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Fish sure are cute...but wouldn't you like to see them swimming in packs in freshwater or the sea rather than in a depressing tank where their lives remain meaningless, empty, and manipulated in whole by man?

Important note: That fish tank shown with two goldfish is absolutely too small for them. Goldfish (fancy or feeder) require a minimum of 10 gallons per fish to be healthy. The goldfish is one of the biggest-polluting aquarium fish. They are not bowl fish.

is someone trying to kill those betas?

elizabeth, I feel the same way you do, but the majority of people believe the crap about Bettas being able to live in a little puddle. It's true that since they're labrynith fish they are able to breath air from the surface, but they still need a good amount of clean water to be healthy. The absolute minimum to keep a Betta truly healthy and happy (you can tell they're happy if they build a bubble nest) is 1 gallon and you need to change the water weekly if not every 5 days.

I have a 6 gallon Eclipse tank with a fantail betta, 2 cory catfish and 5 zebra danios and it's a lovely little tank and everyone is very happy and healthy. Experts will tell you than you should only have 1" of fish per gallon of water, but the Exclipse tanks have agressive filtration and BioWheels and so a few extra fish are fine.

So there you have it. Sorry for the rant, but I had to speak up. Oh yeah...the whole "Betta in a Vase" which consists of a large vase with some marbles in the bottom, a peace lily plant, and a Betta Fish dries me INSANE! Many people think the Betta can live by eating the Lily roots and so then the Betta dies within a week or two.

this is insane. all of these fishbowls are miniscule and inhumane. i can't believe anyone would think this is a good idea.

I work with three people who have Beta's at their desks. I don't know how the Beta's feel about their bowls (the fish aren't talking) but I do know they're all going on their second year now.

my aquarium guy told me betas make those bubbles when they want to mate. if it just means that he's happy, then mine must be very happy. for 4 years, he's been filling his 1 gallon bowl with bubbles. when i get home, he jumps through them to greet me. i've been eyeing those half bowls for a while since i've been thinking about getting him a friend to look at and make fish faces at.

abby,
If you're guy is making bubble nests then yes he is very happy! They generally don't go into mating mode unless they're very comfortable and healthy. My little guy swims over to me when I walk up to the tank after work. I could swear he recognizes me! They such wonderful little critters. Have you tried hand-feeding him? My little guy will take food off my finger and it's so cute!

Here's a super site all about Bettas: http://www.bettatalk.com/

Be aware though...Bettas do not like other Bettas it's their instinct to kill any other male (and even a female) they see. If you want a second one in a separate bowl that's fine, just don't keep them next to each other all the time or they'll stress themselves out with their flaring behavior. To keep my single Betta "exercised" I'll hold a small mirror up to the side of the tank and he'll flare at that thinking it's an intruder. I do it for no more than 30 seconds at a time and he seems to get a little rise out of it.

kmswann,

Do you have a dog in your apartment?

FYI: we own the fishbowls pictured and kept Betas in them. They're a huge pain to clean unless you have tiny hands. However, if you're still interested, they can be found at Wal-Mart for about 5$ each and look pretty good when clean.