"can a male betta live fine in a teeny bowl?"?

Question

NO!! grr i see this way too often where college students or parents will buy a betta, but it in a small bowl with ice cold water and leave it there, cause they heard bettas can live without any maintenance. what a load of crock. i hate to see bettas in little bowls with nowhere to move. they do amazing with other tetras, and livebearers. just not with other bettas of course. bettas need heat. and proper food. and regular 1/4 water changes weekly, so my question is, does anyone else know this?

Answer 1

I think everyone who thinks it is OK to keep bettas in small bowls with no heat and no filtration need to be locked in a closet for a few weeks. Give them plenty of food, a bucket to go to the bathroom in(which will be emptied, but not cleaned once a week) and keep the temp around 45 degrees. Its not just about being happy, its about being healthy.

Sounds more than fair to me.

Ankle deep? Maybe, but very large area. http://www.bettadreams.com/ricepaddies.html

Remember the rice paddies are not a natural formation, so that means they are not a bettas natural habitat. They still live in lakes, ponds, and streams naturally.

Answer 2

I would say that you have a real world record type of situation going on then! Male Bettas fighting is something that is very basic about the very breed of fish. I suppose it possible that your tank has enough cover (plants, rocks, decorations) so they can hide from each other. Keep an eye out on thier fins. If they look like they have been nibbled on, then they are fighting or your other fish or attacking them. Its the reason that most male bettas do better in a small container on their own.

Answer 3

Mo.st people do keep their Betta's in a small bowl, the water should be a least room temp not ice cold . If your not sure what to do or whats best for your Betta go get a book on them and read up then you'll know the next time someone else needs help with their Betta. Good-Luck with your fish.

Answer 4

I have rescued at least 300+ Betta's from Wal-mart! They are the worst for leaving these poor defenseless little beauties to sit and 'ROT'. This has broken my heart more than once.
I've even had the people that work in the pet dept. come over to me and ask me to stop changing their water..(I would take warm water from the warm fish tanks and switch out their water)
They would rather see them sit in their own filth and die of starvation and rot, instead of doing their jobs!

I personally feel that Betta's should cost no less than $10.00 per fish, that way they would be cared for better and not just everyone would buy one! They sure offer $10.00 worth of beauty, don't they?

Answer 5

THANK YOU! that drives me crazy too, and as much as I try to answer them correctly about 80 more people answer incorrectly, spreading around more ignorance!

I have 13 bettas currently, most of them are from places like walmart where they are treated poorly. it drives me nuts when people say buying them is only support the habit of them selling them and treating them poorly, but me, not buying one from them isn't going to do anything. for one, they won't even know I didn't buy one for any reason other than I didn't want one. two, someone else will just buy it, they'll take poor care of it and it will die in a few days. and three, not buying them isn't doing anything except letting poor fish that could be saved die.

I have started taking action... lol. I treat their sick bettas with whatever meds I they have for sale. without buying them. their fault for not taking better care of them (I can't house anymore bettas until I get more upgrades, soon!) and leave notes on their cups saying I have ICK because you treat me poorly" ect... I also made my own signs to hang up they tell the truth about caring for bettas and hang them up in place of walmart's signs that I tear down.

if anyone is interested in helping my cause email me and I'll send you a copy of the truth about caring for bettas and you can print it out and hang it in a walmart near you.

Answer 6

You are right! Bettas do well with other fish! They like warm temps and proper water changes. But they have the amazing ability to live in confined spaces, being shipped in bags no bigger than tea bags!! The fighting fish in his natural habitat live and breed in rice fields that are about ankle deep!

Answer 7

my brother takes very good care of his betta. He changes the water every three days. And warms the water up to 80%, also he leaves some of the old water in with the new water, just so the fish doesn't totally freak out. And he feeds it pieces of frozen shrimp, 3 pieces two times a day. But the fish does live in a little bowl. I do not think its that bad, he's by all by himself, so it might be just enough space for him.

Answer 8

bettas can live this way but i dont reccomend it cause their not happy and dont get enough exercise in a little bowl but what gets me most is the people selling them in vases with flowers on top are telling people that you dont even have to feed them and i know that people are telling customers this cause i was told this as well fortunently i knew better cause nothing can live without eating

Answer 9

I've grown up with betas and I agree with you, they need space! I hate how at pet stores they keep them in tiny little cups. When I owned mine, they had large sized fishbowls, and they swam around constantly. They also require freezedried bloodworms in their diet, to keep them healthy and colorful.

When I went to buy my last beta, I ended up boycotting the store in disgust because the sales cleark told me that (and I quote):

"Mine lives in the cup I bought it in. You don't need any special food, just goldfish flakes will be fine. They are cold water fish so don't worry about temperature. They don't like warm water anyways".

Answer 10

Yes I have one and he is in a very small round fish bowl and he is fine and he don't eat much either