Cruel:
1.Disposed to inflict pain or suffering.
2.Causing suffering; painful.
This has become popular in my office lately. A dozen or so people have them on their desks. Worse, they fill the bottom with marbles and stick plants into the bowl, giving the little guy even less room to swim around.
I feel bad for the fish, that they are confined to such a small area hardly bigger than twice their body length (think about veal cages). I’m not sure that this is debatable because we can’t know for sure if fish are able to perceive pain or suffering, so I posted here for opinions.
Bettas can survive in that. If the water is kept fresh and of sufficient quality. Do the bettas blow bubbles? If there is a layer or partial layer of bubbles across the top, then the fish are happy. I kept my betta in a one or 2 gallon tank with a bubble filter. The filter was not strictly needed, but it was easier to keep the water reasonably clean.
Don’t keep bettas where they can see other bettas, it stresses them out.
Of course it’s cruel! Bettas need at least four or five times more space, some sources say as much as a gallon. Sure bettas are kept in small containers at the pet store, but that’s just till you get them home.
What I REALLY hate to see are bettas kept in glass vases with plants stuffed in the opening, rotting roots dangling in the water. People think the plant roots provide food and so they’ve got a no-maintainence fish. Sorry, but bettas are carnivores and their owners are slowly starving their pets to death.
Tell your co-workers to go get a trifle dish (looks like a snifter but much bigger) and then they’ll have two conversation pieces in one. Or steal the fish and give them to a caring owner.
I have a lot of experience with fish, being an avid aquarist and having managed the fish at a pet store for three years.
What I’ve seen with my own bettas and those in the pet store, is that they are fairly intelligent, as fish go. Or at least, they have a variety of personalities. I think it is more cruel to keep a betta in a bare 1/2 gallon than in a 1/2 gallon with some sort of decoration which limits their swimming room. Bettas, given the chance, will interact with their surroundings, and seem very curious. One particular betta, which I kept in a 15 gallon planted aquarium with other tropical fish, had a habit of “playing dead” on the plant leaves. Another liked to swim around through the holes in a bridge decoration I had in a tank.
As far as filtration, bettas are a labyrinth fish, meaning that they have an organ on top of their heads which allows breathing atmospheric oxygen, whereas an ordinary fish can only take in dissolved oxygen over its gills. Therefore, aeration isn’t necessary. In fact, low current is preferred by the males (the ones generally available, with the showy finnage), to build the bubble nests mentioned above. The disadvantage of an unfiltered tank is that water must be changed religiously, because there is no other way to process and export ammonia, which is very toxic to fish.
For an office tank, I’d recommend a 2 gallon Eclipse Explorer, which is an all-in-one unit equipped with a small power filter (silent, as opposed to the bubble type filter).
Another consideration is that a “tank” as small as a brandy snifter is very susceptible to temperature changes. Bettas can live in temperatures between 65 and 85 F, but the rapid daily changes in temperature associated with a very small bowl will cause them stress, which will lead to a sick fish.
I have 46 Male Bettas. All which have their own 1/2 gallon bowl
Because I give them a plant & a rock w/ a hole to hide in
Because I have found that this allows them to grow better
Because when introducing a female for breeding, they both have more space to roam & less chance of fighting/stressing out.
Because I like the way it looks dammit
I think it fights stress. All of my fish will nuzzle my finger when placed in the bowl - Theyre laid back & happy, And are all the size of large fishsticks, without their fins. So I do think that more space is healthier for them.
I have 10 Males in very small Betta Duplex containers.
Whch I use explicitly for breeding. They are said to prefer this tiny space for breeding/nesting.
However. These 10 guys are small, skinny, and high strung.
The personality comparison shows me the huge
difference that swimming space makes.
And a word from Betta breeders:
Bettas originate from the slow moving, slightly stagnant & very shallow waterways and rice fields of Southeast Asia. The oxygen content of the water in these areas is low, and the beta has evolved a secondary “labyrinth organ” to actually breathe by rising to the surface for a gulp of air. For this reason, Siamese Fighting Fish do not require the same aeration and filtration systems of most aquariums. Nor do they “require” more than 1/2 cup water to survive in, as their natural environments are sometimes limited to just that amount. They can live quite happily in a variety of habitats. However, just because the betta can survive in a cramped, stagnant bowl with no plants or gravel, that doesn’t mean that they should be sentenced to such a life. The tiny bowls or plastic punch glasses in which these fish are sold are not suitable for long term habitation. Nor are they suitable if you want to see your Betta grow to good proportion, and live a fairly long life.
Other species of the fighting fish (The type we get in pet stores) are bubble nest builders, with the males forming large soapy like nest on the waters surface. The females of these species lay numerous tiny eggs and as the eggs exit the female, the male snatches them up in his mouth and places each in one of the bubbles of his nest. The males of these species will continue to guard the nest until the young hatch.
The nests are harmless, are not pollutants & do not need to be filtered or removed. I find that my biggest Betta (His name is FatAss) gets quite upset when I screw around with his bubbles.
So I leave them there. And they go away on their own.
In regard to dirty water. I noticed that cloudiness was almost completely eliminated, and the need to change their water (Aside from adding a bit of fresh, as it evaporates) Is greatly reduced when using ** Hikari - Betta Bio-Gold** Fish Food. It Floats. Will Not Sink. And Absolutely Will Not Cloud Water. My Babies Love this stuff. (And now ive found that they sell it at WalMart cheaper than in the fish store)
I do keep my fish close to one another, and they can see one another. After a little time… they adjust and enjoy seeing another similar creature nearby, I think. Perhaps it makes them feel like theyre closer to their natural environment.
Im not sure, but mine are absolutely happy, have been alive for quite a while, and for fish - are very affectionate & filled with personality.
