Betta fish

[SASM]

We have had DS's betta fish for about a week. Last night he looked a little lethargic. This AM we found him face down in the marbles. He still had color so DD1 poked him with the net and he started to move. DS dumped out half of the water with the hopes of cleaning the bowl before school but that didn't happen. I am back home and he definitely looks livelier. I tend to over-research things and I am trying not to do that with this dilemma because before I know it I'll have a $100 set up for this one little fish. In the past, we have only had bettas in unfiltered bowls. In chillier regions. The small amount of reading that I did this AM stated that bettas are tropical fish that require a filtered tank heated to 78-82*. I cannot recall if the ceiling fan was on above him recently but the AC has definitely been on.

So my question is...is this necessary for your bettas? I am wondering if I can just either use the unfiltered ~1.5 gallon bowl (that is very easy for DS to clean and more mobile) or use a one-gallon filtered aquarium and move whichever vessel around to see if a certain area of the house works better (less drafty without AC, fans, etc). This AM, I bought the one-gallon tank, as well as a 3-gallon tank to use with a heater. These just seem excessive but I want a survivable set up for Patriot.

Thank you!!!!

[MommyAllison]

We had a betta for a year or two pre-kids, and kept him in an unfiltered, unheated bowl. The only special thing we did was when we changed his water, we let the new water sit out for 12-24 hours so any chlorine would evaporate before we put it in his bowl. One day DH dumped too much food into his bowl and the betta was no more, but he seemed fine with his living situation prior to that!

[SnuggleBuggles]

Our bettas did much better in a low tech bowl. Lasted years. When he died, we replaced and bought a 1 gallon filtered tank and the fish lasted a ton shorter.

[AnnieW625]

Our $5 Betta fish lasted 6 months in a basic filtered tank. When we had had him for about two months he got his fin caught in the filter so he started moving slowly. What ended up killing him was I didn't replace the heat lamp right when the bulb burned out; waited two weeks. Overall the betta fish was easy to care for. We even left for a week at a time and he was find with just using the fish food blocks. I would get another Betta fish if my kids ask for one. Over feeding of Bettas is a common issue too, which I also think might have contributed to his death. I might also just use the feeding blocks especially with young kids because they can't feed him too much.

[94bruin]

We've had a series of Bettas for like 5? years? The first 5 or so were in heated filtered tanks. One lasted two years. The others had short lives.

Our current betta, I finally had enough of the filtered tank and went with a simple unheated, unfiltered two gallon tank. He's lasted 2.5 years and appears to be going strong. DD1 does a complete water change once a week. The kids feed him about 4-5 pellets/day... when they remember...

[AnnieW625]

How much did you all pay for your Bettas? I drew the line at $5, but I could just be being cheap!

[hbridge]

Our Betta will be 2 years old in October. He is in DC's room in an unheated, unfiltered 0.9 gallon tank and is doing well. This guy has survived even when we forget to change the water. We do use water conditioner on all water that goes in the tank and rinse his rocks when we replace them during full tank cleanings. He has suffered several bouts of fin rot and one bout of ich, but is going strong.

DC feeds him 3 pellets per day...

Have fun.

[lalasmama]

How much did you all pay for your Bettas? I drew the line at $5, but I could just be being cheap!

However much he was at Wal-mart. Probably $3.96 or such! The one I bought at PetSmart (or one of those similar pet-only stores) was around $5 as well, I believe. For what it's worth, the pet store one lived 2 years, and Wal-mart fishy lived 5 years. Yes, years. 5 freaking years.

As for the other posts about how to care for them, we were pretty darn simple. A 1-gallon, unfiltered glass bowl, some rocks, a fake plant (I heard they like somewhere to "hide"), the water conditioner, and betta food pebbles. Less than $25 per fish. In fact, I think I saw a set up with a plastic bowl at Wal-mart for $13 or so, and bought that set for middle DD when she wanted a fish.

[azzeps]

We have our Betta in a one gallon plastic aquarium that has a filter, though I can't really imagine it filters much. The water is usually pretty cloudy after a week or so. I usually get around to changing it every two weeks when I get tired of looking at it. She seems pretty happy in there. She likes her little hiding place, but when we approach the tank, she pops right out to say hello. I guess I never realized that fish were social. It's been fun. We've only had her since March, for DD's birthday. Good luck with yours!!!

[pharmjenn]

It seems most of you have glass bowls. I purchased a plastic bowl for our guy, and it got pretty etched (about 2in at the water line of the bowl appeared dirty/cloudy, but it did not clean off) A second plastic bowl did the same. Our betta ended up getting sick during a vacation at grandmas, and died on me when I brought him home. DS7 has not pushed for a replacement, but I did enjoy him while he was around.
Do the glass bowls get etched at all? I used a water conditioner, so don't know really what caused it.