My teacher keep a Betta in a tiny bowl. I am going to help...

[mandy2936]

Hi!

Ok, well my science teacher keeps a betta in the classroom. He's in a 1/3 gallon bowl!!! The bowl has no filter, heater, decor, gravel, etc. Just basically a small glass container filled up halfway.

SO I new I needed to do something, as I love animals. I happen to have an old 4 gallon BiOrb that I used to keep my Betta in. It has a heater and filter.
I offered to lend it to her, so Noodles will have more space to swim and live a longer life with the filter.
She was actually very pleased and thanked me saying it was very nice to offer.

SO, Monday afternoon, when school is over, I am going to set up the tank, fill it with water, and de-chlorinate. I am planning on waiting a day to add Noodles just to be sure everything is running properly. Then I am going to use a small plastic plant that's in my 20g right now and put that in the BiOrb to help Noodles get through a cycle. Bettas are hardy fish, and I feel the sooner Noodles is transferred, the better. So, no cycle. Just a plant that has some bacteria on it.

About the transfer:
First off, how can I insure that the plant's bacteria will not dry up during the ride to school? Also, do I need to use some of Noodle's bowl water or something? Or can I just fill up the tank and put Noodles in? Should I fill up half the tank with his bowl water or something?

Thanks for the help!

I'm so excited for Noodles to get a better home!

 

[BlackMagic]

That's good ur trying to help out ur teacher. But betta can pretty much do well without a filter. As long ur teacher water change it 2x a week.

 

[maxima423]

That's good ur trying to help out ur teacher. But betta can pretty much do well without a filter. As long ur teacher water change it 2x a week.

i had a betta in a 3g bowl with out a filter/heater for over a year, i used to change 60% of the water every 2 days or so, sometimes 4 days... but i didnt feed it every day, every 2 days i used to feed it and it did fine ^_^

 

[mandy2936]

Oh um...

 

[Deep Seven]

Put the plant in a ziploc bag with some tank water, should help the bacteria survive the trip.

 

[mandy2936]

Erm.. Am I the only one who thinks bettas should not be kept in bowls? I have litterally had about 50 ppl tell
me they need 5g but I figured 4g is good too.

 

[FishEggs]

if you can put some of the filter media from your 20 in the filter for betta then you probably wont see any cycle in the betta's tank. as far as using the current water from the betta bowl you can use it to fill the 4 gal tank part way and it would keep the ph closer to what its used to. just keep the filter media and the plastic plant wet in a plastic bag for the trip.

 

[mandy2936]

Thanks. What do you mean that I won't see any cycle? Is that a good or bad thing?

 

[Deep Seven]

Erm.. Am I the only one who thinks bettas should not be kept in bowls? I have litterally had about 50 ppl tell
me they need 5g but I figured 4g is good too.

I cringe every time I see a betta in solitary confinement. Cruel and unusual punishment imho. Humans can live in a small cell with just a bed, a toilet, and food coming in through the bars, but that doesn't mean they should. Thats what I think about every time I see a bettas in a small plain glass container.

 

[mgamer20o0]

means you put plenty of bacteria in the new tank to handle the betta.

 

[mandy2936]

means you put plenty of bacteria in the new tank to handle the betta.

Oh, great.

I cringe every time I see a betta in solitary confinement. Cruel and unusual punishment imho. Humans can live in a small cell with just a bed, a toilet, and food coming in through the bars, but that doesn't mean they should. Thats what I think about every time I see a bettas in a small plain glass container.

I agree. I think Bettas can physically live in a bowl, but they're happier and live longer lives with a proper set up. As for the solitary part... Bettas actually prefer to be alone. Sometimes they will tolerate other tank mates, but they don't necessarily enjoy the company.

 

[Deep Seven]

Yeah, I could have worded that better; by solitary confinement I just meant the size of cell they use in prisons.

 

[maxima423]

we dont know if they will actually be happier or not, we cant read their minds... we just know they with more space they can swim much better, smaller space less room, but with my experience after my first betta in a 3g bowl for a year and a betta soon after in a 5g tank... their is no difference, they hover at the top and just chill

as for life span, ill give you my experience

3g bowl - 1year - died because my dad was a genius and washed my bowl with soap because he wanted to do "maintenance" while i was in AC
5g tank - 2weeks - dont really know but i would have to guess because he ate one too many mosquitos and had a stomach ache =P
5g tank - 10months to 1 year - no clue why it died, just did

i think it all depends on how strong your betta is really, not per say the amount of necessities you can cover

 

[mandy2936]

True we can't read their minds, but it's common sense. Filter=cleaner water=healthier fish. Bigger tank=more space=happier animal

As for your lifespan chart, it also depends on how on how you care for it. You mentioned that your Betta overate. If u have a bettabm in a bowl and a betta in a 5g and u don't clean the 5g, feed the fish, etc. Of course the betta in the bowl will live longer. But in my experiences, if u take good care of the betta in the bowl and tank, it will live longer in the tank.

With no filter you have to do a ton of water changes, and who wants to do that? My teacher def. Doesn't have the time for cleaning every 2 days.

 

[maxima423]

i dont know if its common sense, we have no interaction with them instead of feeding, water changes and tapping the glass and they get spooked, we cant tell them to sit, lay down, jump, if it was common sense than we would never have the discussion of telling so and so that they need a bigger tank, they need more adequate filtration, it really goes down to the person and their standard of "minimum" my standard minimum for a betta is 2.5g =P others are 5g and even 10g, i made a mistake of buying a 5g because the betta did the same thing when the other betta was in the 3g bowl, hover in the top 80% of the time and the other 20% is laying in the bottom ( this is with a filter/heater )

but this is just my opinion =]

 

[SHARPiE]

I've had 2 betta's in a 6G twin share tank on my desk at work for two years and counting - depends on the age you get them too as they have relatively short lifespans.

 

[MarkA123]

I don't think you would need a filter, my sisters betta is in a 1/2 gallon and hasn't been changed for 2 weeks, she won't let anyone touch it. And she severely overfeeds, not a little but dumps 5 percent of the container, about a handful, of flakes in the tank saying "now shell have some for later to snack on", I wouldn't keep the filter in, their pretty powerful and really don't do much, undergravel filter really produce currents, and remove a little bit of food, which isn't the best idea for a betta. A bigger tank is nice for you to give to your teacher, glad he listens, most people I know would say they're scared of big spaces and are best suited for smaller tank, smaller is better for bettas, because Petco tells them that, just like they convinced my sister lol. I feed sorry for her her stomachs like a giant bubble.

 

[BlackMagic]

i have over 50 1 gallon round jar, i keep all my male betta in there for over 8 yrs now, i water change it 2 time a week(50%).

from day 1 they hatch till 20-24 month old. some die from old age, some live longer.

 

[maxima423]

do you have covers for your bettas? and how often do you feed them?

 

[BlackMagic]

betta r jumper, u need a cover for them or u'll find ur betta layin on the floor.
i feed my betta 2 time a day ... in the afternoon n night time.

i mostly just cover it up with duckweed enough to cover the whole top.