Does the size of a fish bowl affect fish?

Question

Does it affect its behaviour and/or how much food it eats?
Why?

Answer 1

It certainly can affect behavior.

First by restricting activity level. A fish confined in a small bowl cannot swim as freely as a fish in a larger tank. For some fish this is less of a problem than others. Rather inactive fish would not be badly bothered by this while highly active fish would be very troubled.

Second there is the factor of hiding space. Some fish need places to hide to be comfortable. Those hiding places are practically impossible to provide in a small bowl. This will stress those fish needing a place to hide.

Third is water quality. Fish do not do well in poor water conditions and without very careful diligent care the water in a bowl can degrade quickly. This will decrease a fishes appetite and activity level.

Also there is the fact that temperature is difficult to control in a bowl. Too cold and the fish need less fod and are less active. Too warm and they feel the need and desire to be more active but don't have the space to do so.

All said, a bowl is a quite poor choice as a container for the majority of fishes. Appetite would be down, stress would be up and water conditions would be poor in comparison to in a tank.

MM

Answer 2

Yes, if a fish is confined to an area that is too small for it, it will feel stress and just as stress affects the immune system, appetite, growth rate etc of humans, it does the same to fish. A fish that is stressed may not eat for days at a time, and may be listless or swim up and down the walls of the aquarium out of boredom. Once a fish is acclimated to a new, higher volume environment, it begins to exhibit natural tendencies such as: breeding, hunting, schooling, digging, darting, etc.

Answer 3

It depends on the fish and the size of the bowl. Fish will do better and live longer in bigger "bowls" A fish in a small bowl will suffer from poor water quality unless someone is very regular about changing the water. And lets face it, how would you feel about spending you life in a tiny room? Room to swim and clean water = happy fish.

Answer 4

Yes, it can affect it's behavior if it's cramped, as long as it's size for some fish. If it's cramped in a tiny little tank, or crowded, it will go, well, basically stir crazy, which can also affect whether or not it wants to eat.

Answer 5

You shouldn't even keep a fish in a bowl anyways!!!!! It's cruel and inhumane. The ammonia and food buildup slowly poisons the fish. You'd be lucky if it survives more than two weeks.

Answer 6

Fish bowl=death chamber.

Any fish that manages to survive in a bowl (betta's, etc) will THRIVE in an aquarium.

Answer 7

Yes because they grow and they get stunted and die a torturous death so use areal tank. please. It can affect the eating habits because the get cramped and stop eating all of a sudden.

Answer 8

Yes. it needs to be able to move around and swim!