do you think my tetra fish will die soon if they live in a fish bowl for alittle while?

Question

(i'm on a budget haha)

for a week or so, there is a lamp that shines on top of the fish bowl, constatly..

i live in a town where the only place i can get a fish tank is wal-mart( i know that my fish are already at risk of dying because they come from there) but the cheapest tank right now is 35,00$, and it's a small one.. this might not seem very expensive but it is when you have no money! hehe

p.s thanks for you help!! i appreciate it so much!

oh and if i put in lukewarm water would that help or does that eliminate some oxygen?! i should of bought goldfish! haha

i can't remember which type it is,but it's pink and when i bought it,it was in a tank with blue tetra fish(the same kind of tetra but different colors)I don't know if that helps,and there's only 2 fish in the tank.. the other one is a..i'm not sure, i know it's compatible with tetra fish, it is yellow and just as small as the pink tetra

my pink tetra fish isn't moving too much, will she/he die?! :(

aawwh! do ppl really die their fish?! that is so cruel! :( i didn't know that! i don't want my fishies to die? are blue tetra normal?!

Answer 1

Tetra will not die if kept in a bowl for even a year, and here are certain guidelines for you..

Selecting a bowl:
Choose as large of a bowl as possible. The larger the bowl, the longer your bowl water conditions will stay healthy and that in turn will keep your fish healthy.Do not use a bowl that is less than 1 gallon, I believe that is just too small and does not provide for good care. Select a bowl with the widest possible top. Surface area is just as important as volume as it aloows for air contact and air exchange.

If your bowl is less than two gallons, only 2-3 tetra fish can be supported. REMEMBER - the fish will outgrow the size of its environment. If anyone says that they will stop growing to fit the bowl it is a lie and not an establishment to do business with!! Other than Tetra, the Bettas "Siamese Fighting fish" are a good choice.

Setting up your bowl:
Buy a 1 gallon bottle to be used ONLY for fish water. Bottled water is acceptable. Fill the jug with water and wait until it is room temperature (Around 70° F). Use a water conditioner to remove the chlorine in the water. Gravel is not necessary but if you use it, rinse to clean it. Fill the bowl, leaving a couple of inches from the top so the fish doesn’t leap out. Make sure you leave enough room so the water doesn’t overflow when you float your fish! Float your fish in the water for about 15-20 minutes, every 5 minutes add some of the bowl water into the bag the fish is in - this way the fish will acclimate to the new water. When you release the fish pour the bag through a net over a bucket or bowl, then place fish from net into water. Don’t add the bag water to the bowl. If necessary, take some of the extra water from the water bottle and top off the bowl water level. If you have cats, find a cat-proof location for your bowl.

Care and maintenance of your fish bowl:
Feed only 2 little flakes or pellets a day. Do not overfeed, even if your fish appears to be hungry. Feeding too much can make the water foul, killing the fish. They won’t starve. Use appropriate food for the kind of fish you have. Change the bowl water once a week. Keep a gallon of water in a jug on hand at all times so that it will be room temperature and free from chlorine. Place the fish in a separate container with some of the old water. Pour out the bowl and use an algae sponge to scrub out the bowl, then rinse the bowl. Bacteria are not really an issue as they are in a fish tank, as the bowl water should be changed weekly anyway. Refill the bowl with the room temperature, dechlorinated water and put the fish back in. Now refill the jug for future use, treating the water at this time as well.

If there appears to be signs of overfeeding or any form of water fouling, change the water immediately.

Checklist of items you will need:
Fish bowl
Water conditioner
Small net
Food
Gallon bottle
Algae sponge
Gravel and decor
Extra container or fishbowl

Hope this helps..

Answer 2

How long is a little while? Someone once likened a fish bowl to a cold bus stop. You can stand it for a little while, but you wouldn't want to live there.
That's really how it is with these fish bowls. If you place the bowl close to a lamp for heat, replace half the water every day to keep it clean and oxygenated, they might last a month. Might.
Like any animals, fish require a certain amount of time and money if you want them to survive and look their best. Sticking tetras in a bowl is NOT going to result in nice, big, healthy, bright fish. You're just going to wake up one morning to find a couple dead fish rotting in a bowl of water on your table.
If you're on a budget, look through your classifieds. There are many, many tanks for sale, and they often come with filters and heaters, and cost 10-20% what they would cost in a petstore.


Edit: No, don't put in any lukewarm water. It could shock the fish to go from cold to warm. Also, turn the lamp off at night, or get a red light, because they need night time.
If you can't afford a real tank, I'm sorry to have to say it, but you should not be keeping fish. You wouldn't get a dog if you couldn't afford the dog food, right? You really should bring the fish back to the petstore, save up some money, and when you can, buy a real tank.

Answer 3

Please define "little while". Tetras are tropical fish so need to live in water with a temperature of 76-82 degrees fahrenheit. They need a proper tank with a heater and a filter. Tetras most likely wouldn't live a very long or happy life in an unfiltered and unheated fish bowl. The bowl is much too small for a tetra.

Answer 4

Not necessarily. You have to change the water frequently though since there is no filtering system. You also need to make sure the temperature stays in the middle 70s or it will get too cold for the tetras. Remember, they are tropical! I would suggest trying to get a good tank set up as soon as possible. Good luck!

Answer 5

I dont think your tetras will live for very long in a non-filtered, non-heated bowl. Especially if you have more than 1 tetra.

And are we talking about neon tetras? cardinal tetras? blue tetras? There are many different species of tetras.

If you have neon tetras(which are very common) they will most likely not survive more than 1 week or so. Neon tetras are extremely sensitive to their environment and need pristine water conditions.

If you are going to use a bowl, dont get tetras. The tetras are gonna die and the money you used to buy them could have been better spent saving up for a real filtered, heated aquarium.

Answer 6

Everyone spoke well enough to all of the care issues, etc., but I just wanted to touch on one other thing that no one mentioned. You say your fish is "pink." Tetras are not naturally pink, which leads me to believe that you have one of those dyed "fruitloop" tetras. This is a terribly cruel thing unconscionable "breeders" do to poor innocent fish wherein they either inject dye inside their bodies, filling them full of toxic chemicals or dip them in a caustic bath that removes their slime coat and roughens up their scales so that they will then accept a dye that they are dipped into. 80% of fish die from this process, so there is an extremely high likelihood that your fish will die of this anyway, despite any other issues you may have with keeping it in a proper environment. I know you didn't know this about the "fruitloops," but, please, if people do not buy these fish, manufacturers and breeders will stop this horrible practice. Please do not support fish dying by buying dyed fish. Thanks so much and good luck to you and your fish!

Answer 7

your fish should be fine as long as you add some new water pretty often (every other day) I have had a platy in a fish bowl and it has lived in it for over a year with no problems. The lamp will heat the water, but it will cause rapid algae growth :(

Answer 8

Well they need oxygen, and fish generally don't do well in fish bowls you really need to at least change the water (about 20-30%) everyday. Don't make it luke warm, keep it cool, they don't need really hot water and that to them will be hot. it should feel cold to touch. around 75 degrees.