The Betta Condition: The Fish Bowl
Delineating The Myth of Bettas and Alternative Fish Habitats
The fish bowl is one of the most classic examples of a fish tank, and now the most outdated. Can it still be used for bettas?
Continuing from Part 1, we discuss the rumors and facts behind betta keeping and what really is right versus what is wrong for this colorful little fish. This time, we tackle another common discussion that opens up plenty of argument.
Controversy #2: Bettas and Fish Bowls
This is one that many people are sympathetic towards. In Rome, it was considered a major triumph by animal rights activists to have the country ban fish bowls. The general consensus is that a bowl simply is an inadequate vessel for keeping fish, let alone almost anything else because of its inconvenience for attaching filtration, heating, or any other sort of aquarium accessory.
The bowl has gained universal bad attention since its days when it was used to house goldfish. Goldfish, to this day, are still a fish that is often considered too large for a beginning aquarist (to date, most goldfish are ideally kept in ponds or tanks that are at least 50 gallons). Goldfish were often considered improper to keep in a fish bowl simply because a fishbowl lacks the easy compatibility associated with an aquarium. Plus, goldfish are ravenous and, as a result, will eat a lot and consequently egests a lot of waste as well. To make matters worse, goldfish are very active and will find little manueverability in a bowl they will easily outgrow.
Due to a betta not having the size issues a goldfish does, the fact that it has a labyrinth organ that almost forces it to live off of air (to the point where removal of the organ will lead to their death), its incapability of swimming in almost anything save still water without shedding its fins, and the lack of concern necessary for a heater in most traditional senses, one can conclude that many of the issues associated with a fish bowl are relatively moot. That is, provided that the bowl is large enough. In Thailand, many of the native breeders keep them in bottles. Some have even kept them in water-filled bags and still successfully kept them alive along the way.
Why Bigger Still is Better
The issue that comes here is not just a “can bettas live in bowls” sort of theory as much as a “what does one use for a bowl” controversy. The difference between the two can make as much difference as a yes or no.
There is one concern that a betta can not stave off despite its breed being so accustomed to living in a tank and that is waste management. No matter how big or small the tank is, the water will still need to be changed out or at least replenished through some method or another. For a small enough vessel, this may require compromising the betta’s comfort to a level where it will potentially stress the fish to death.
An equally valid concern also comes from living in regions where the temperature ranges are dramatic in scale: smaller bodies of water can be more readily influenced by temperature and will offer a tendency to kill a betta from a dramatic enough temperature climb or drop. This is an instance where a heater will compensate for the quick shifts, although this is where size again becomes an issue since one can only get so small when it comes to heaters.
Ideally, the vessel would have over a gallon (some may argue over two gallons) of space with a comfortably-sized opening on top. By comfortable, it should be assumed that there is enough room there for the betta to breathe from the top “hunt” any of the food there without any potential trouble. A heater should be provided if the tank is kept where the temperature can be variable: a gallon is plausible, but it is far from enough to regulate the temperature ranges that can occur throughout the day. Be wary as well: the smaller the tank, the more water changes that are needed to compensate for the space.
The Comfort Concern
There is also the issue of how “comfortable” the fish would be in a tank such as this. This can vary accordingly. Bettas, like people, can vary in personality. Considering their environment encourages solitude, one can fairly readily assume that a betta does not spend much of its time traveling. This can be argued, of course, when we consider how evenly spread out betta populations are, but the ones that are bred overseas tend to come from isolated environments that would prefer a fish that could handle such closed conditions. A wild-caught variety may require a different approach altogether.
As for the novelty containers that are offered on the market: one may consider them inadequate, but for different reasons, which will be discussed in the next part of the ongoing betta discussion.
