Betta fish in Vase

[DianeH]

http://www.foundus.com/betta/betta.htm

My doctors office has one of these and I have enjoyed it for a few years. I was thinking about doing something like it for myself but have read some negativity about it.

Has anyone tried it?

Thanks
Diane

 

[Texasbelle]

My daughter did this with a closet plant at the top. Fish ate some of the roots which did not hurt the plant. I think she sometimes fed it additional fish food, but not much so the water didn't get cloudy. The fish eventually died. This makes a nice display or centerpiece. [Okay, Ron, not the dead fish! See comment below. LOL]

 

[RonB]

The fish eventually died. This makes a nice display or centerpiece.

I don't quite know what to say....
Ron

 

[pwrshift]

Betta males are beautiful ... put a mirror up to the glass and he'll flutter his fins and show off. Not for fun, mind you, as it's preparation for a fight. They are also called Siamese Fighting Fish. Two males together will tear each other apart...and they aren't too kindly with other tropical fish either.

Years ago, when my kids were young, I bought a female and male betta and had a breeding cage in the tank. They mated, and father makes a bubble nest at the top of the cage. When ready, many times the father wraps his body around the female and squeezed the eggs out, then left her to catch the falling eggs in his mouth (hundreds of them) and deposited each one in a separate bubble at the top of the cage. After that, you have to separate them as mother will eat her eggs as they fall from the bubbles..and father might not be too happy over that as it's his job to raise the kids. when the kids leave their bubbles and start swimming on their own they leave the cage and go into the waiting hungry mouths of other fish in the tank. Quite a vicious cycle of life, but very interesting.

One thing for sure. They are live animals and deserve proper treatment which takes planning, time, effort and care. Don't get involved unless you're prepared for the task and studied it thoroughly beforehand.

Brian

 

[nell]

I've done this. Make sure when you are rinsing the roots of the plants that you rinse repeatedly and separate the roots, especially checking the base of the plants. The fertilizer (small white dots) can easily be disguised in the roots and root base when they're wet. If even a small piece gets in the water the fish will die. Mine lived for over 5 years. I used to feed mine one or two pieces of fish food ( the little balls not the flakes) per day. This required more frequent cleaning of the water but the fish seemed happier. Also if you have cats be careful with the peace lily, I believe these are VERY poisonous to cats.

 

[DianeH]

Its wonderful to get so many comments. I thought the idea was very unique and if I do decide, I will be a responsible owner of a fish too.

Diane

 

[Don]

They are also called Siamese Fighting Fish. Two males together will tear each other apart...and they aren't too kindly with other tropical fish either.

Brian

The only time I tried to mate a pair, it was a disaster. I had a big pink female with red fins (and a bad attitude) that I wanted to mate with an irridessant blue male. She was ripe and the bubble nest was built, then she killed the male. I put her in a separate tank after she bit the head off of one of my Pristella tetras.

 

[jimbiggs]

I kept and bred bettas for years as a hobby. Some ppl think that the beta will eat the roots of the plant and that they have a symbiotic relationship. This is not true. Bettas are not plant eaters. Betas are finicky eaters. Usually, their food of preference is blood worms, but every betta is different. A betta in a vase will require daily water changes. Before you make a decision purchase an animal, you should educate yourself on the proper care.

One forum I used to frequent a few years back was www.fishgeeks.com They have a forum specific to bettas.