questions - betta tanks and cats

Hi there,

I am really interested in adopting a betta or two (;)) but as everyone knows, I have two cats. They are very curious, and Tilly especially eats anything that wiggles (bugs, etc). There really isn't a spot in my house that I could put the tanks where I could both enjoy them and have them be totally inaccessible to the cats, so I'm wondering about what types of tanks would be the "safest." It would have to be something that couldn't be knocked over, but also with a secured lid. I have looked at some of the kits (with the tank, filter, an ornament) available but of course I can't really go by a picture on the box.

Can everyone give me some ideas and suggestions on how to make this work? I don't want to rush out and get something without becoming informed first :)

Thanks!

I'm glad you asked this, I was just wondering the same thing myself. I definitely plan to have several bettas when I get my own place, I have some ideas on some really cool things to keep the bettas in. But, at some point in the future, I'd like to have a cat again, Finn willing. ;) I'm interested in what people will say! Don't forget to post pics of your bettas when you do get them. I was online last night, looking at betta sites, and, some of them are stunning (expensive, too!)!

I have two cats and have no problem with the cats and my five bettas. Sassy would drink water out of one of them now and then, but other than that, no problems. I would say to keep a close eye out though or maybe even put a lid on yours unless you feel that it's safe. I'm sure that someone has a story about their cat getting their betta, I'm sure it's happened.

I'd think the tank kits, like the 2.5 Minibow, would be best as the cats couldn't get into them with the hoods on and they'd be too heavy to knock off easily. The only thing to worry about in that case might be the cords. I have two 3-gallon Eclipse tanks that I personally really love.

Any betta container really should be lidded (with air holes of course) however, as betta fish can jump quite well. There have been a few sad stories on fishforums.net of people finding a dried up betta laying outside their bowl/tank.

Thanks for the tips. I'm not too worried about cords - my girls seem to leave those alone unless they are really really skinny. I would make sure to plug in the tanks so that they couldn't tip them my pulling on the cords, though.

Please keep the advice coming! :)

OBVIOUSLY,YOUR CATS,DO NOT TAKE AFTER,THE GADD ABOUT GADDIS,OF THE CAT WORLD,THAT AVID FISHER CAT,MY RB ANGEL POUNCER,THE ANGLER!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...Follies113.jpg

So.. no more ideas?

I would just suggest the bigger the tank, the better. Shiloh was always okay with my fish. She'd watch with interest but the only time she tried to get one was when a bala shark jumped OUT of a small hole in the cover of the tank where the filter was. Lucky and Chance were way too curious with them though and they somehow moved the tank (not by the cord) of one of my bettas. After that, I decided no more fish until all my fosters were adopted or until I move to a bigger place.