About cleaning the betta fishbowl?

Question

I just bought a new betta fish last Friday and it seems to me that his bowl already needs to be cleaned and it has been five days. My question is, is it okay to clean the bowl earlier than once a week? The saleslady told me to do it only once per week and to partially clean it but it just seems to me that it would be better for the fish to clean the entire bowl whenever I think it looks yucky. I could wait a few days but I prefer looking at a sparkly bowl rather than a cloudy one. Also the lady told me to feed him two small pellets of food ONCE a day but he has been eating throughout the day whenever I offer it to him. Am I overfeeding him? I don't want him to get sick from over eating but I also don't want him to be hungry either. Thanks for the advice.

Answer 1

I would go ahead and clean it if you think it needs it. As the previous answerers said, if you don't have a air filter which is not necessary with bettas, then clean it more frequently.

But no need to buy another bowl! Just scoop up a bit of his water from his bowl, put him in it -in a small bowl. Meanwhile clean out the bowl and marbles or rocks. Just rinse it with water. Add some of the dechlorinator according to the water volume. Put him in immediately and he should be fine.

As far as feeding is concerned that depends on your fish. See how much he will eat in the first few minutes. If he eats 2 pellets or as much as 7 then that's fine. A lot of people suggest giving him less and only once because it clouds the water and requires more frequent cleaning but if he is hungry then FEED HIM. If you have to clean him more often then that is your responsibility as he is your pet and cannot do it for himself. He doesn't need a big bowl or a tank. I think that glass vases are perfect for bettas especially the ones with more surface space so that he can swim around as much as he wants. Vases are also prettier to look at.

Answer 2

Put your betta in a bowl of dechlornated water, dump the water out of the bowl, and rinse everything before you put in fresh, dechlorinated water. Don't use any soap because it will harm the fish, even if you rinse well afterwards.

With a regular fish tank, with a filter and gravel, you don't want to change the water too much because you'll disturb the bacteria colonies that help process the fish wastes. A bowl is a little different, because you've got a smaller volume of water and no filter. I would say you could clean it every couple of days...but if the water is cloudy after only five days, either you have a really small bowl or you're feeding way too much. Even if the fish is willing to eat all the food you put in, that doesn't mean it's good for him. I feed my betta 2 pellets twice a day. If he begs, sometimes I will sprinkle a few dried bloodworms in the tank for him. He's in a 2.5 gallon tank with a filter, and I only change a little bit of water each week, then once every two months I use the tank vacuum to get the gravel clean.

Answer 3

She wasn't off about the food. A betta only needs about as much food as his eye ball per day. More food just fouls his water faster, and can lead to bloat.

She was wrong about cleaning the bowl. With a filtered tank you don't want to clean the gravel or change all the water. It will disrupt the bacteria that convert ammonia. In a bowl you don't have enough oxygen, or water motion for the bacteria to matter. You are better off cleaning decaying gunk out of the gravel. With small bowls this is every 3-4 days. With 2-3 gallon bowl this is once a week.

To clean a bowl:
0)remove betta to a cup of tank water.
1)clean bowl with warm water
2)refill with water the same temp as the water in the cup. (use finger)


PS- A 2.5 gallon filtered tank is easier care for. A 5 gallon tank is even easier to care for. In the case of these tank you could change 20-30% of the water every 1-2 weeks.

Answer 4

Sorry to say it but you are in that huge number of people that were told wrong instructions when they bought a betta. First, to be totally honest a betta does better in a filtered and heated tank of at least 2.5 gallons, but they can live comfortably in a smaller, unfiltered container if you care for them properly.

I would suggest you change 100% of his water every 2-3 days. Such a small container give no real margin of error and toxins build up quickly. I would even suggest you get a second identical bowl to make it easier. Then you can fill the second bowl the day before, allow it to set near your bettas bowl over night and just move your betta to the new bowl the next day. Then rinse the original bowl out well and repeat in 2-3 days.

As for feeding, feed him what he will eat in 2-3 minutes twice a day. Once you see about how many that it you can count them out if you like.

MM

Answer 5

Alright there we go again
I own a beta and I have him in a gold fish glass with no heater or pump
I have him standing on a shelf away from sunlight only with a lavalamp behind the glass what I turn on for 12 hours a day and off at night.
This gives him enough heat and light to servive.
I also have a real plant in it to give him some kind of oxygen and he is happy
I feed him once a day about 3 pellets, not more then that, because that's the main reason your water gets cloudy.
Empty out the whole glass and replace with fresh water including the special beta water treatment what you can get pretty inexpensive at your petstore, and gravel.
That makes your fish happy and you as well
I only make partial waterchanges like every other week, that's it.
Good luck

Answer 6

Feed him 4 pellets per day or 6 to 8 every other day. You may be over feeding.
How to clean bowl.
Use bottled spring water that is same temperature. Pour some into the cup he came home from the petstore, if you don't have that, rinse out a coffee cup and pour some spring water in there. Hand catch your betta, make sure your hands are clean and free of soap. Hold the cup over the bowl, in case he flips out, he'll land in the bowl. Put him in the cup. Pour out all the water in the bowl. Rinse with cool tap water, until debris free. Fill with scalding hot water. If you need or want to disinfect clean rocks and inside bowl with paper towel soaked in hydrogen peroxide. Drain. Then fill with scalding hot tap water. Let sit until you can put you can put your hand in the water. Drain. Wipe off inside with paper towel, first then wipe outside. Never vice-versa. Let the bowl dry and cool to room temp. Fill with spring water and pour betta back in. This is not the only way, this is how I've cleaned my betta's bowls for years and it's worked so far for me. Good luck, bettas are neat.

Answer 7

Bettas do not need a lot of food. I used to take my betta out, dump the water, put fresh conditioned water back in and put my betta back in. He lasted a year and a half. Fish can go days without eating. It is good to keep fish just a little hungry. Feed him a tiny bit once a day and that's it - even if he begs. Mine used to beg.

Answer 8

if its cloudy since you dont have a filter that is normal. but youshould only feed him 2x a day in what he can eat in under 3 minutes. if you want to be looking at a sparkly tank you should buy one with a filter. changing the water to much will stress your fish out and it may die. some fish will eat till their bellies burst, only feed him 2x a day for his sake.