Cleaning Betta Fish Bowl?

Question

how do you clean the bowl?
with soap?
with bleach?

Answer 1

For normal, routine cleaning (when your fish is not sick), the only things you will need are hot water and a clean cloth or sponge that will not scratch your bowl. The cloth or sponge should be devoted to fish care (not your dish cleaning sponge) and should be throughly cleaned and dried after each use. Make sure to rinse the bowl, decorations, and gravel for a few minutes to ensure that you have cleaned them adequately.

If your fish is sick, you may have to disinfect the bowl and plastic decorations using a bleach solution. www.bettatalk.com describes how to do this properly. You will have to rinse the bowl A LOT to make sure all traces of bleach are gone and may even want to air dry the bowl for a day or two to ensure any bleach has dissipated. Any ceramics or gravel need to be baked in the oven to disinfect them, as they can absorb the bleach and then release it again into your fish's water, which will poison it. No websites or books I have researched recommend using soap to clean fish bowls. The soaps leave residue which is again poisonous to fish.

I've listed four websites below that I have found very helpful in caring for betta fish.

Answer 2

I use vinegar and hot water. On the off chance that a little residue stays behind, it won't harm your betta the way soap or bleach can.

Boil tank decorations and scrub the tank with a paper towel soaked in a vinegar/water mixture. I keep the vinegar in a squirt bottle to spritz all on the walls, add a little water, and then scrub my heart out.

Vinegar tends to rinse cleanly too. Rinse at least until you can't smell it anymore.

Answer 3

Maybe a very small amount of Dawn, but just be sure that all the soap is out of the bowl.
Make sure the water that you're putting in the clean bowl is room temperature (you also might want to buy some de-stress liquid and anti-chlorine liquid). You can go to Petsmart, Petco, etc. for all that.
Good Luck!

Answer 4

gentle dish washing liquid should be fine, just be sure you get all the soap out. also, make sure the water is room temp when you put the fish back in the bowl. I was also told that when you take the fish out keep him in some of the same water he was in and poor it in the new water as well so it doesn't do into shock

Answer 5

I have always just used dish soap and a sponge. You have to get all of the soap out before you let the betta back in. When you think all of the suds are out, rinse two more times.

Answer 6

No soap. No bleach. Hot water and a scrubber sponge dedicated to the task (not one that has been used for dishes or anything else).

Answer 7

I just use hot water and a clean wash cloth....i let the container cool and add water. when I take "Pickles" and "Doc Hudson" out of thier bowls - i use purified water to keep them in separate containers. once the bowl is clean i put in new water - never tap - and gently put em back in and include the water from their temporary containers. change em every 3-4 days.

Answer 8

Go to the Web Site below and read.
You will do fine just make sure and keep his water clean and don't over-feed him but don't starve your betta either.


http://www.healthybetta.com/downloads/Betta_Care_Sheet.pdf

Answer 9

DONT USE SOAP!!! it will contaminate the water and kill the fish!!!!!!! just use some water that has been dropped with those fish drops and clean it with that!