A Better Fish Bowl
Poor Gilbert, our Betta fish, has had a rough morning. I decided to clean his bowl today–I do this every couple of weeks, so you’d think he’d be used to it. But NO. Every single time he goes berserk and flails around and acts like I’m going to catch and eat him. This morning he got so crazy he flipped right out of my hand and into the sink, luckily, I had the stopper in or Gil would be making his way out to sea by now.
Anyway, I got to thinking his bowl was looking sort of rough these days, it has a chink in the bottom where I dropped it a few years back and our hard water has left a permanent fog on the sides.
If you’re wondering where all of this is going, here you go…
Fish Bowl Bookends are perfect for Bettas, or fighting fish, separate halves of a bowl can be used as bookends or just sitting together. Your macho Bettas will get hours of enjoyment posturing and menacing each other from the safety of their own bowls. This would also be interesting pressed flat-side to a mirror, the duplicate image would make a complete bowl–sure to confuse and perplex guests. (always fun)
The Koi Etched Glass Bowl transforms your fish habitat into a work of art…would also make a beautiful Japanese-style terrarium, or as a lovely vase for cut flowers.
Here is Gil’s home. I bought this antique clock case at a yard sale for a song. Gil cuts a fine figure wouldn’t you say?
December 7th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
The aggressive displays male bettas make when confronted with another male is not ‘enjoyable’ to them. It is actually very stressful and will decrease the overall lifespan of your fish if they display too often. The same thing applies to the displays your fish will give to his reflection if the bowl is placed against a mirror.
December 7th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Lucky Fish :)
December 7th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Contrary to popular belief, bettas need better homes than that. Anything less than one gallon will fluctuate wildly in temperature and water quality–at least two gallons is better. Bettas are jumpers, if you don’t put a lid on the bowl they can easily jump out and die. Also, they are little frightened creatures in a scary world, and they need hiding places. My betta lives in a 3-gallon aquarium with a filter, a lighted lid, and plenty of live plants and rocks to hide in. People always comment that he’s the most active betta they have ever seen. But he’s not unusual, it’s just that the other bettas they have been comparing him to are sick and frightened and bored in their tiny bowls. If you give your betta a better home, you will get much more enjoyment out of them.
December 7th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
Thank you for the great advice! I do think Gil likes his home, we’ve had him almost three years, his colors are very bright, he’s very active and he has both a plant and a rock with a hole in it in his bowl.
May 26th, 2008 at 5:13 am
omg this tank is amazing it has it alll.my fish has a lilttle bowl nd it is a fightinf fish just got him 2 days ago
January 5th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
bowls that small aren’t good homes for bettas. they need warm water, so they need a heater. they need plants, preferably silk so they don’t rip their fins up, to hide in. and, seeing another betta isn’t something they WANT to do. the flaring and dancing they do is them saying “GET AWAY FROM MY TERRITORY!”. while these bowls are cute, i’d not put a betta in it. maybe some shrimps, or flowers, or even a candle.
also, that goldfish is gonna die a quick, painful death in that bowl. goldfish need filtration, and need HUGE tanks with massive filters to filter out all the toxins they naturally produce. while cute and stunning fish, they’re very nasty.