Taking Care of Beta Fish in Bowl

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Taking care of beta fish in a bowl can be challenging. For both you and the betta. The smaller the bowl the bigger the challenge. That’s why, to be honest, taking care of beta fish in bowl is not advised. In fact you’ve be better off following the guidance in this post about maximizing betta fish life span. It covers water issues in more depth. But if you insist, let’s see if we can’t point you in the right direction when it comes to taking care of betta fish in a bowl.

First some insist a bowl is ideal because of where bettas come from.

Yes it’s tru to say some bettas are accustomed to tight spaces. They originated from little more than shallow puddles sometimes rice paddies in Southeast Asia after all. Breathing air from the surface due to a unique adaptation was a must at times.

That said if you insist taking care of beta fish in bowl is possible by following certain guidelines.

Taking Care of Beta Fish in Bowl – Water

Changing water in a beta fish bowl is a prime consideration. Since water quality is the key to success with any betta.

Plan on doing it often (think daily) since fish waste and any uneaten food you fail to remove can foul the water pretty quickly. (Try a turkey baster to suck out debris from the bottom.).

In fact when you think about it daily isn’t too often. Using aged tap water that has been allowed to sit for at least 24 hours to rid itself of any residual chlorine as replacement water would be the best way to go.

The water in beta fish tank bowls should also be air temperature or lukewarm. Ideally in the high 70s F to low 80s but that’s unlikely without a heater.

Speaking of temps, put any aquarium betta bowls in an area where the temperature is stable. Yo yo temps are deadly. As are temps that are too cool. These are tropical fish you know. So don’t put the bowl in the sunlight or in a draft. Maintaining the proper water termperature is going to be MUCH easier said than done if looking to keep your fish in a bowl.

Speaking for the fish, while you may see bettas inhabiting those tiny orange sized bowls at Walmart, you’re really both better off with at least a five gallon tank. 10 would be better still. Compete with a heater and some sort of lid in case you’ve got a jumper.

Well that’s a quick overview of life in a fish bowl. Although to be honest it may all too soon spiral down to death in a fish bowl most often due to lousy water. At least you can’t say you weren’t warned.

About Lucas
Putting a name with a face I'm Lucas Smatana. Like you I'm passionate about betta fish and hope to share my enthusiasm. The idea here is to make sure you get helpful info and useful ideas on betta fish care that really work. To insure your betta keeping experience is a good one both for you and your fish. So that you and your pet enjoy a long, happy and healthy relationship.

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4 Responses to “Taking Care of Beta Fish in Bowl”

  1. Alfonso says:

    Just want to say, GREAT SITE! About ten months ago I inherited a year old mistreated betta from a family member. Until I found this site I had no idea I TOO was mistreating this poor fish! Now I know, I leave for several years in military service, and will let its future owner know about this site, thanks!

  2. Joel says:

    I have just bought a betta fish, I am unsure in whether to keep (toby) in the light or does he enjoy being in the dark? He is a fish we have at our office and during the weekend he will be in the dark is that ok or should we give him a little sunlight but not to where his tempreture could go up?

    • Lucas says:

      Like other creatures, Toby would prefer a typical day/night cycle. So keeping the lights on 24/7 isn’t good. Neither is having them in total darkness, although some would argue that in the wild the brackish water is dark so they prefer darkness. It’s unlikely your betta has been within a 1000 miles of the wilds. Direct sunlight isn’t great because as you note it can cause water temp fluctuations. But if you can insure that doesn’t happen giving him some light over the weekends would be best. Hope that helps.

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