My Bowl is Betta
Posted By Teeni on October 5, 2009
There have been some new additions to my household recently. A trip to a department store ended with my finding a beautiful, large, round bowl. I knew it would look fabulous with some plants and fish in it and I was slightly jealous of my dad’s Cichlids because the ones he has are such a colorful and lively bunch. The only trouble with my idea was that I didn’t want to have to deal with using electricity and a pump and filter so that really limited my choice in the type of fish I could keep in my new bowl.
At the pet store, a worker told me that even goldfish need filtered and aerated water. I guess the she didn’t know about my friend’s goldfish who survived for over a decade in a bowl on their dining room table but who am I to argue? I don’t know much about goldfish and maybe my friend’s was a special kind or her family knew some secret the pet store worker didn’t. Anyway, I was advised that the only fish that could be kept in a goldfish type bowl (ironic name if you can’t keep a goldfish in it, huh?) is a betta fish, sometimes referred to as a Siamese fighting fish. I liked the idea of a betta fish because they are so pretty, but the males must be kept alone so they don’t fight and I wanted to have a bit more of a population in my bowl because it was so big.
This is what the bowl looks like empty. The pill bottle should help you get an idea for the size of the bowl.
I asked the pet store worker if I could keep a male and female together and she told me that I could only put them together to mate and then would have to separate them immediately afterwards. So that wasn’t going to work for me either. I was starting to think I wouldn’t be able to see my bowl get populated after all but then TGH, being the smart man that he is, noticed something in one of the betta brochures. It said that several female bettas could be housed together. So he double-checked with the pet store worker and she agreed that we could do that successfully. Yay! I was very happy and figured that three fish would be the perfect number for my bowl so that each could have plenty of room in their new home. I was also glad to be able to “rescue” three female bettas from those little cup-and-a-half sized containers they had been living in at the pet store.
Here is the bowl again, all planted and landscaped, with the three little bettas! Aren’t they pretty?
Here is a zoom view of the fish. And yes, that is my cat’s paw on the side of the bowl. He is very interested in trying to drink the water from the bowl. Yuck! But so far the cats have only shown real interest in the bowl when I am paying attention to it so it has not been too much trouble to keep them from getting at the fish.
I have to admit that I’ve never thought that pet fish were all that exciting before but I am really enjoying these little bettas! I’ve noticed that their colors seem to change at times and I’ve even pulled up a chair to just watch them for 45 minutes at a time. TGH probably just thinks I am crazy. It is very relaxing and soothing because the bettas are not “schooling” fish so they don’t dart all over the place like my dad’s pets - they just gracefully move through the water at their own pace. Maybe watching them is like some kind of zen thing for me. Anyway, I think they are lovely, especially when not being compared to their overly-frilly male counterparts! LOL!
I’ve been doing a bit of reading on my fish and I found a nice site here for some information on keeping fish in bowls. I guess there has been some controversy about keeping fish in bowls - some people feel that it is cruel. So there are a few things to keep in mind. I am not keeping fish in a bowl to be cruel but to enjoy them and give them a better home than they had in the pet store. I will keep a close eye on them for signs of stress and will change things if it appears that they are suffering in any way.
Popularity: 6% [?]
See, now the first thing I thought when I saw the bowl was “Wow! You could mix up a HUGE margarita in that.” LOL
And, yeah, goldfish don’t need aerated, filtered water. We gave our last goldfish to a neighbor who put it in their frog pond in the back yard. That little fellow got big, and thrived quite well in that backyard “pond.”
HAHA!!! I have seen those really huge margarita shaped glasses and those are cool too! I would have my giant margarita and after I drank it, I could keep some turtles in it. LOL! Nice to see you, DL! I’ve missed you!
Yup! You could make a HUGE drink with that one. LOL
It’s odd that the shop person didn’t just come out and say, “But you can put multiple females together though.” instead of wasting your time.
I still thinks it’s a bad idea to have any type of female species in large groups though.
I thought the shop person could have saved me a lot of time too. Thanks for noticing that, MacBros. I kind of felt like she was just giving me one word answers instead of trying to help me find what I really wanted. LOL@ “any type female species in large groups” being a bad idea!
Haha cute bowls
Thanks! Hi VG!!!!
The only bad thing I would see about a fish bowl (or bowl of fish) is that it would be just one more thing to make it more difficult to travel — and you know how much we love to travel.
Otherthan that, though, looks cool!.
Oh wow - yup, I know how you love to travel. I guess pets in general would not be good for people like you and your wife. Although I sometimes think there is a pet for everyone. You could always get a hermit crab or two. LOL.Not sure how Karen would feel about that though!
Good to see you, Mike!
Glad you are enjoying them.
Sounds like the pet store person needs to go learn a bit more about fish! Whether or not you need a filter depends on the size of the tank.
We can’t have fish in an open bowl or tank - our cats like to go fishing…………..
I agree - she could have been more helpful at the pet store. I thought my cats would enjoy watching the fish swim around as much as I do and apparently one of them does. But he just also has a bad habit of tasting their water. I won’t let him near them when I’m not around, just in case!
Those fish are beautiful! How’s school going? Will you be coming back to us more often soon? I miss you!
Thanks, Paige! I think the fish are pretty too and I miss you too! School is moving along - I sometimes wish it were over already though. I’m not looking forward to all the driving in the winter. I wish I could be around more and maybe the winter will make things slow down a bit for me so I can.
The site you linked to is right; you can keep a variety of fish in a bowl.
The general rule is one gallon of water per inch of fish. If you aerate, you can increase that number. But, without aeration, that’s the general rule of thumb.
Some fish can get by on less. Bettas are among those. Bettas can actually get by on much less than other fish, because they (the adults anyway) have a special organ that lets them “breathe” in oxygen directly from the air, somewhat like a primitive lung.
I’ve successfully keep many of the same types of fish in bowls as the author of that website did. The most important thing is that you need fish that can deal with lower temperatures. Since most people don’t use heaters in a bowl, you can’t keep fish that need temperatures that require a heater.
Just remember to clean the bowl frequently. If you overfeed, you will need to change the water more often! Never wash a fish bowl with soap. Use salt and/or vinegar and rinse thoroughly. You might also be able to buy cleaning solutions designed to be safe for fish. Make sure to allow the new water to sit out for 24 hours or use a dechlorinating solution to get rid of the chlorine in the water before putting fish in it.
The average lifespan for a betta is 2-3 years. But, if well cared for, they can live longer than that.
Oh good, then it seems like I am on the right track! I would say based on the size of the three gallon aquarium I saw at the pet store that my bowl is probably 4.5 or 5 gallons (though it is not filled to the top) but should be plenty of room for the three bettas. And it sounds like most of the info I’ve found agrees with your comment - you just have to have some common sense when finding stuff on the internet. So thanks for taking the time to write all this for me, dcr. I really am enjoying my fish and hope I can give them a good long life. Hugs to you!
Your fish look lovely.
good luck!
nice to see your shiney bloggy face!!
Thanks, Diva! The fish are still doing well and keeping me entertained.
It’s nice to see you too - I’ve missed you! And it seems I’m behind yet again on the friendship box as it now seems to move much faster than I do! LOL. I better get on that next post about it!
I hope the cats don’t get more curious! I was tempted to get Savvy sea monkeys for her birthday but then I thought of the horror that could turn into. It would only be worth it if I could send them home with her.
I’m definitely keeping a close eye on my curious cat! There will be no “fishing” in this house! LOL. Aw, I hear you - it’s hard to get pets for kids when they can’t have them with them all the time. I remember having sea monkeys as a kid too. I was disappointed that they didn’t look anything like the cartoons on the advertisement for them. LOL.
They are so pretty! And that bowl is awesome. Love that Toast’s paw is in the photos, what a hoot! I hope she doesn’t go “fishing”.
We had goldfish in an open bowl when I was a child … survived for years without a problem! Rob and I also did the same for a while after we got married. We actually kept our goldfish, Toby, in a very large glass hippo-shaped cookie jar, without the lid! It was a real talking point. And it worked great as a goldfish house … until one time when Rob cleaned the tank and used some disinfectant on the stones, which unfortunately didn’t rinse off properly … then it was bye bye, Toby!
Hi Hannah! LOL - Yes, Toast is my little trouble-maker. He doesn’t seem to be much of a threat to the fish though, thankfully! I’m glad to hear that other people have also known of goldfish living for long periods in bowls. Sorry to hear about Toby’s accidental demise. I bet poor Rob felt awful when all he wanted to really do was clean Toby’s “house.” My dad had a similar experience so I know the fish can be very sensitive to those things. The hippo-shaped cookie jar sounds awesome! Very cool as a fish bowl!
Oh Teeni, those betta girls look so cute! And of course, they would all get along, right? I had a betta for many years at my office … he was mostly red and since I’m a Cardinal’s baseball fan, we named him Redbird. Anyway, he lived in a big vase that contained a bare-rooted plant on top. The roots under water helped keep things clean. And BTW, when you change out the water, make sure to give your houseplants a drink. It’s full of good stuff to make them grow!
Hi Sue! Goodness, I’ve missed you! It’s so good to see you! Yes, the female bettas do seem to get along just fine! I’m so glad that I got them and have had many nice compliments from visitors when they see my giant fish bowl at my house. Thanks for that great tip about the water! I LOVE that idea to use the water for the houseplants!!! You are awesomely clever as well as environmentally friendly!
I love that the cat is staying nearby!
We’ve had bettas, and I have so much fun watching them! They are easy to take care of too!
Oh, and you giving it that HUGE bowl compared to the small bowl you got it in is better than nothing. I don’t like that we take animals out of their natural habitat, but you’re basically rescuing it from the pet store.
LOL! Yes, Toast really does seem to “watch” the fish. He hasn’t seemed to try to go “fishing” yet but I need to make sure he doesn’t drink their water because he gets his hair in their bowl! They do seem to be doing well and they are super-smart. They watch what is going on outside of their bowl and when I put a thermometer into the bowl to make sure the temperature is okay, they all have to come over and check out the “new” item! Seriously, I did feel like I was rescuing them from the pet store - who knows how long they are in such confined areas and there were tons of them at the store I was at.
I love your Betta bowl - what a great name! I kept thinking it was a better bowl until I read the post
Our cats used to be really interested in our fish tank too but thankfully they never were too interested in the fish themselves, just drinking the water. One of the cats wouldn’t stick her tongue in the water, oh no, she would dip her paw in and lick that off. Princess!
Oh, that is too funny! I love watching cats use their paws to drink with like that. My male cat is definitely not graceful at all that way - he sticks his whole head into the bowl and I’m more afraid that he will end up falling in or breaking the bowl somehow because he is klutzy like that.
That’s lovely and I did think the bowl looked BETTA with the fish in it. (Yeah, weak attempt at humour)
LOL! I like your humour, it’s a lot like mine.
We had pretty good luck with Betta’s until my daughter, she was four, decided she wanted to give the fish a kiss and took it out of the water one morning…gave it a kiss and then I heard ” Mommy, the fish isn’t swimming any more.” Poor fish died while Karalyn was kissing it. I had to explain to her that we can’t kiss fish…now we have six cats. She can kiss and love on them all she wants.
I’ve missed you, Teeni!
Oh my! LOL! That is such a cute/funny/sad story! I’m glad the cats are able to handle more loving than the fish. My bettas are still doing really well - I enjoy watching them when I come home from school at night. They are very smart too - when I put in the thermometer to check their temperature they come right over to check out what the “new” thing is in their bowl. Aw, I’ve missed you too, Pumpkin. When school is over, I hope to be around a little more.
Wow, I love your bowl, it’s beautiful! I’ve always wanted one similar.
I have a pet apple snail, and I have to confess, I reallly enjoy just watching him mooch around the tank and eat.
Oooh, I like snails too - they are so fun to watch! Thanks about the bowl - I’m really enjoying it. So good to see you, Hay! Hugs, hugs, hugs!
Nice to have you back and how! The fish look lovely
Thank you, Rummy! It’s so good to see you too!
Hey Lady!!!1
I like the fish bowl it looks like you are providing those fishees with a beautiful loving home. I am not a fan of fish wrangling (it bores me) but they say it is a great stress reliever and actually lowers the blood pressure by watching them once a day or something like that.
Anyhoo happy fishing, not fishing fishing, but fishing
Hi Debo!
I always thought fish were kind of boring too but maybe they are just the cure for me while I am going to school and dealing with a more stressful schedule. All that you mentioned about the stress reliever and lower blood pressure really are ringing true for me. I just cleaned their water now and spent some time watching them - it was like a teeny, tiny vacation from real life. LOL! Hugs to you!
I like it! Your fishee bowl is kind of artistic
I had an aquarium thing a while back … they are fun to watch. At the time I was not home enough to take care of the thing tho, so I gave it away.
Big ole bear hugs from Speedy !!
hey …. DEBO copied my word “fishee”
I guess she did use it first though. hrummpfff
ha haaaaaaa !!!!!!!!!!
Fishee fishhee fishees swimming in a bowl
eating flakes of fishee foods
there poops are like thread
Swimming swimming round the bowl
I can see them smile ….
Cause Teeni feeds them cakes and things
that fishees normally do not get
Bubble bubble bubble
Ohhhhhhhhhhh !
….. I forgot
somthing
but cannot remember what it was
((( looks around )))
I think it was something about “fish”
OMG - Your comments always make me smile but this latest bunch really cracked me up in a good way! Thanks so much for the warm fuzzies, Eric!
From what I understand Betta live in tiny pools in rice paddies in the wild and that’s why they are comfortable in small bowls and those little silly cups they are sold in pet stores… so you aren’t being cruel putting a Betta in a over-sized wine glass.
Thanks, Michelle. That’s the way I was thinking too. They do seem to be doing very well and are enjoying their new home as far as I can tell.
Interactive television for the cats - great idea Teeni!
Heehee! It IS like that, really! Hi Poet!!
I am here to give you the Nobel Blogging Prize !!!!!!!
Congratulations from Hollydale Board of Directors
Wow. I am so unworthy. I have been such a slacker. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want it!!!! Hand it over!!!
Aw. Those fish are pretty - and that BOWL looks more like a GLASS for Margaritas!
LOL! That would be enough margaritas for an entire restaurant! But I was thinking it would be funny to get one of those giant martini glasses and put a betta in there and name her Olive.
Tooters and I had fish a few years ago and loved to watch them. That is until we had a first fatality and she was over it after that. We had a tank with one beta and 3 neon tetras. They were fast enough to swim from the beta and hid in the caves. Now we are on to hermit crabs. They are super easy, fun to watch at night, and pretty sturdy. We have had them for over a year now. Plus the Wonder Pup is with us still. Your bowl and fish are beautiful.
Thanks, sunnymom! Oh isn’t is so sad any time there is a pet fatality? My relatives have hermit crabs and the kids absolutely LOVE them! They have races and everything. Glad that you still have the Wonder Pup too. There’s nothing like a good old faithful pet.
I miss having bettas! Keep the water level low though. They totally jump out sometimes.
Yikes! I didn’t know that and will definitely keep an eye on the level. Thanks! Good to see you!
Good to see you posting,darlin. I’ve been quite the slacker myself. Very pretty fishbowl and bettas.
Well, good to see you too!
Thanks about the bettas. Hope to catch up with you more often on the interwebs.
I laughed when I saw that kitty paw in the fishbowl pic. I love fishtanks, but they are serious work, so I never had one. This bowl looks pretty easy to handle, and you’ve made a nice looking home for your new pets. Did you name them yet?
Oh the bowl is VERY easy to take care of so I highly recommend it for someone who thinks they would enjoy the fish without all the hassle. And yes, I did name them, thank you for asking. They are named Alpha, Delta and Echo.
Teeni, hi there, it must be the new template I got that left me behind your posts, i miss this place, I will need to add this back to my blogroll. How are you? This bowl reminds me of the fishbowl i cleaned for my son’s fishes and I broke right in my palm, scared me to death. Be careful with cleaning this.
Hi Sheng! I have been behind in blogging because I have been going to school so don’t feel bad. Wow - I will certainly be careful when cleaning the bowl - thank you for that information. I hope nobody was hurt when that happened to you!
That bowl is landscaped so well! And the fish are pretty too…I could see how you’d get all caught up in them
Hey Romi! Thanks about the fish bowl. I finally made it to your blog - yay! It’s so good to have you back blogging again.
SOOO happy for you; Bettas are BEAUTIFUL fish!!
We sued to have one on my floor when I worked in the hospital; it IS a great stress releiver to watch fish
(That is why they always have fish tanks in DENTISTS offices, lol)
NICE to see YOU blogging!
((Hugs))
Merri
Hi Merri!!!!
I’ve missed you! Thank you about my bettas! They really do relieve stress - they are just so graceful in their big bowl and a pleasure to watch.
I love me MEEEEZ!
It’s now on my main blog sidebar (( with fridge OPEN ))
heheeee
LOL! I’m so glad you like your Meez and that it now has such a place of honor on your blog! Maybe now it will make more sense when I try and synchronize it to your posts.
Hugs to you, Speedy!
I can’t remember what password you had for your last protected post - but I’d love to read your new one, can you email me? xx