Small or Large (Betta Question)

[anna_66]

I recently got 2 bettas (and I just love them:)). I have a small bowl with a light and then got a bigger bowl/vase one for the second.
Now I switched them and it seems to me that they are happier with the larger bowl.

Are yours happier in a larger bowl compared to a smaller one?

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

They are usually much happier in the larger bowls, they like to swim around and in the small ones they don't have alot of room for that. Congrat's on the new additions though:D

[Scooby4]

The use of your light on your bowl may be an issue. Light generally causes algea to grow. This could make the bowl dirtier and need cleaned out more.
Don't put the 2 males too close together as they will want to fight! You can keep multiple female bettas together.
My father breed Bettas and they are really cool to watch having babies! However, he gave me 3 last year that were still young. We didn't know that he gave me 2 males and one female! It took about week before I found out:eek:

[Orca]

Mine love their big (big being a gallon or larger) bowls. They stress out when they are in something too small - the bubble nest goes away and their colors fade.

[Uabassoon]

From everything I have read they really shouldn't be housed in anything smaller than 1 gallon. I've seen a few sites that say 1/2 gallon, but I think 1 gallon is the standard minimum size. Yuki is in a 1 gallon and seems happy, if I had the money I would have gotten him something larger.

[micki76]

Anna, when you say "bowl/vase", it isn't one of those vases with a plant in it is it? If so, get him in something else fast. That set-up will kill him.

I have one betta in a 5 gallon aquarium with a pleco, and three neon tetras. He seems very happy in there. I have my other two bettas in a one gallon tank each. They both have adequate filtration and lights in the covers. They seem extremely happy, but I think anything smaller would get dirty too fast and not have enough room for a plant or a cave/cup for hiding.

Can we see pics? :D Pretty please with sugar on top?

[anna_66]

Micki, it is a vase like that but I didn't want to add anything because I didn't want his fins to get caught on it. But he does have rocks.
Here's Red
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid161/p3f91f4759f8c23b23df5c1a42007c0a4/f4c12e50.jpg
And here's Mr Limpet
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid161/p3f3794da1f7f974bde88273e73e9134c/f4c12e53.jpg

After seeing such nice set ups seems like my guys are cramped!

[Uabassoon]

Originally posted by anna_66
I didn't want to add anything because I didn't want his fins to get caught on it.

If you ever upgrade to something with more room I recommend getting a plant, just not plastic because it can tear their fins. Live plants are the best, but if you are like me and know a live plant will just be too much trouble silk plants are also really good.

[anna_66]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone.
As of right now I've just taken some of the rocks out of the bowls, added a little water and they both seem overjoyed and are swimming around much more than before. But I still may try to find some nice bigger bowls for them later on.

[Cookiebaker]

Originally posted by micki76
Anna, when you say "bowl/vase", it isn't one of those vases with a plant in it is it? If so, get him in something else fast. That set-up will kill him.



I am wondering why you say this??? My inlaws has had one of these for over 3 years (and the one before that was 3+) and is very happy and healthy.

Also, I had one and my Jimmy was very happy in it. I'm not sure why he died, but I am 99% sure it wasn't because he was living in that kind of setup. I kept the roots trimmed, and made sure there was plenty of air that could get in.

i am not being argumentative. I really would like to know if there is danger in this kind of setup.

[Uabassoon]

I really would like to know if there is danger in this kind of setup.

I really don't think there is a danger in keeping the plant there as long as you care for it. The problem is lots of people believe that the Betta can just eat the roots and doesn't need any other source of food. Bettas are carnivores and shouldn't be expected to survive off a plant. The other problem is that people often use such tiny vases not knowing that Bettas need a good amount of room.

edit: Here's a good website about that Betta's in vases (http://www.bettatalk.com/betta_in_a_vase.htm)

[K9soul]

Anna, your bettas are BEAUTIFUL boys! :) One thing about small bowls is ammonia (which is produced from fish waste, and is toxic to fish) builds up a lot quicker than in a bigger container. As it reaches toxic levels, this can cause stress, listlessness, slowing down, etc., and of course eventually death if it got too bad. The smaller the container, the more often you must change the water. It could be when you added water, it took down the ammonia levels again and that caused them to perk up again.

One of the best forums I've seen to learn about bettas (Kara/Sunkissedgoldens referred me to) is here: http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?showforum=5

You can just browse the pinned topics and learn a lot. I've been reading there for about a week now and have learned so much. Some of it can be overwhelming, but even just following some of the simple basics can give you happier, healthier fish in the long run :). The pinned topics alone have lots of good basic information! Another excellent betta site is here: http://www.bettatalk.com/

Good luck!

[CathyBogart]

Originally posted by micki76
Anna, when you say "bowl/vase", it isn't one of those vases with a plant in it is it? If so, get him in something else fast. That set-up will kill him.


Whoa! That set up is fine...if it is well maintained. Bettas need to breathe air, so the plant needs to have its roots trimmed regularly, and as was stated before they need to eat meat, not plant roots, and they can be fine setups as long as people keep these things in mind.

[PJ's Mom]

Originally posted by Cookiebaker
I really would like to know if there is danger in this kind of setup.

Nope. As long as you don't throw him in a vase and expect the plant to do all the work of cleaning and feeding, he should be fine. :)

Your fish are very pretty Anna. Good luck with them. :)

[anna_66]

I've been changing their water about 2x's/wk. I don't like when it gets cloudy looking and I'm sure they don't like it either.
And thanks, I think they're pretty good looking myself:D

[tikeyas_mom]

i have had my bettas in cups, dishes, bowls, vauses, and tanks. they seem to like the tanks and big bowls the best because they have more room to swim and fan out their beautiful colors.

[K9soul]

Two times a week for smaller containers is good Anna. Obviously they are doing pretty well as I noticed Red had quite a bubble nest going! If you ever do decide to upgrade him a bit, I know those critter keeper plastic 'tank' shaped containers are nice as well as cheap, and there's more room to decorate in there if you like to do that :). Many say adding a small hardy live aquarium plant to their homes make them happy as well as the plant helps break down ammonia better. I haven't tried it yet but I may next time I go to the pet store :)