Can My Betta Fish Live in a Betta Fish Bowl or Vase? ~ Betta Aquarium King

Can My Betta Fish Live in a Betta Fish Bowl or Vase?

This is a common question for begginer fish keepers. The answer is “Yes” but in this way they are called “Survive” but not “Live”.

Reading Wendy’s advice on itsafishthing, i tottally agree with her.

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How Big Should a Betta Tank Be?

This is a very hotly debated topic, with many opinions thrown around that often barely agree!

So to cut through the noise and give more than just our opinion, we’re going to discuss the issue from 3 points of view.

The 3 general benchmarks we’d like you to consider are:

· The smallest ever acceptable advised by many experts

· The smallest recommended for the average fish keeper

· The smallest we personally recommend

And remember, these recommendations are THE SMALLEST recommended. Always go bigger if you can.

1. The Smallest Acceptable Tank Size For Betta is 1 Gallon

And this is the smallest acceptable, not what we recommend! It’s simply the smallest you can go to have any chance of even keeping your fish alive.

A 1-gallon tank has such a small volume of water that fast temperature fluctuations are almost unavoidable and betta (all fish really) need a constant temperature to thrive.

Such a small volume of water will rise and fall with the room temperature very quickly, whereas larger bodies of water hold their temperature stable – or at least take longer to rise and fall – so is better for the fish inside.

There is also the problem of finding a heater small enough for use in a 1 gallon aquarium or less. Many have come to market in recent years for aquariums in the 1 or 2-gallon range, but options for smaller aquariums are severely limited. So achieving stable temperatures is incredibly difficult.

Additionally, such a tiny volume of water can very quickly become toxic due to naturally occurring toxins.

Ammonia is extremely toxic and is secreted into the water as a waste product by osmosis from a betta’s gills, as well as from the fish’s waste and uneaten food. In such a small space, ammonia levels can very quickly reach fatal levels and only water changes every single day can really prevent this danger.

Finally, there is the argument of an enriched and suitable environment. Just how much can you put in a 1-gallon jar to mimic a natural habitat? How much substrate? How many plants? Bearing in mind that anything added takes away from the water volume so there will no longer be 1 gallon.

So a 1-gallon really is the absolute minimum acceptable betta tank size, though we would never recommend one so small ourselves.

Many expert keepers do keep numerous fish very well in 1-gallon aquariums, and many people passionately argue that a 1-gallon is all that’s needed. But we’re more in the 2.5 gallons+ camp ourselves.

2. The Smallest Recommended For All But Experts is a 2.5 Gallon Tank

Although arguably the smallest acceptable betta fish tank size is 1 gallon, we strongly recommend that causal / beginner / amateur fish keepers opt for a 2.5-gallon aquarium as a minimum.
The extra water in a 2.5-gallon when compared to a 1-gallon aquarium will mean ammonia and other toxic substances that build up in the water will always be less concentrated and therefore have a less detrimental effect on your betta’s health.

The extra water will also mean smaller or less frequent water changes so it’s less work for you. A 1-gallon tank would need a water change daily, a 2.5-gallon tank perhaps every 3 or 4 days.

Furthermore, the larger volume of water will mean the water is more able to hold a steady temperature and not fluctuate so quickly with the surrounding air temperature. It also means you have a far wider choice of suitable heaters that can be used with the aquarium. As stated previously, a stable temperature is very important for any fish’s health.

Finally, the larger tank will allow you to have many more options when it comes to personalizing the look, by adding decorations, live or synthetic plants and so on. A more highly enriched environment for your fish and a better-looking display for you to appreciate.

3. To Do Best for Your Betta, And Less Work for You, Aim for 5 Gallons Plus

It may seem counter-intuitive, but:
“The larger your tank, the easier it is to maintain.”
Many people think to themselves: ‘I don’t want lots of work, so I’ll get a very small aquarium’.

But small aquariums need their water changed extremely often and the living conditions for the fish inside are often terrible and so they die young.

A larger, filtered tank makes it easier to establish a ‘cycled’ state whereby beneficial bacteria break down harmful toxins into far less harmful ones, meaning you can change the water less frequently and the ecosystem for your fish is far healthier.

According to Aquariadise.com and others, 5 gallons is the minimum size tank in which a cycle can be easily established.

And of course, the larger the tank, the more enriched and varied the life for your betta can be if you decorate it effectively.

The Truth is – The Bigger The Better!

The larger your fish tank, the easier it is for water parameters to settle, and the easier it is for you to maintain a consistently healthy ecosystem, and the higher the chances for your fish to have a healthy environment to live in.

The more water there is in a tank, the lower the concentration of any harmful substances that build up in the water.

Also, the larger it is (and less stocked) the less maintenance work you have to do, and the higher margin of error you have for making mistakes in keeping your aquarium clean and healthy.

Forget or not be able to change the water in a 1-gallon tank for a week and there’s an extremely high chance your fish would be dead.

Forget in a 2.5-gallon tank? Your fish will likely be mildly poisoned, but hopefully still alive. However long-term damage will be done and their life will almost certainly be shortened.

Don’t change any water for a week in a 20-gallon tank housing one betta? Well, you’re probably still right on schedule!

Please, Stay Away From the ‘Betta in a Bowl’ Package

Tons of people have the “betta in a bowl” at home and in their office. After all, it’s an easy, no maintenance pet, right?

The packaging promises a “perfect symbiotic relationship” where the betta gets all his food and oxygen from the plant, usually a peace lily, and the plant survives on the waste from the fish.

But is this really true? Are the fish happy in this setup? Could a small bowl possibly be an adequate home?

Compare it to a traditional, larger aquarium and then decide:

· The bowl is small, nowhere near a decent minimum size and often being somewhere between one third to one gallon. This tiny space just doesn’t give your betta enough room to live and swim around in.

· The water is likely cold as you can’t use a heater in such a small space because you’ll end up cooking your fish. Unless your typical room temperature is 75 to 82 degrees, your water just won’t be warm enough.

· The water will be dirty because a plant isn’t going to adequately filter it, meaning your fish is swimming around in their own waste, plus any waste the plant gives off when it starts to die off.

· There won’t be access to proper food. Remember how in the wild they would eat fish fry, crustaceans, insect larvae and minuscule worms? They aren’t meant to live off plants alone. They will – but only because they’re desperate for ANY food!

· There won’t be adequate access to air. The water will be almost stagnant, certainly oxygen deprived. Yes, they are known as ‘labyrinth fish’, meaning they have an organ to breath from the surface. But placing a plant on the surface of the water (such as the peace lily) makes it difficult for the fish to find room to breathe.

These cramped conditions put a lot of stress on a betta. As a result, most that live in a tiny bowl or vase only live a year or less, whereas those who live in a properly set up tank will last 1.5 to 3 years, some as long as 5 years.

That’s a remarkable difference!

Happy fish keeping!