How To Get Betta Out Of Bowl?

[sobresaliente]

Help!
I just got my betta fish a week ago. He has been here for a week, in a two gallon bowl, and now I want to put fresh water in his bowl.
But I cannot for the life of me get him out of the bowl.
The person at the shop said I should get him out into a mug and leave him there until the water change is done.
Well, this is simply impossible. I put the mug in and try to get him. He clings to the edge of the bowl and swims very fast. Any time I bring the mug nearer, he swims away.
I have also tried a soup ladle with no better results.
I do not have a net, and did not get one because I read in some places that the nets can injure bettas.
But I am now just as afraid of injuring him trying to get him into something else. And I am sure this who ordeal is causing him a lot of stress, since he clearly does NOT want to be scooped out of his bowl!
Can someone please advise me?
Thanks.

 

[Taridan]

Depending on how steady your hands are and the shape of the bowl, you could try and -pour- him into something else... I like using those 2 gallon tubs of icecream containers (After being properly eaten and cleaned out, of course) I know it sounds traumatic but if its one of those shaped like this

I can see why it might be hard to get him out.

 

[samyboy]

bettas can be hard to catch even agains solid walls never mind curved glass, hope you catch him in the end

 

[sobresaliente]

Yes, I have a curved bowl, similar to the one in the picture above.

Is this a bad bowl to keep a betta in?

Another problem is I have colored stones at the bottom. And if I tilt the bowl to pour out water, they all begin moving to the titled side. I did try pouring him out. Water poured out, stones moved. But my betta stayed safely in the bowl, far away from the action, refusing to budge.

Unfortunately I cannot get him out at the moment and have stopped trying, because it looks like he suffered a minor fin injury at some point during this process.

Should I just go get a fish net? Will this enable me to catch him?
I have also seen something advertized on the net called a "betta scoop."

I just read on one site that if you dip a glass or jar in the water when your betta is near the surface it will create a vacuum and suck him in. Well, I have no idea how this is working for the writer, but it did not work at all for me. I dipped a glass jar in and nothing happened.

I did not realize this was going to be such a challenge!

 

[SPLiSH]

Hi sobresaliente!

Bowls are fine for bettas, as long as they are big enough. One gallon is usually the reccommended minimum.

Are you changing 100% of the water? This is pretty unneccesary, 50% weekly is fine. Use a small lenth of airline tubing to stir up the muck in the gravel and suck it out (obviously moving your mouth before the water comes).

I move mine by cupping them gently in my hands when I need to remove them for anything, I usually just leave them in the bowl when I do my 50% water changes. It is less stressfull to them than being moved.

 

[K.J.]

Depending on how steady your hands are and the shape of the bowl, you could try and -pour- him into something else... I like using those 2 gallon tubs of icecream containers (After being properly eaten and cleaned out, of course) I know it sounds traumatic but if its one of those shaped like this

I can see why it might be hard to get him out.

I have one exactly like that and my betta cooperates. But yeah, some are more bashful than others.

 

[sobresaliente]

Well, I was going to do a full water change, just to sort of get the hang of what it would be like to do. Though I had been told a full water change was only necessary once a month.

At any rate, I would like to at least know I am able to get my betta out of his bowl should I need to.

Is anybody able to tell me if purchasing a net will make this easier for me? Or will I face the same problem as with trying to use a mug or a jar?

And what about these "betta scoops" I see being sold on the web. Has anyone ever tried one?

Are they worth buying?

Thanks again everybody, for your helpful replies.

 

[Bettabelieveit]

Well, I was going to do a full water change, just to sort of get the hang of what it would be like to do. Though I had been told a full water change was only necessary once a month.

At any rate, I would like to at least know I am able to get my betta out of his bowl should I need to.

Is anybody able to tell me if purchasing a net will make this easier for me? Or will I face the same problem as with trying to use a mug or a jar?

And what about these "betta scoops" I see being sold on the web. Has anyone ever tried one?

Are they worth buying?

Thanks again everybody, for your helpful replies.

I'd strongly suggest a net, you should be able to net him out fairly easy, and if not, you'll get the hang of it eventually. And as far as the water changes go, I'd be doing weekly or more water changes on a bowl like that, monthly will not do good seeing how there is no filter. hope that helps.

 

[Synirr]

Haha, yeah, a net might be one idea. I use a tiny little net made for newly hatched brine shrimp, it has soft fabric and is small enough to fit into tight spots or net one specific fish out of a community. I use it on 18 (currently) bettas every week with no problems whatsoever. It's quite easy to catch them with this, even moreso since I've had so much practice . With even more practice you can scoop him out in your cupped hand, but it takes a little while to figure out how to do this easily, and I prefer a net, myself.

You actually should do 100% water changes on unfiltered bowls. Beneficial bacteria requires a good supply of oxygen to survive, and even in tanks as shallow as 1 gallon it is difficult for them to form a colony substantial enough to properly cycle a tank. As such, ammonia is going to slowly build up, because when you do partial water changes in an unfilter tank you are just diluting it. 100% water changes provide better water quality on unfiltered tanks, and when it comes to small tanks they're actually easier than starting a syphon and waiting for water to drain, in my opinion... at least, they are after you learn how to get the betta out of his home with no trouble

EDIT: Oh, and if the square shape of the net makes it hard to scoop up the betta in your curved bowl, you can just bend it into a more suitable shape.

 

[liz2]

Try try and try again the little devil is messing you about.....my friend is very hesitatant when she changes her fish...you are probably better getting the betta out with a bent net..do it carefully and I always put my hand over the open bit of net in case they flip

 

[vancouver]

You can usually bend the nets too... so instead of being square, you can bend one of the sides to the roundness of the bowl so you can go right up to the glass.