'Fish in a fish bowl'

Lucy (66.24.100.217) -

I have recently thought about gettint my 2 year old a few fish in a fish bowl. Nothing crazy like a big aquarium or anything just a simple bowl with some pebbles in it, a little castle and maybe a few small fish. How long do these fish live? I don't want to have to be running out and buying new fish every week because another one dies. I just think she would get a kick out of watching them swim around the bowl and she could feed them too. Any info. on having fish in a fish bowl would be great. Thanks in advance.

Comment #1 endora (24.45.126.104) -

They last close to a year from what i remember from my tanks. Again each type of fish is different. Some dont even mix well so make sure to ask the pet place when you are buying what fish they work well with.

Comment #2 Lucy (66.24.100.217) -

Thanks endora for the information. I would definitely ask at the pet store what fish I can put in together and all that good stuff. I just didn't want to replace fish constantly. I just think it would be neat for her to watch the fish swim around. Maybe Christmas. I will run it by the hubby and see what he says. You don't have to take them out to use the bathroom, they don't bark at the wind blowing, and they don't take up much room. I think I can convince him.

Comment #3 Courtney (1) from The South (Contact Member) -

If I were you I would buy a small 5 gallon tank with a lid because if you just get a bowl, your child will find a way to get her hands in the bowl and grab the fish. At least that is what most kids do, maybe your kiddo is well behaved.

Comment #4 Jeanette from AZ (Contact Member) -

When my youngest was 3 years old, she did in fact scoop out a goldfish out of a bowl at her cousin's house. I was mortified. The poor fish ended up dying. Definitely get something with a lid!!

Comment #5 endora (24.45.126.104) -

I always feel so bad for those betta fish. the ones you see alone in a small bowl at the pet shop. They look so sad in that tiny bowl. I hear they are fighter fish though and its hard to mix them.

Comment #6 Lucy from Hickville, USA (Contact Member) -

I honestly don't think she would go after the fish. I would put it on the kitchen counter and I would tell her 'no touch' and she would repeat 'no touch' back to me. I would explain the fish is only for looking at and not touching. Also she would be able to feed the fish with our help. I would get a couple of fish for the bowl. I wouldn't want them to be alone. I think it would work out. I would let her look at the fish anytime she wanted so maybe that would stop the curiousity of trying to pick the fish up out of the bowl.

Comment #7 snakelover from ask me (Contact Member) -

I used the feel sorry for the betas too but I find that in their normal habitat they are used to being in a cramped space. As a matter of fact they are much happier like that. I wouldn't cram to many into a tiny fish bowl. One is enough but I wouldn't do more than two.

Comment #8 Kimmy from inside my igloo...brrrr (Contact Member) -

I hear betta fish are good fish if you want a bowl instead of a tank and they last a real long time and yes they do not do too good with other fish the like to be by themselves.

Comment #9 lily from deep south (Contact Member) -

I have a beta at work. He currently lives in a vase with a water plant. I was worried that it wasn't the right habitat but according to the people at the pet store it is fine. He seems happy.

Comment #10 najdoyza from the mountains (Contact Member) -

Beta's are Siamese fighting fish and they prefer to be alone. You can get 3 of them into a ten gallon tank IF you partition the tank, but they will always be posturing at each other....lol They do not require a lot of space as long as you don't overfeed them and the water is kept clean. Some kind of water plant helps because it oxygenates the water. They will grow to the size of their environment pretty much. So if they have more space they will get bigger than one that has less. I had one in a water pitcher that held a little under a gallon. Looked like the Kool-Aid pitcher. He loved it because he could swim in the bottom or the top depending on his mood. But most of the time he hung out around the plant fluffing his fins...

Comment #11 QTPie from the rainforest (Contact Member) -

I had a couple of them some years back. The guy at the pet store I bought them at said the blues were male and the reds were female and you could put a male and female together in one tank or bigger bowl. He was wrong on both counts. After a few days of watching them circle each other I took them to a fish store and the lady there told me that some males are red, though she'd never heard of blue females. And she also told me that males and females will fight unless it's breeding season in which case they may stop fighting long enough to breed if the female likes the male.

Comment #12 Mark (216.210.105.121) -

It is very important to ask what type of fish you can have in a bowl. Unlike an aquariam most bowls are not filtered or heated.

I have a one gallon bowl with a beautiful betta fish, 3 white clouds, and 2 ghost shrimp.

All of these are suited to cooler water temperatures and get along well together. The ghost shrimp are fantastic at eating any food that falls to the ground and assist with keeping the bowl clean.

Also as the bowl is not filter you should change about 20% of the water 1-2 times/week. Clean the bowl monthly, but keep 80% of the water during the cleaning to replace in the new bowl as it contains beneficial bactiria that assist in breaking down ammonia into nitrites and then into nitrates.

Lots of good websites to find further info.

P.S. My 2 year old and 4 year old daughter love their fishbowl and enjoy feeding them as well as assisting with the water changes.

Cheers!

Comment #13 missy (209.83.9.74) -

Why do my fish stay at the top of the fish bowl? It's like they're looking for food...

Comment #14 bethany (82.38.1.137) -

hi im 11 and my mum got me three fish i got really atached to them but two weeks later one died then three days ago from today another one died then this morning another one did but i followed everything the pet shop told me to do and i cant understand what exzakly i did wrong i was hoping some one could tell me what to do ... i kept my three gold fish in a bowl is that ok? i feed them two times a day ... my mum says i should get some different fish instead and see if they survive better in the bowl but we don't know which fish suvive better in bowls could you please help me i really need to know? plz

Comment #15 Cindylu (76.224.86.193) -

I am looking for something VERY easy for my kids!! We've gone the fish tank route, but it ended ugly, if you know what I mean. We had fiddler crabs, which the pet store didn't tell us needed to be able to come out of the water. Sometimes I wonder if the people in the pet stores just make stuff up as they go. Anyhow. We loved the fiddlers! What I want to do is just have a small bowl in each kids room with one or two pets in them. I don't want to have to clean it all the time, I don't want to have to have a light or a heater either. And, I don't want anything that can be taken out and played with. Am I asking for too much? We already have two dogs, so the kids have plenty to do!

Thanks in advance for your help, hope someone can give me a good idea!!

:) :)

Comment #16 sweetnred18 from Enid, Oklahoma (Contact Member) -

my little 4 year old friend that i used to baby set has a 15 gallon fish tank with a lid on it and has a beta fish and gold fish in it and she loves to feed them every morning before going to daycare "school" and feeds them before going to bed....

Comment #17 Jeff from IL (Contact Member) -

FYI its easier to keep a larger tank clean plus better for the fish they will not die on u. If u really just want a few fish then i would seriously look into making a good investment in a 20gal high bc this way u will not be buying new fish eveery month or so plus it gives u more play with the types and quantity of fish u can have

Comment #18 Jill (71.83.58.216) -

Hey, on year for chrismas i got a betta fish. I keep it in a small 1/2 gallon tank. It contains a lid, plant and gravel. I also feed it once a day. My suggestion is to buy a divider which is in the tank if you want more than one fish. Bettas do not do well together. They are also very easy to take care of. Best of luck =)

Comment #19 ruby (203.177.113.137) -

ow no...how sad me is...

Comment #20 jenny walsh (62.3.237.150) -

my poor goldfish swish has died :(

Comment #21 JAred (24.224.188.42) -

I've heard you should never put two bettas in tank or bowl no matter what size it is because they'll fight one of them will die from the fight and the other will eventually die from wounds so i dont honestly know if thats true but i wouldnt do it :)

Comment #22 Dave (68.194.160.15) -

"common misconceptions about bettas"

Contrary to the above comments, it is a common misconception that Bettas are happy in small environments. The practical lower limit for a SINGLE INDIVIDUAL Betta is a 1.5 to 2 gallon tank.

They are also tropical fish and prefer WARMER water (77-82 degrees), contrary to what Mark has posted above.

All the info I got about Bettas came from the Wikipedia page on Bettas.

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