[KatieMR]

Welcome to the Forum!

What a lovely home. Bet she loves playing in that castle.

The only thing I would recommend is purchasing a heater. They make Betta bowl heaters that can be placed under the gravel. Until they started making small adjustable heaters that's what I used and never had any issues.

We are quite proud that shaming of any sort is not allowed on this Forum. How can people be feel welcome and be honest when seeking help if all they get is criticism for something not based on fact? And that's the really sad part: The appropriate size of a Betta home is strictly opinion. It's not based on studies or facts.

Thank you! I just switched out the castle on Saturday, and I'm not sure she has quite decided if she likes it or not. The other one I had in there was quite a bit smaller and it took her a bit to warm up to it also. But she may be doing more exploring of it when I'm not looking. Chadashah is a bit of a show off, and it is so hard to do that well if you can't be seen!

I am coming to realize that a lot of fish keepers have very strong (often contradictory) opinions that they expressed as fact, and it has made it a lot harder to know what to do as I start my own fishkeeping journey. I looked around this forum a bit before registering and it seems like people here are a lot more open to admitting that what they say might not be a hard and fast rule. Just that simple thing makes everything so much less overwhelming! And knowing I can be honest about my situation without being accused of animal abuse is a huge relief. I'm looking forward to learning more from you guys, and I'm sure that Chadashah will appreciate it too!

 

[KatieMR]

The only thing I would recommend is purchasing a heater. They make Betta bowl heaters that can be placed under the gravel. Until they started making small adjustable heaters that's what I used and never had any issues.

There actually is a heater in there; It's the black rectangle behind the left turret of the castle. It's nothing fancy, just an Aqueon 5 watt. I have it hooked up to a timer and there is a thermometer in the tank. I have the timer adjusted so it turns on and off throughout the day/night and keeps the temp pretty stable between about 76 and 80, but usually right about 80.

 

[grumpyfish]

She's beautiful, and I love your setup! Your betta knows that she's in a larger amount of water with more room than she had in her tiny cup, she has heated, filtered water, is loved and cared for. That's what matters. It's absolutely just opinion of the fish keeper. I have had bettas for a long time, and in judging from the behavior of the bettas, most seem to prefer a smaller bowl with low water flow. I have mine in a heated, 2 gallon bowl that I "filter" with live plants. He's a super happy guy. I test the water parameters often, use seachem prime, stability, and indian almond leaf. If you're more likely to keep up with regular water changes in a smaller tank, then guaranteed your fish will be happier. Water quality is the most important thing to a betta. As long as they're in at least 1 gallon, they're good.

 

[KatieMR]

She's beautiful, and I love your setup! Your betta knows that she's in a larger amount of water with more room than she had in her tiny cup, she has heated, filtered water, is loved and cared for. That's what matters. It's absolutely just opinion of the fish keeper. I have had bettas for a long time, and in judging from the behavior of the bettas, most seem to prefer a smaller bowl with low water flow. I have mine in a heated, 2 gallon bowl that I "filter" with live plants. He's a super happy guy. I test the water parameters often, use seachem prime, stability, and indian almond leaf. If you're more likely to keep up with regular water changes in a smaller tank, then guaranteed your fish will be happier. Water quality is the most important thing to a betta. As long as they're in at least 1 gallon, they're good.

Thank you for the encouragement, Grumpyfish!

 

[Momofbetta]

Welcome Katie!!

I have had many bettas over the years and my longest lived made it to 4.5 yrs. He lived in about 1.6 gallons of water, unfiltered with a small heater (an 8w Marina).

I took a break for a few years and when I got a betta again, made the mistake of joining a mega-website that has a subsection dedicated to betta fish. I was thrilled! Until I was called an animal abuser and told that I needed a 5gallon tank to have any chance at keeping a betta alive

 

[grumpyfish]

Thank you for the encouragement, Grumpyfish!

You're very welcome! Feel free to post more pictures, I always love looking at bettas and people's setups

 

[grumpyfish]

Welcome Katie!!

I have had many bettas over the years and my longest lived made it to 4.5 yrs. He lived in about 1.6 gallons of water, unfiltered with a small heater (an 8w Marina).

I took a break for a few years and when I got a betta again, made the mistake of joining a mega-website that has a subsection dedicated to betta fish. I was thrilled! Until I was called an animal abuser and told that I needed a 5gallon tank to have any chance at keeping a betta alive

Ugh I hate that, and am sorry that was your experience. As I've said above, the most important thing to a betta is water quality. They do need room to move, explore and thrive, but as long as they're in at least 1 gallon that's heated and properly maintained, they're good. People often have the mistake of confusing their opinion with fact, and we belittle others who have differing opinions. I bet your betta was better cared for than many that live in 5 gallons, but are overstocked or not cleaned often enough

 

[KatieMR]

Welcome Katie!!

I have had many bettas over the years and my longest lived made it to 4.5 yrs. He lived in about 1.6 gallons of water, unfiltered with a small heater (an 8w Marina).

I took a break for a few years and when I got a betta again, made the mistake of joining a mega-website that has a subsection dedicated to betta fish. I was thrilled! Until I was called an animal abuser and told that I needed a 5gallon tank to have any chance at keeping a betta alive

Wow! That is a long time. I hope Chadashah's around that long! It is so encouraging to hear stories of people who were able to make small tanks work. I would eventually like to get a bigger tank (more fun for me!) but I feel so much better about waiting from hearing all these stories. Thank you so much for sharing!

 

[Momofbetta]

Ugh I hate that, and am sorry that was your experience. As I've said above, the most important thing to a betta is water quality. They do need room to move, explore and thrive, but as long as they're in at least 1 gallon that's heated and properly maintained, they're good. People often have the mistake of confusing their opinion with fact, and we belittle others who have differing opinions. I bet your betta was better cared for than many that live in 5 gallons, but are overstocked or not cleaned often enough

Right?! Water quality is key! He was my kitchen buddy so had lots of interaction too. He seemed to be a happy wee guy!

 

[Mr. B]

Russell whar do you get your Vases. Sorry if you have posted this already.

 

[Mr. B]

Oh and do your bettas jump out? BTU they look good!!

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

Wal-Mart, Goodwill, Salvation Army, flea markets, yard sales.

 

[Mr. B]

Wal-Mart, Goodwill, Salvation Army, flea markets, yard sales.

Thank you! And what filter do you use?

 

[Platinum47]

I have a 1 gal wall bowl for my Platinum HM betta, Ghost. I use the Elive nano heater about 1"x2" and I prefer the Aquaneat nano sponge filter 1"×1". Both are on the far left side of Ghosts bowl. My pottery and glass are all from dollhouse makers so that nothing is bigger than 1"×1.5" as Ghost is playful and loves to have many activities to do, I wanted to fit in everything he likes. There is still room for his activities and play. Maybe this can help when shopping around to see what these brands

look like in a small bowl. I'm new to the forum so hope my post is correctly submitted. I am enjoying reading about everyone's bettas.

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

Welcome to the Forum!

Ghost is a beauty and his home looks perfect and cozy. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Betta craze]

View attachment 1030317 View attachment 1030315 View attachment 1030316 I have a 1 gal wall bowl for my Platinum HM betta, Ghost. I use the Elive nano heater about 1"x2" and I prefer the Aquaneat nano sponge filter 1"×1". Both are on the far left side of Ghosts bowl. My pottery and glass are all from dollhouse makers so that nothing is bigger than 1"×1.5" as Ghost is playful and loves to have many activities to do, I wanted to fit in everything he likes. There is still room for his activities and play. Maybe this can help when shopping around to see what these brands View attachment 1030316 look like in a small bowl. I'm new to the forum so hope my post is correctly submitted. I am enjoying reading about everyone's bettas. View attachment 1030317

I really like those my mom didn’t like them though she was afraid of water damaging the walls, but their really pretty

here is my setup for my bettas that live separately

I have 1 more betta but I don’t have pictures right now he’s in the ez clean betta tank which doesn’t work 😂 so I clean it like a normal small tank, and I don’t like how small it is but this fish is old and can’t swim well so he likes it he rests on his leaf hammock all day

 

[Platinum47]

Omg, they are gorgeous. I'm so happy everyone seems so nice here. I gave up FB in January bc I'm really just to kind natured for that environment, so thank you for being my first conversation😃. Well so far I have never gotten any water on my wall at all. I have a 225lb English Mastiff with a dangerous tail and I feel safer with Ghost up high. In the past my ideal place for fish was in areas I rarely congregated. So I placed Ghost across from my side of the bed with some L.E.D. lighting and watch him while I read at night. I was worried about the bowl size at first, but after finding so much mini & nano decor etc he truly exudes contentment. Are the first 2 called nemo koi plakats? What kind & color is your last betta, he is so very handsome. What are all their names? Do you spend time with yours? I've had bettas in the past and was so busy, I never really tuned into their personality and behavior. They are so much smarter than I realized. I'm teaching Ghost to do circles with my finger & push a ping ping ball ( I'm a professional horse trainer so I guess it's inevitable). I bet your old man is very content in his retirement home where it's conducive to resting, looking forward to seeing him

! Do you have to do anything special for your plants, I'm still using silk as I know nothing about live.

 

[Betta craze]

The Java fern is new but the Anubius is really easy and I don’t use anything to help them grow I’ve had the others for awhile now

the male koi is a galaxy koi, and his name is Mr. Sparkles, the koi female is a tiger koi, and her name is sparkles 😂, and the black one is a black orchid, and his name is Medusa

sorry that was really repetitive lol

I do spend quite a lot of time with my fish many will jump spin and swim though objects or eat of my hands they even let me “boop” Their faces 😂

 

[Platinum47]

The Java fern is new but the Anubius is really easy and I don’t use anything to help them grow I’ve had the others for awhile now

the male koi is a galaxy koi, and his name is Mr. Sparkles, the koi female is a tiger koi, and her name is sparkles 😂, and the black one is a black orchid, and his name is Medusa

sorry that was really repetitive lol

I do spend quite a lot of time with my fish many will jump spin and swim though objects or eat of my hands they even let me “boop” Their faces 😂

The Java fern is new but the Anubius is really easy and I don’t use anything to help them grow I’ve had the others for awhile now

the male koi is a galaxy koi, and his name is Mr. Sparkles, the koi female is a tiger koi, and her name is sparkles 😂, and the black one is a black orchid, and his name is Medusa

sorry that was really repetitive lol

I do spend quite a lot of time with my fish many will jump spin and swim though objects or eat of my hands they even let me “boop” Their faces 😂

I love it!😍