My female double tail baby has absolutely no social skills and her life is at risk in the sorority, as well as the lives of the other fish that live in that tank.

5 gallons is not a hard rule, a lot of people like to give them more space, and that's up to each specific keeper but really, as long as it's warm enough, clean enough, and offer them room to move, tank size is something people can (and often do) argue about until they're blue in the face.

To keep a small tank is more work than a larger one, it doesn't take much for the water quality to go downhill.

 

[951socal]

Hello I want to get a 1 gallon bowl and put plants in it I was wondering if I could put in a male betta or if it is too small a female Is this good ?

i have 2 female bettas in a gallon bowl. with spike rush starting to carpet the floor of the tnk, it is very possible to do.

problem is some plants like to grow very fast and need to be moved to other tanks

unless ofcourse you starve them for light

 

[Mumma.of.two]

WARNING

Rude posts have been removed.

Lets not make this personal.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion.

Personal attacks on others will not be tolerated. Challenge others' points of view and opinions, but do so respectfully and thoughtfully. Excessive sarcasm, belligerence, insults, name calling, profanity, anger, offensive comments about race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and national origin, are not acceptable.

We take the "be nice" rule VERY seriously! We do not tolerate ANY rudeness.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Last warning or the thread will be closed.

Keep on topic.

 

[M4M]

Just something to mull over:
Personally, I wouldn't use a bowl or a tank without a lid, bettas are known to be jumpers!

 

[Scottyhorse]

Here is a good link about a habitat of a Betta...
They live in rice paddies, yes. They are sometimes shallow, yes. BUT. They are miles long and wide. Even though a wild male betta may only stake out a territory of 1x1x1 space, that's still about ten gallons of water, PLUS there is hundreds of thousands of gallons of water flowing through that space. Can we replicate that in a bowl? No.

Mythbuster: Do bettas really live in "tiny" puddles?

 

[M4M]

If you look around the bettafish forum that the link directs to, you will find plenty of people who support bettas living in 1-2 gallon tanks.

The perpetual problem with the average home aquarium is that it is impossible to replicate the exact conditions that B. splendens would be found in the wild. As I've mentioned before, they are no more the wild betta than a Jack Russel is a wolf. Wild splendens can live as a breeding pair in a sufficiently sized tank, domestics will kill each other, male/female, male/male, or even female/female! (my Suzaku is an example of that issue)

Unless you create a biotope tank, nothing is the same as it is in the wild, unless you import the kind of wild foods found there, it's not a natural diet. A one hundred gallon tank would not be sufficient to replicate conditions. And I don't know anyone who drains their tank to only a few inches of water to simulate the harvest of the rice or the dry season. Most people don't even use blackwater. Most people haven't even heard of blackwater.

Which is where bettas jumping comes in, they jump from small dirty puddles, and try to wriggle across the ground to find more water and food.

It is very important to stress the fact that these are not the same fish that you would find in the rice paddies and klongs, they were bred to live in jars, to fight to the death, and have been known to kill mates.

Now, if we were talking wild caught splendens, I'd be more than happy to agree, those fish are bred for freedom and wild places.

 

[Scottyhorse]

Yes, I was not saying that that's what we need to recreate in home aquaria, but still I would not suggest keeping them in bowls. It's like keeping a human in a closet.
Yes, they were bred for small spaces, but that doesn't mean they need to be housed in small spaces.

 

[M4M]

According to my crown tail, some do.

As long as the fish are taken care of, a 1-2 gallon with a lid is a sufficient tank. If you can afford the space to give them more room, more power to you, but 1gal is the absolute smallest recommended size.

 

[Scottyhorse]

An actual tank doesn't cost much more than a bowl.

 

[Oohitsae]

I think she meant if you have the space, bigger is/can be better, but if you don't have it, then a bowl is sufficient.
And it all depends on the bowl. I get my 1 gallons at Walmart for $6 or so, same with craft stores, but going into actual petstores the cost more than doubles.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Ok so here are my options in the 2 gallon

2 live endlers, 1 nerite snail, 2 ghost shrimp
Or
1 dragon scale beta, one nerite snail, maybe two
Which one sounds better?

 

[Oohitsae]

Please go for the betta and a couple snails or shrimp.

Endlers need much more space to swim than 2 gallons offers

 

[Toad]

My issue with the endlers is the fact that two males in such a small space will harass each other to death. I had six male guppies in a ten gallon and they killed at least one other one by constantly trying to mate. It was... Surprising

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Ok 0-o I am getting the beta can I put the male with one or two nerite snails and 2 cherry shrimps?

 

[Scottyhorse]

Nope, nerite snails need waaaaay more space that one gallon. They will NOT eat prepared foods, and you would starve them in a bowl.

If you are going to put a betta in a bowl (which I still advise against) make sure you have a heater, live plants, and change water more than once a week.

 

[Oohitsae]

I keep nerites in 2.5 gallons and less without issue, and know tons of people that do the same, I don't know about them not eating prepared foods because I don't feed them, but they do get algea and decaying plants.