Ideal living conditon for a betta?

I have herd soo many different opinions..

I have had male bettas live 3-4 years in a 3-5 gallon vase's, bowls, or mini tanks... Mine seem to be affraid of bubblers, or filters.

Now this may be contraversal.. but I am just curious..
Why is it that some people insist that Betta must live in a larger tank with a filter and a heater??

Bettas have a special respiratory organ that allows them to breath air directly from the surface. In fact they inherently must do so.. so why is the filter and or bubbler important??

I've heard 101 ways to keep a betta! After much confusion, I keep mine the way I want to. ;) They seem to do just fine. If what you're doing is working then I wouldn't worry about it! :)

I don't even have a filter in my goldfish tank. I just put a small airstone in each tank as it gives them air enough that they don't need to sleep at the surface. As for the heater, these are more of a cool water fish so I don't worry.

Bettas like still water so a bubbler or a filter that puts a lot motion in the water is can be stressful.

Many people like having an established tank/filter for their bettas so that they don't have to worry so much about amonia levels getting too high and causing illness. This is usually the best route for busy/lazy people who won't monitor their betta's water and keep up with the water changes which muct be done more often with a bowl.

I personally like the bowls, plus I have so many that having larger, esablished tanks are out of the question. I do have sponge filters in my bowls which help with amonia levels.

Honestly, they only need a heater if your house is very cold. Most people keep their homes warm enough for a betta. If your house is kept colder than average, you will need a small heater.

I have all of my bettas in 1 gallon mini tanks without any filter or bubbler. Just a small light on the top, I do regular weekly water changes and everyone is fine. :)

thanks for all the replies..

I posted a pic of my betta in his bowl on another site and I got flamed by a couple members.. :eek:


They all insisted that I was being cruel, by not having a heater, and a filter for my betta.. ugh

Bettas are fine in a bowl, but they do GREAT in a small aquarium with a filter. If you betta is happy and healthy, don't worry about it. :D

For one of the above posters, you should never keep your goldfish in a bowl. they need a minimum 40 litre tank with a filter to thrive. They produce way too much waste to be ina small bowl, even with an air stone.

I am quite aware of proper godfish care. Mine live in an outdoor pond in summertime and in a large indoor tank in winter. The one without a filter is the runt, Depot, who lives in a two gallon during the fall and winter and in the pond with the others come spring and is quite active and seemingly happy being the center of attention on my desk where se gets treats and has even learned to jump and take food from my fingers. She gets her water changed quit often so that the ammonia levels don't build up.

BTW, my male betta hates it when I clean the gravel and upset the water in his tank, I think a filter would be the death of him as he'd be so stressed out.