Am i a bad fish owner?

Question

I have a friends who had two male Bettas but rarely changed their water, or did anything for them, plus she had them in very tiny "betta boxes" that were almost too small for them to move in! One day, i told her she needed to do something or find a home for them, and she got upset and said if anything was to be done for them, i needed to take them. Well, i decided to take them. I already have one male betta and he has a beautiful 1 gallon bowl (which i still think is too small, but i don't have the money to get anything bigger for him right now) and i had to go out and buy two half gallon bowls for the two new Bettas. Is it okay to keep them in a tank that small? (which is still way bigger than the one my friend had them in) They seem to be doing fine, but i'm concerned. I test their water daily, paying close attention to ammonia because our tap water already has a lot in it, and i change their water as needed, but if i keep updated on the water, will i still have to get a bigger tank?

yes, i tested our tap water for ammonia and it says we have it. either my test isn't very accurate, or we do have it...

Answer 1

You sound like an awesome owner! Most people would keep them in the itty bitty beta boxes, so these fish are lucky already. I would get larger tanks if and when i had the money to spend, but they seem fine for now. =)

Answer 2

First of all that is no way to keep betta fish, in half gallon tanks. That is torture. Second, you should get them each a five gallon tank, heaters, a filtration system for them, lights, and plants. Bettas are tropical fish and need a temp ranging from 78-80 degrees. Feed them fish flakes or betta food you can find at any petstore. Give the tank a 20% water change and a thorough algea scraping by using an algae brush. Try adding a few snails to your tank to help out. Just want to congratulate you for taking action and saving the fish from your friend. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

here's a cheap suggestion, and will provide an excellent home for all three bettas. until you have the money to do so, those bowls with be fine as long as you clean them once a week and keep them somewhere warm, glad you saved them!

*go to walmart or petco or anywhere really, most have a 10gallons without a hood for $10.
*get a 50watt heater, about $15
*get 2 mesh dividers, about $5 or $6 each usually.
*3 thermometers, about $1 each
*enough silk plants so the bettas can hide from eachother, constant sight of another can cause stress. prices vary, I'm goign to figure in $10max
*gravel $3
*3 filters for 1-3gallon tanks, whicper filter makes them that small I think, about $5 each.

so for about $60 you can provide and excellent home for all three, and if you look for bargains you can probably get it much cheaper.

set up:
put the dividers in, evenly spaces out. put gravel plants and water in. put the heater in the middle section. put a filter and a thermometer in each section. let the tank fun for a day (cycling isn't needed for bettas usually) to make sure the temp stays a steady temp of about 78°F to 80°F. then put your bettas in.

glad you gave them a good home.

*edit to person bellow me*
bettas do not live in puddles of mud, they live in ride paddies and streams. while rice paddies are shallow they are very wide and each betta has his own large territory.

Answer 4

wait a second, your tap water has ammonia in it? That is poisonous to you too. I think you mean cholrine, or sulfur

Your during a fine job. maybe get a filter. Your a beginner at the hobby so it just try to do you best and sooner or later you will figure it out.

a gallon per betta is fine because in the wild they literally live in puddles of mud. So don't worry keep up with weekly water changes. there are products you can by to make you tap water safe or better for your betta, just go the any fish store and look at the water treatment section. Jungle buddy make a tap water safe tablet, tetra makes one too.

Answer 5

of path you may desire to in no way say you're a 'undesirable fish proprietor' yet merely in step with hazard slightly green. So first we could see, in the journey that your Betta is being sucked on by using the algae eater, then seperate them immedietly. it could be because of fact he can not locate adequate algae to devour (their considerable nutrition). Bettas are very solitary fish and prefer nonetheless waters and while yet another fish is interior the tank it motives stress on the Betta because of fact the water is moving and the different fish is invading their territoty (Bettas are very territorial). you could save your chinese language Algae eater with fish of around a similar length as them in a tank with a habitat reminiscent of the two species

Answer 6

Your doing an excellent job, many people keep their bettas in 1-2g bowls. I keep mine in 3-5g marineland tanks.

You can make them happier with a long or broad leafed fabric or real plant for them to rest on.

Good work caring for your fish and may they live long happy lives.

Answer 7

You're only a bad fish owner if you try to take them for walks.

Jokes aside, the 1 gal. bowl is fine for all three. You're already testing the water - the trick is to get some neutralizer for chlorine, etc., and take 1 gal bottles, fill them up, add the neutralizer, and let them sit for 12 hours.

You should be able to get a 5 gal. tank rather cheaply - look for sales at your local pet stores and also check garage sales!

Answer 8

You are a great fish owner...
I heard some where that the bettas prefer a smaller space.
They aren't fast swimmers or anything so they wouldn't need the space.
I'm sure that they are happy.

Answer 9

You need a filter, and I think you shouldn't put more than 1 per gallon tank or bowl.....

Answer 10

I think Betta's are meant for small spaces. You want to hear a fish story. My 2 year old daughter dumped a can of orange soda and a chocolate chip cookie in our fish tank and our fish survived.