# Betta fish bowl care



## gmakirk (Oct 10, 2008)

I have a blue betta male that is about 3 1/2 years old. He is funny and has a great personality. If he starts turning and twisting that means he wants me to pet him! He loves this. He takes pellet food from my finger and blows bubbles in appreciation. A GREAT pet!! I have a 1 gallon bowl and use the marbles made for fish bowls, a plastic plant, and one real plant I grew from a bulb for fish bowls and aquariums. I discovered some swimming "critters" in the bowl, and on examination they are about the size and color of a grain of dirt. They collect on the sides of the bowl and on the plant. I don't know if they are on Blue or not. I took him out of the bowl and washed everything is mild soapy water, then rinsed thorougly before putting him back in the bow. I am not sure, but I think there are some of the critters in the bowl now. Has anyone else had this experience and if so, please tell me what they are and how to get rid of them. Could they be larvae from little flying plant flies? I don't have a clue as to what, where, when or how they got in the bowl. Thank you for any clues you may give me. gmakirk


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

I personally have no idea what these "critters" could be but the words "mild soapy water" stand out. From all I've learned here on the forum anything "soapy" is a no no. I'm sure you did rinse it well but I'd keep a close eye on your betta until someone with experience can chime in and help you.


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Funny you should mention this because I just read an article about something like it. Do these little "critters" resemble worms? If so than they are planaria and establish themselves in aquariums with water quality problems, although yours may have come in with your plant bulb. The article just suggests to create better water quality and they will go away with time. They are harmless to fish. With a small bowl however, I would just catch and dispose of them when you see them, and do more frequent water changes. How often are you doing them now?

Do you have a heater and filter on there? Better yet, just set up a larger tank with heater and filter, and move him into there!


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## gmakirk (Oct 10, 2008)

*Betta fish bowl*

Thank you for your comments on my post, it is nice to have others to talk to about stuff!! My fish lives in a one gallon bowl that he has been in for almost 4 years. The plant is also about 3 years old. I change the water about every 4 to 6 weeks, and except for the bubbles he blows, there doesn't seem to be anything else there. I do try to keep the uneaten food and the fish poop cleaned out with the help of a straw that syphons the stuff out. The "critters" are just a small speck, smaller than the period in this post. I am not sure how I discovered them, they are so small. At any rate, I will keep a close eye on him and watch for any new developments. Have a great evening! gmakirk


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## kritas (Feb 29, 2008)

FOUR TO SIX WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You should be doing it once a week...
Are the bubbles all together and form some sort of web? If so this is a bubble nest, meaning he is very happy, and ready for mating, should you wish to let him.
They might be Ramshorn snails, I had them in my shipment of plants, and damn they are tiny! They don't grow very quickly either so yes it would be hard to see them.
My advice to get rid of them... Put a piece of lettuce at the bottom of the tank one night, and in the morning remove it and see how many u are able to get rid of...


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Yeah, you definitely need to change the water at least once a week.


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## gmakirk (Oct 10, 2008)

Thank you for your advice. His bubbles are definitely a bubble nest. He builds them often, so maybe I should let him mate. I never thought about it before, but I will need to get a bigger tank before I do that. And I will be changing the water once a week now. Appreciate your comments!! gmakirk


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## Fire Cush (Sep 19, 2010)

*if a bettas fishbowl is too cold will it die ?????????*


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## KukaaKatchou (Sep 19, 2010)

Bettas are tropical fish so I imagine that yes, cold water will kill your fish, either by temp alone or by making your fish sick


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## Duskdog (Sep 22, 2010)

Fire Cush said:


> *if a bettas fishbowl is too cold will it die ?????????*


If _anything _gets too cold it will die. 

At slightly below their preferred temperatures, they seem to get lethargic and unhappy. Any lower than that, and I'm sure it probably would make them sick or kill them, though I'm not sure what the threshold for that is.

Don't take chances. Get a heater when you can, especially if you're moving into the colder season of the year, as we are where I live.


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## Fire Cush (Sep 19, 2010)

*yeah because i have a/c in my house and i dont know if thats making him cold or not so when i change his bowl ill make sure to make it a little warmer so it wont get cold should i do this and if i make it too hot will it become sick also or it will be fine*


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## KukaaKatchou (Sep 19, 2010)

You may want to buy a thermometer so you can make sure the water is between 78 and 80F. And perhaps a heater as well to ensure that the temperature remains stable - big changes in temperature are not good for your fish


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

In a one gallon bowl, you should actually be doing more than one water change per week...

And never use soap to clean anything of a fish! Soap is toxic, even if you rinse out well there is still a risk...

Just using hot water and vinegar works well for cleaning.

Also, breeding bettas is a lot of hard work that requires a lot of dedication and studying! You can't simply throw a female and male in a bowl-it's a very difficult proccess. So I suggest you read a lot before you do consider it.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

gmakirk said:


> Thank you for your advice. His bubbles are definitely a bubble nest. He builds them often, so maybe I should let him mate. I never thought about it before, but I will need to get a bigger tank before I do that. And I will be changing the water once a week now. Appreciate your comments!! gmakirk


 He's WAY too old to breed. Please do adequate research before attemtping it.


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## nochoramet (Oct 2, 2009)

If you guys look at the date, this thread was started in 2008. How did it get replied to now?


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## Alex09 (Aug 9, 2010)

Why do people keep on bumping old threads? :/


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

I really need to start looking at dates 0.o

I hate when they bump because I reply and then I see the date and I'm like wow....fail.


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## nochoramet (Oct 2, 2009)

Haha my boyfriend did that by accident... I was like "Dude, look at the dates first. Some of these fish you're commenting on? Their dead." He was like "Wow, fail on my part."
I don't know why they bumped this one, it's over 2 years old! You'd have to go to the very beginning of the posts...


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

OMG.. are you telling me I just spent 5 minutes of my life reading a thread posted in 2008??????


STOP BUMPING OLD THREADS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is ridiculous!!


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

Wow...I didn't even notice. I need to start checking the dates.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

putting a Betta fish in at least a 2.5 gallon tank is best my choclate male betta carter 
loves his 10 gallon tank I feed him every other day and keep peace lilies in the filter with a 10 watt light bulb on top.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Also scientist did a study in bigger tanks the fish lived 7-8 years in the smaller tanks the betta fish lives 1-2 years most animals including bettas are fertile their entire lives make sure he has surface access or he will die for betta breeding you need three tanks somewhere to keep the male somewhere to keep the female and a 5 gallon or bigger tank to keep the fry leave the male in their until 24 hours after the fry hatch a 
sponge filter won't suck up the fish and small animals the fry can eat grow their keep
the air above the tank warm or the labyrinths don't grow well as soon the female lay's 
the eggs get her out the male defends his young visously soon the young will fight each other females can be kept together you need to find homes for the 20-60 fish.


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