Bettas and Bowls

Keeping bettas in bowls are considered abuse to the fish and is not right --- but I concur with that. If you are able to provide the right care for the bettas in to bowl, then I say that it IS possible to keep them in their. The only thing that I recommend on keeping in mind when you are going to set up or keep a betta tank is that you must have the adequate swimming space, good water quality and a stable temperature.

My experience and techniques with the betta and the bowl:

Filter - Simply, I had no filter. There just wasn't one small enough. If you could find a filter that would be able to fit and that wouldn't take much room, I recommend that you do that - then the cleaning schedule will be just like a tanks, a 25-30% water change once or twice a week. Since I did not have a filter on the bowl, that meant that I would have to keep up with cleaning the bowl quite often < I did a partial water change every day (10%) and used either Prime or Amquel+ (I highly recommend either of these products, they are the best. One large bottle of prime can last me for at least a year). Also, since I had no filter, I added a small airstone in there for some extra oxygen.

Cycling - So your probably thinking "how did you cycle the bowl"? Well basically I put some gravel from one of my cycled main tanks into the bowl and filled the bowl up all the way with my main tank water. I tested it for two days (Water changes already in place) and it was great. Shortly after I introduce a betta into the bowl. < Some may say this isn't a proper way to 'cycle the bowl', but it worked fine for me. If you have another way, then do that as long as the betta is happy>.

Size - Your probably also thinking "what size bowl did you use"? Well you know the exception to when it comes to bettas, 5 gallons minimum. And so I used a 5 gallon wine glass looking bowl for the tank. The betta was just as happy as it's friend that was in my filtered 5 gallon tank. Both lived happily and surprisingly, the one in the bowl made the first and biggest bubblenest. A nice vase may work as well, as long as it's the appropriate size and gallons. <Don't get too tall of a bowl or vase, bettas like more swimming area than tallness + they don't want to struggle to just get a breath of air at the top>.

Heating - I used a Hydro MINI HEATER Aquarium heater (15 watts for 5-10 gallon tank). I keep that bowl quite warm and the betta loved it (Bettas generally prefer temperatures around 78*F - 86*F). Generally from what I've learned, a tanks needs 50 watts from a heater per gallon (10 gallon needs 50 watts; 30 gallon needs 150 watts; 5 gallon needs 25 watts). Don't use just a desk lamp or room temperature to keep it warm, that won't work (the temperature would fluctuate too much).

Extras - For a little extra, I put in a bamboo plant into the tank and a few decorations. My betta absolutely loved the decor because there were finally places to hide when company was over. I had a statue and the bamboo (Leaves out of water). It's your choice to put decorations or plants into the bowl, but I'd at least put something in there for the betta to use as cover. If you plan on adding a plant, make sure that you will meet the requirements of the plant (You don't want add a plant and then it just die. Dead or Decaying plant = Ammonia). If you decide to get fake plants, get the silky kind (the plastic can catch onto the tails and rip it or shred it --- but some of them won't < you can test the fakes by rubbing them against a piece of pantyhose. If it catches on the pantyhose, it will most likely catch on the bettas tail>.

I didn't really have any tank mates for the betta, but I was considering a snail or two and maybe some shrimp to go with but I never did get any.

So, from the following information I have provided, you can see that you can keep a betta in a bowl.

 

Want to have a betta in a bowl? Here what you will need to do:

Get a bowl of at least 5 gallons or more

Fill the bowl up with both substrate and water from an already well established tank.

Add a heater that is appropriate for the size bowl that you have so that the temperature of the tank doesn't fluctuate.

Add decorations and Add plants (If you can meet the requirements).

Test the bowl 1-2 days after added water/substrate from the established aquarium.
If the results are good, go out and get a betta (If you wait too long, the beneficial bacteria in the substrate will most likely die from the lack of ammonia).

Start doing water changes once a day. 25 - 50% a day is fine. Every now and then you can skip a day of a WC, but don't to it that too often.

Add some tank-mates (I would really only recommend snails or shrimp in this kind of set-up).

Enjoy your fish tank

 

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KEY:
= Required/Most likely required
= Optional

 

Great information PHP. You covered most of the essentials except a heater.

Bettas should be housed in tanks or bowls in your case with water around 78 degrees. Unles you keep your betta in a room with an ambient temperature close to 78 degrees, you need a heater.

Another thing is that most pet stores don't sell 5 gallon bowls. They only stock 1-2 gallon bowls so I'd say you have to look elsewhere to find 5 gallon bowls.

 

It needs to be a constant 78F. Fluctuating temps are one of the key reasons for Ich and stress. stress leads to other diseases.

Carol

 

That's what I was just thinking about last night before I went to bed, I knew I missed something.

I'll edit my post, Thanks

As for the petstores, yes they don't really carry any 5 gallons bowls, but many stores like Walmart and Kmart does.

 

Thanks for the post PHP.

Yes, when someone says Bowl we think of the (gasp) 1 gallon or 1/2g.
There are many decorative bowls that hold 2, 3 and 5g's.

I also wouldn't use old water. It's usually depleted of nutrients and chock full of nitrates.
New clean water would be better (imo)

 

I got a 2 gallon glass canister from the kitchen section at WalMart for $10. I've been using it for temp housing, before I got my bettas rehomed, or they died. The mouth is big enough to add a Tetra 3I filter, too, for a longer term home, if need be.

 

Thank, Lucy

@Akari: So you use it for temporary housing before the betta is re-homed?

 

Thank, Lucy

@Akari: So you use it for temporary housing before the betta is re-homed?

Yeah, because impulse buys in college, were you are technically only allowed to have one 10 gallon or less tank, are bad XD (But who can leave such cute little faces at the store?? Katsu, the impulse buy, went home with my mom a few weeks ago, btw).

It was a hospital tank for the last few weeks, though. Plutto never made it out to be rehomed.....

 

Edited

Added some more

 

edited again

added more

 

so if this bowl was 5g's....how come you couldn't find a filter to fit? that's not a super tiny space....a sponge filter would have worked well.

or for people who like plants, an NPT would have worked out very well

 

I couldn't find one and you know what, I just realized that I completely forgot about a sponge filter..

 

I'd like to add a note about a filter that may be another option:
The Red Sea Nano Filter is really nothing more than a very very fancy powered sponge filter (it's just like any other HOB except only has space for a sponge inside).
BUT because it's very narrow (I'm looking at one now, it's maybe 3"-4" side to side), it will fit on most reasonably sized bowls (probably not on those very tall vases, but imo, those don't allow enough gas exchange for a betta anyway, so boo on them). You can kind of cram it on over the side if the bowl has a small lip.
They do not come with sponges over the intakes, but the little fluval sponge refills ($0.99) are great for that (just stab them half way through with a knife and there you go).
This filter created more current than my bettas liked, but I used a piece of plastic tubing slit up the side over the outlet to break up the current and that fixed that. It's easy to make it less obvious by putting some bamboo in front if it (this'll help break up the current, too).

That added, I really like this thread; thanks PHP. It's a very good way to show people how to do things the RIGHT way. I was looking for some larger glass bowls for something just like this in an AC Moore last weekend, and found a 3/4G vase with an add on it showing how to set it up as a "betta decoration" (one of those horrid betta/floating plant/vase things) and was wishing that I had something like this thread to stick into all those vases instead... Maybe (with PHP's permission, of course) I'll take this thread, and photoshop it up to look like their add, and then stick it into those vases instead of the adds they have in there...

 

Thanks wisecrackerz.

Um, I'm not sure about the whole vase idea thing..