Fishbowls and Bettas

**CrazedMichael** · 05-08-2012, 07:10 AM

Morning people.

What are your thoughts on keeping a betta in a fish bowl?

I have space for a 3g fish bowl here on my desk at work and was thinking of putting a Betta in it. Nothing fancy, just gravel, couple of plastic plants and maybe an ornament of some kind. Unfiltered and unheated. (I live in Dubai, room temps are always stable and in the 23-26c range)

Is this a big enough size for a betta?

**daniel.00** · 05-08-2012, 08:28 AM

fish will live yet not to happy i prefer to got for 40+L around 10g

**wijnands** · 05-08-2012, 08:54 AM

Keeping a betta in a bowl seems, to me, mainly a teen girl tank. I'm no fan of it. The room temp would mean you could indeed do without a heater.

**~Col~** · 05-08-2012, 08:58 AM

How big is your space?

I've got a couple of 5gal here that only have a touch bigger base than a 3gal would and they are filtered.

What happens to the air-con at night? Does it get switched off? Would the temp drop or rise?

**bignellm** · 05-08-2012, 11:16 AM

You could probably do it, but also; you should be able to filter this with a sponge filter at least. I find my Betta is plenty happy in a 10.

Also, very good question above, about the room temperature at night. +1

**CrazedMichael** · 05-08-2012, 11:49 AM

Thanks guys for the replies....

Erm, without A/C it gets warmer but not by alot. Say 2 degrees or so. Right now it says 24c room temp.

I had a betta in a 2.5g picture frame aquarium on the wall a year ago and he loved it in there till i gave it away to a friend. Albiet this one was filtered.

I was thinking that if i changed the water every 3 days or so it should be ok.

Another option is dirt capped with gravel and a few live plants to act as filtration.

**bignellm** · 05-08-2012, 12:05 PM

That's kind of a big temp swing, to put it into terms others may be more familiar with: 23C/73.4F -- 26C/78.8F

For us, that's a 5 degree swing each night. Also, a bit cold during the day. The 26C is more ideal temp for the Betta.

100% W/C might be enough to get you by, w/o a filter, but might need to be more often. Testing will help you determine the schedule.

**CrazedMichael** · 05-08-2012, 12:47 PM

Oh i understand fishkeeping, I have a few tanks in the house. I wouldn't consider keeping anything other than a betta in a bowl.

I have a 10g dirt tank with 2 female guppies and 1 male and they have been breeding non stop for the last year. This tank is unheated and unfiltered.

I suppose i could a tiny internal filter with a small sponge to go into the bowl for water movement and gas exchange, but not sure how it would stick to the glass considering it's bowl shaped.

Thinking cap on....

**bignellm** · 05-08-2012, 12:53 PM

Originally Posted by CrazedMichael

Oh i understand fishkeeping, I have a few tanks in the house. I wouldn't consider keeping anything other than a betta in a bowl.

I have a 10g dirt tank with 2 female guppies and 1 male and they have been breeding non stop for the last year. This tank is unheated and unfiltered.

I suppose i could a tiny internal filter with a small sponge to go into the bowl for water movement and gas exchange, but not sure how it would stick to the glass considering it's bowl shaped.

Thinking cap on....

Time to go into hardware mode and start up the DIY mentality