Less than 1 gal. tanks **For Bettas!!!!!**

[Here There be Dragons]

The way I see it, even if given the proper conditions and cared for spectacularly, they won't always be happy. My betta is properly cared for in a 5 gallon heated and filtered tank with weekly water changes and a varied diet, but I don't think he's very happy. He is sick with something and I don't know what it is or what to do. ( I made another thread on that, called "HELP! Strange growths on betta splendens" if you want details on that) We don't have reliable ways to tell if their happy. If they are active and interact with things outside of their tank, and are healthy and colorfull, I would assume they are happy. I think that they should be moved to bigger tanks but I have no control over that. I've given up trying to convince people to put their bettas and gold fish in larger tanks. I'm always countered with nonsense about what bettas really need and like.

 

[AbbeysDad]

I'm inclined to agree that confining the betas in such small tanks/bowls is cruel. But I can't help but wonder....we see these in tiny bowls in the pet stores all the time. Surely they don't change the water in all of those cup/bowls every day...and yet you rarely see dead fish. I wonder what keeps them from going belly up or jumping out?!?

 

[Janna]

I'm inclined to agree that confining the betas in such small tanks/bowls is cruel. But I can't help but wonder....we see these in tiny bowls in the pet stores all the time. Surely they don't change the water in all of those cup/bowls every day...and yet you rarely see dead fish. I wonder what keeps them from going belly up or jumping out?!?

Ugh. I agree. I hate seeing these poor fish in small spaces. I hate seeing large orandas at petsmart in those divided tanks. Like two in 5 gallons. Hopefully fully they sell quickly. And I’m sad for all the bettas too

 

[Colin_T]

Sometimes the fish do die in the small containers but Bettas have evolved to live in warm shallow pools of water that often have little or now oxygen. They spread out over areas during the wet season and breed like mad. As the seasons change, the water evaporates and the fish are left in small pools of water that continues to evaporate. If there is enough water in the pool, the fish might survive until the next rainy season, if not, they get eaten by birds or dry out in the mud.