I don't think this is gonna work!

**Craftlady** · 03-10-2006, 10:12 PM

I thought beta fish had to have a plant in the water so they could survive (food)? Have a plant and it's roots in the vase the furry kids wouldnt see the fish right away but the plant and might leave it alone.

**icedtea** · 03-11-2006, 01:37 AM

hmm. find somewhere the cats dont go, somewhere unreachable. keep mr fishy there. we all do things on impulse. i hope betta wont become a victim of fish flavoured fish!!! i think you reallyneed to be fair to the fish and get him to somewhere safe away from the kitties.

**orangemm** · 03-11-2006, 03:30 AM

You could put the bowl in a plant hanger (one of those macrame things) and hang it out of reach. Mr. Betta might have a betta chance of survival!

**jenluckenbach** · 03-11-2006, 05:03 AM

That fishy is gonna be SUSHI!

Your going to have to hang him from the ceiling in order for him to be safe.

Abby

Flutter

Pouncer !

**catnapper** · 03-11-2006, 05:19 AM

Mr. Betta made it through the night. They are all still checking him out, but the dippy paw thing is over (guess they decided he wasn't all that interesting to paw at and the wet paw wasn't worth it)

He'll be purrfectly fine now that their initial appraisal of him is over. I promise!

As for the plant in a vase thing, from everything I've read, that is supposed to be the worst thing for the fish because he needs lots of oxygen and the flower takes up room at the surface, and they breathe through coming up to the surface for air

Hanging plant... sorry but I am almost rolling on the floor over that idea! It would become the world first Fishy Flying Trapeze artist, Right now they are attacking the hanging spider plant for all its worth. No lie!

High place to put him? The only high place where the cats do not go is the shelf in the closet, and then he'd suffocate from all the litter dust covering the water's surface.

**Craftlady** · 03-11-2006, 07:34 AM

Intereting about flower that was how local floral shop did mine. Way it was set up the plastic lid wasnt that tight and air holes were in it. The fish lastest a couple weeks then I got stupid and used fish food along with the plant roots that were already there.

**jazzcat** · 03-11-2006, 11:11 AM

I've been wanting to get a fish so I'm going to use the catnapper experiment as my guide. Good luck Mr. Betta!

Actually I have a small 2.5 gallon octagon tank with a lid that I had in college but it's a horrible bright pink and doesn't go in my house plus it may be too old and weakened after 16 years of storage.

**CathyBogart** · 03-11-2006, 11:58 AM

Originally Posted by Craftlady

I thought beta fish had to have a plant in the water so they could survive (food)? Have a plant and it's roots in the vase the furry kids wouldnt see the fish right away but the plant and might leave it alone.

NO NO NO!!! Bettas are carnivores!!! They can't eat plant roots. Yours may have died because it went without food for so long and then got a lot at once.

Those vases are VERY unsafe for bettas, as the roots can actually cut off their oxygen supply if they get too plentiful. Keep the roots trimmed so that the fish can come to the surface to breathe.

CUTE pictures! I'm glad mister fishy survived the night!

**prechrswife** · 03-11-2006, 12:47 PM

Maybe a small aquarium with a lid? We actually had Alpha on a shelf that the cats couldn't get onto, but for awhile he was temporarily relocated to the kitchen counter. The cats pretty much ignored the aquarium.

**catmandu** · 03-11-2006, 05:54 PM

I will have to find the Photo of Pouncer when I visited a Cat Friend of mine probably close to Twenty Years Ago.
I had Two Goldfish Once.
Pouncer had Filet O Fish,Live.

**Randy_K** · 03-13-2006, 10:59 PM

Betas breathe like other fish through their gills. They are comfortable in small bowls as their natural habitat is puddles and small ponds. A plant will consume the oxygen in the water starving the fish. The bubble nest they create at the top of the water isn't an effort to breathe but instead trying to attract a mate. Go to the pet store and get beta food. They are tiny pellets and feed him carefully so as not to overfeed him. Too much food is deadly to a beta.

**QueSarah** · 03-13-2006, 11:20 PM

My brothers betta lived for a veeeeeery long time, 3 or 4 years I believe (betas often live at least 3 years), in a vase with a plant topper. But I do believe he got the betta already in the vase and didnt have to transplant a fish or the plant. And in the end he was shocked that it lived so long.

I had a betta that lived in a small bowl, and he lived for a good 8 months before hurling himself from his bowl in a desperate cry for attention and commited suicide on my birthday. A very sad little 19 year old I was that day.

One thing to remember is that Walmart fish will general go belly up much quicker than fish from pet specific stores where they take better care of them, employ staff which are interested in animals and not just assigned there for Thursday night shifts. Imagine buying a cat from Wal-Mart from a 17 year old who is disgruntled and hates his job and isn't interested in scooping litter or helping them learn good cat skills.

I would advise you to spend a little time surfing the internet...check out this site... http://www.betta-fish-care-breeding.com/ and consider checking out a book on betta care, if not at the library, I'm sure you can find one where you got Mr. Fish.

All animals deserve a good shot, great and small.

**QueSarah** · 03-13-2006, 11:22 PM

Oh...and...forgot....a good cat pet is a turtle. We put our turtle on the floor with the cats and he charged the cats and scared them half to death. There was mutual respect after that and Dodger and Teirza spent plenty of time just watching him and Speedbump (yes my husband picked the name) didn't have to worry about being bothered.

**Flatcoatluver** · 03-13-2006, 11:28 PM

ahhh those pics are so cute!!!

My cat tried ONCE to get the fish with her paw adn the betta attacked her!!!

She hasn't gone back to that tank sence.

**Denyce** · 03-14-2006, 03:06 PM

We have had our Betta for over a year now with the 5 cats. They pretty much ignore him now for the most part. Every now and then they will watch him for a while and Trouble will dip his paw in the back of the tank near where the filter is. We have a 2.5 gallon tank with a light and filter for him. I would suggest getting something heavy enough that the cats couldn't push it off of whatever furniture it is sitting on. Ours is named Stick. It was when Brian was working at the bank and they all had bettas. The customers would ask what his fishes name was...he would reply "Stick". Some would get it right away and some would start to walk off and then get it....Fish...Stick.