Please do no buy Bettas in a vase

The latest fad seems to be packaging those exquisite fighting fish (betta splendens) in a small glass vase with a Peace Lily plopped in for the sake of a *pretty tabletop decoration*. I'm not sure how long this has been around but *please* do not support such cruelty. Many people are given these as gifts and most don't know how or have any desire to take care of the fish or plant. These houseplants (Spathiphyllum) are not natural water plants and most people think Betas will feed on the plant roots (Betas are carnivores) or don't feed the fish properly or change the water. And regardless of the fact that pet shops dump these fish in tiny containers, like all of us, they are much happier in a proper aquarium.

Here are some more info: http://freshaquarium.about.com/pets/freshaquarium/library/qa/blqa2061.htm

This is what got me so mad in the first place: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/crafts/msg121821313882.html?20047

Actually, being in a small container does not hurt these fish. I had aquariums, both fresh and saltwater for years plus worked in a pet shop, and believe me when I tell you that Betta's are NOT suitable for a community tank! I think that the vases with the plants are a stupid fad, and would not encourage you to buy them for that reason alone. The plant in the bowl is bound to rot and cause problems for you and the fish. If you are going to keep a betta, get a medium sized glass, so-called goldfish, bowl, add some nicely colored rocks, and a blunt ornament so it's fins and tail don't get ripped up, and leave it at that. (By the way, NEVER attempt to keep a goldfish in a bowl! THIS is cruelty in the extreme, as goldfish are adapted to a MUCH different environment!)

Betta's belong to a family of fish called Anabantoids. These types of fish do not breath through gills. They actually breath air-- they rise to the top of the bowl and suck in a bubble of air which is then processed in a special cavity in their skulls. They are native to very warm areas like Vietnam, and have even been found in their native habitats breeding and living in the water-filled hoofprints of water buffalo, etc. Very warm water holds less oxygen than cooler water, so the breathing arrangement is PERFECT adaptation for them. They ARE adapted to living in small spaces-- PROVIDED THAT THEY ARE ADEQUATELY CARED FOR! This means changing the water regularly, removing chlorine, and feeding the fish SPARINGLY about every other day. If you give more food and it is not eaten, you are just creating a poison bacterial soup for the fish to live in. My daughter had a Betta that she named Bob in a goldfish bowl and he lived for two and a half years in that bowl.

Putting them into a community aquarium with other fish IS cruel- to the ~other~ fish in the aquarium! Bettas are territorial by nature and will rip up and kill anything that it perceives to be a rival, or another Betta. You can pretty much kiss your fancy tailed guppies, and neons goodbye if you put your Betta in a community tank. My neighbor is having that problem right now. Out of several lovely fish that she had in her aquarium, she is now down to three-- a Betta and two Chinese Algae Eaters-- all of them known to be aggressive fish!

I guess I forgot to mention that we don't keep our Bettas with other fish in the aquarium. And we do quarantine the males as they do fight to the death if kept together.

My complaint for this fad is that the vases usually aren't that big to begin with and with the glass pebbles and Peace Lily roots, they barely have room to move around in and sometimes the roots are so overgrown they can't go to the surface for air.

But it is less a problem about space, as the second hyperlink will attest--it's that most people are given these things because someone thought it was a *cute* gift, kinda like giving baby chicks at Easter--cute at the time, but most recipients lose interest afterwards and these creatures suffer for it. One woman thought her fish was lazy and recommends placing a mirror in front of it for a couple(!) of days to get it riled up. These fish will try to fight their own reflection and some kill themselves trying to do it. Others replace the Peace Lily with other plants, and there are poisonous plants out there that might harm the fish. That's the kind of thing I'm talking about.

Only a small number of people bother to care for these fish adequately; the majority put them through a slow, tortorous death. Am I being too hard on these people? I guess if you liked dogs and hear about some fad that seems inhumane, it would be hard to sit back and not speak up.

Well, I saw the vase/plant/betta arrangement tonight while shopping at the mall, and I don't see why anyone would want one. They are BUTT UGLY.

I just gotta tell a story about the betta + plant fad. My MIL got one as a gift about a year and a half ago. She promptly named her fish Eddie George, after one of our beloved Titans football players. (She takes good care of the plant and the fish, and both are still doing well, BTW.)

Well, during a Titans game last fall, one of my sons exclaimed that Eddie George couldn't catch worth a flip. DD was walking through the den, turned around and announced, well, duh - he's a FISH and fish CAN'T catch. Rolled her eyes, sighed at the lack of general knowledge possessed by her big brothers and sauntered on through.

Sorry - just one of those funny kid stories; in this case it had a tiny bit to do with this thread.

I agree with Indashade about the fish. My son did a science project about Betta splendens and we all learned quite a bit about the fish. The do LIKE stagnant waters and are from warm water rice areas. I don't agree with the fad of keeping them as ornaments, if a person truly isn't interested in keeping the fish as a living creature with needs. The Betta does need to have the bowl cleaned and if the water gets logged with pollution, they do breath through an adaptive chamber in their lungs call a labyrinth. They do have gills, though, and breath like regular fish, except the Betta has an adaptive survivial mechanism with the labyrinth.
I have to say, though, on the flip side of this fad issue is the good news that there are serious collectors of these beautiful fish and many people got started by getting their first fish-in-a-bowl.
Hopefully this fad will pass quickly and humane treatment will prevail.
Trish