Daniel's Fish Care Tips

Betta Fish Vases

Is it ok to put a betta fish in a vase with bamboo plants?

I have a blue betta that I got in the beggining of june and my mom thought it was a cute idea to get a vase and put it in there. I got some nice rocks to put at the bottom and some bamboo plants to make it fell a little homie for him. Is it a good idea altogether (the whole vase thing) and do they cope well with type of plant?

Short answer: NO.

Long answer: The absolute minimum tank a betta should be kept in is 2.5 gallons, with most fishkeepers (including myself) recommending at least 5 gallons. A vase can hold at most 1 gallon. Bettas are a tropical fish, meaning they need water temperatures of 78-82 degrees, and vases/betta bowls cannot be reliably heated. I tried once with an empty vase just to check it out; the water was over 90 degrees at the lowest setting and wound up cracking the glass from the cold meeting hot. A vase or bowl also cannot be filtered, which means all his waste will quickly build up and become toxic. Keeping plants in a betta vase is especially bad, mainly because a lot of the time when they’re sold that way people tell you that the fish will eat the plant, the plant will take care of the fish, and all you have to do is top up the water. Bettas are carnivores, meaning plant matter really doesn’t do anything for them, and if you do see him nibbling at the roots it’s not because it’s nutritious, it’s because he’s never been fed and the poor thing is starving to death. The plant may help remove some of the waste matter from the water, but not enough to make it matter. The waste will still build up, you’ll still need to do water changes every single day to remove it, and chances are he will die as a result of the combined effects of malnutrition, ammonia poisoning, severe cold, and stress from having half your water poured out and replaced every 24 hours.

To properly house a betta you will need a 2.5 or 5 gallon tank, a filter with adjustible flow (so the current isn’t too strong), and a heater. You can put the bamboo in the tank if you like, I’ve seen some cute asian landscapes using bamboo in aquariums, but a betta in a vase does not work.

Beta fish bowl

Betta Fish Centerpieces

What is your opinion of my new tank setup?

I haven’t added the fish yet, but I will soon. This is what I’m planning to do:
5 harlequin rasboras, 3-4 kuhli loaches, and possibly 1 betta. The rasboras will have plenty of room to school together and do their own thing in the middle to upper part of the tank. The Kuhli loaches stay on the bottom and take up the very bottom of the water column, very much out of the way of the other fish. I will wait a while before adding the betta as a centerpiece fish. I’ll wait just to see how the tank looks with the first two species.

The fish you have should get along alright but you will be maxed out for your bioload with these guys. I would also see how strong the current is from your filter as betas do not like a strong current in their water. Please keep in mind that the khuli loaches and rasboras need heated water.(this won’t harm your beta but it will be necessary for the other tankmates.

Betta Fish Centerpieces Wedding