I currently do not have a betta, but i did a couple years ago and he lived in a vase, with marbles on the bottom. I changed the water like 2 times a week, and he lived to be 2, but then he got finrot, and i did not know there was meds that cured that (i was only like 13 or 14) so he died from it.

But i still have the vase, i would guess its about a little over a gallon, and i used to leave a light next to the vase all day, and the tank was in my dads office (the warmest room in the house) and i turned the light off at night.

If i get a new betta, can i use the vase, or would you suggest i get a small aquaruim? The things they sell at petsmart for bettas are SO SMALL! its barely bigger than the tiny bowls they are in at the store. It is only 26oz! i think thats way too small for a betta right?

http://www.petsmart.com/global/include/inc...D=1174713057748

That right there, they have one on the desk they work at with a betta in it, and it looks so clostrophobic! I don't think i would ever put a betta in one of those.

But back to the vase thing, would it be wrong of me to put one in a vase?

I might be wrong here so please feel free to correct me... i used to keep bettas in vases, I had about four vases at a time. I found that it was really hard to keep the water parameters good enough and that the fish did not live as long as what they do now that I have them in proper tanks. Right now I have only one betta and he lives in a 3 gallon tank and seem much happier and much healthier than the ones I used to have. My new plan is to get a nice 10g and plant it for the betta. I would never go back to the vase the bettas just don't seem to do as well as they can in them.
I would say that if you want a betta go for something bigger as for the small little containers at the petstores, I think that those are about the equivalent to keeping a goldfish in a bowl the fish you see in those look absolutly miserable

Good luck and I hope that this helps, I don't know if others have had different experiences.....

Leanne

Betta in a Vase
Very good wright up on it.

personally i prefer filtered tanks my male is in a 5gallon and my female in a 10gallon they both love space and enjoy many hapyp hour swimming from one end of tank to other.

Hi Jenny! No, I would definitely NOT put any type of fish in a vase. The smallest for a betta IMO is a 2.5 gallon filtered tank. I have each of my boys in one, and they are very happy and healthy. Here are pics:

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q8/Crit...epr/kiptank.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q8/Crit.../cartertank.jpg

I'm not a big fan of the smaller containers like vases, but have some nice 2+ gallon hurricane vases that work fine and have a big enough mouth that I can get in there to clean. I didn't have much luck with them for a male, though, because mine loooooove to build bubble nests, and keeping the betta-spit-slime manageable without a filter was a problem.

I've been running mine unfiltered in some el cheap-o freebie 10 gallon aquariums mostly, but have experimented with a few sizes for them. 2.5 gallons works really well for keeping maintenance low. 10 gallons is the most fun for me watching them, because they can't really keep an eye on their whole territory in a tank of that size, so they're much more active patrolling around.

Mine are all very heavily planted with live plants though too, so that keeps the maintenance a bit easier.

Some people have been/are successful in keeping bettas in very small water volumes, you have to be very strict with water changes though. Personally, I prefer a filtered 5-10 gallon tank and agree that 2.5 gallons should be the smallest size, but that's just my opinion and I do acknowledge that there are others on the site that keep their bettas in smaller volumes of water without problems

Yeah thanks guys. I would NEVER use the thing they sell at petsmart that is 24oz, but i think i will find maybe a 5 gallon and make it really nice for one. But when it comes to water changes, how do you do it with bettas? DO you change like 50% every couple days like i do with my goldfish? or do i do FULL 100% water changes? will 100% water changes harm them in any ways?

Because i miss my archie (the one that died a couple years ago), and would love to give a pretty male betta a new home.

Oh HIDR, i read that. It was really sad. Altho Archie(the one i used to have) I did not have a plant in with him, and i fed him betta food once a day. He lived over 2 years. But if those instructions relaly tell you NOT TO FEED the betta, then that's really bad. They wouldn't sell betta food if they could live off plant roots. Thats just depressing. So i'm really thinking about a nice 5 gallon for a pretty male betta. I will wait till i get my Goldfish tank upgraded first tho. Thanks for all the help, I will not be using the vase.

It kinda depends on the setup and water volume involved. If you have a cycled filter your water changing frequency may be slightly less than without one, as the aim would be to reduce nitrAtes as you would in a goldie tank (although a single male betta won't produce a huge bioload for a filter so levels are usually very low anyway).

Now, whether you can use a filter and cycle it also depends somewhat on the water volume. It is usually possible to cycle a filter in a 2.5 gallon upwards, anything smaller is difficult and indeed a filter current in anything smaller than a 2.5 gallon with a betta could be problematic.

If you choose not to use filtration (in any volume of water) you are of course relying solely on regular water changes (usually full but again can be partial depending on volume) in order to keep your betta safe and healthy. The water changes will be necessary in order to keep the ammonia levels down to an absolute minimum.

It is sometimes a bit of trial and error to work out how much water you need to change in your betta setup, but primarily it will depend on whether you have a cycled or uncycled setup as well as to whether you're dealing with nitrAtes or ammonia

Oh, Ok. Thanks! I'm guessing i could get a small filter for a 5 gallon, and do partial water changes every couple days.

i do need to get a test kit to tell me the ammonia and nitrates and everything, But i think having a new betta would be great.

If you go for a uncycled, filterless setup you don't necessarily (although test kits are always useful) need to test for ammonia, just be strict about regular full/partial water changes. For a cycled, filtered setup then yeah water changes are guided by your nitrAte levels. A partial water change, once maybe twice a week is good.

A 5 gallon tank should be easy to cycle and a filter can work well with a betta depending on the size and type you get. They don't like too much water movement/strong currents. Air-powered sponge filters work well in betta tanks, as do small internal power filters

There is a huge misconception about Betta and where they can live. Or more so, where they SHOULD live. Keeping them in vases (To feed off plan roots) and other small, un filtrated areas is actually very cruel. But when the betta never dies (They are VERY hearty fish) people don't see the harm their doing. Also, keep in mind that Beta are "meat eaters" and the best dry food to feed them would be Freeze Dried Brine Shrimp and stay away from the pellet foods. I never had luck getting my guys to eat it

I would suggest a 5-10 gallon filtrated tank that could go over on a book shelf or something. Betta love to swim around very quickly and cover ground (They're rice patty fishies, so they're used to roaming their territory and fighting each other for it)

Just please don't put him in a vase... He'll live, but not at all comfortably or happily V_V;;

I agree with the other two. If you insist on keeping him in a vase please make sure it is a two gallon one. This will require you to change the water every 3 days. Much easier to keep in a bigger tank- less frequent water changes. They do make two gallon vases. I had one from Wally world. I got it in the craft dept. however with a vase you are very limited to decorations. The most you could put in there is marbles .

Ok everyone, tell me what i should do. I just started working at toys-r-us. In the back break room there is a betta in a tiny one gallon bowl, but get this ITS ONLY ABOUT A THIRD FULL OF WATER! O don't understand why they never at least FILL the bowl up with water, he can barely move around. I don't want to get myself fired by telling them they should at least fill the bowl if they insist on keeping him in there. I just think its strange that its only a third full, and i know they do water changes, so why not fill the whole thing up?

Not to mention there is NO heat in the break room, and it was about 50 degrees in there today, I don't know how the poor thing hasn't died yet. I was in pants and a sweatshirt and i was FREEZING! and i thought bettas were tropical? Not to mention there is no light over the betta bowl thing so the water is COLD! I feel so bad for that poor little thing.

Hmm...maybe instead of telling them what to do about his tank, maybe inquire as to who is in charge of filling it & cleaning it? Maybe then you can volunteer to care for it. It would help solve the problem, and maybe help the little guy live a long happy life. Just a thought!

I work next on thursday, i think i will ask about that. I mean, i would even be willing to bring in water from my house (We have a well, and the water is perfect for fish). It just makes me so sad to see him in there. Thanks Goldyfan, that is a wonderful idea. I know they try, i just think they assumed since when they got him he was in a tiny container, then thats how they can and should be kept. Oh well, i might even get them into this site.

I will do my best to help.

Sort of an off-shoot, but for those who keep their Beta in filtered tanks, how do they do with the current?

I put one of our Beta in a filtered tank, and he was struggling so badly on the lowest setting, that I had to take the filter out.

I used to work for TRU as well, once in Ft. Myers, FL for about 10 months, then again after I moved in Port Charlotte, FL as seasonal help in December.

I don't think they'd fire you over filling a fish bowl with more water. lol. I know they fire people for the stupidest of things, but having a heart for a poor critter in need shouldn't be on the list.

yea, its strange. I will talk to them about it tho. But doesn't anyone else think it seems awkward to only fill it up a little bit? Its kind of common sense that fish need to be able to Move around, and the poor thing really cant.

that is odd, not to mention a few other choice words i can think of. poor thing, i would adopt him!

Jenny, I wish you the best of luck tomorrow. I am sure that your coworkers will like the idea! And like you said, maybe you can even educate them a little too.


Tetralover- I have a small internal filter in each of my 2.5 gallon betta tanks. (1 Elite mini and 1 Whisper mini i) With the filter on the lowest setting, it doesn't disturb them at all. I guess it would just depend on the size of the filter you have running. But it is true though- they like calm water. What was the size of the tank & filter that you tried using?

Well they actually told me that they didn't know that information, and that they were told by the pet store that they liked small amounts of water like where they swim in puddle like things in japan? Something like that. So they said they will make sure to fill the bowl from now on, and i suggested a small lamp to raise the temp up a bit, and they said that would be no problem, so everything works out. I didn;t think i could take care of it best because i get about 3 days off a week at least, when the store manager works 6 days a week, so He will be in charge of it. Yay. the betta looks much happier now.