Lucky Bamboo and Betta

Well, I am thinking about getting a betta and putting it in a jar/bowl, however, I want to put some lucky bamboo in the bowl, is this safe? I read on a website that it should be o.k. but I wanted some more second-hand opinions and input from you guys!





Thanks !

 

As long as you have the betta in a jar that's at least 2 gallons, then it should be okay. I know a couple people whe keep bamboo in their aquariums and haven't had any problems. But if the jar is small, then you're just doing a variation of the betta vase which is a really bad idea.

-Chelle

 

like t_chelle said, its fine....i have actually seen vases with bamboo made for bettas in many petstores before.

 

K, thanks for your posts!

 

I was also worried that if my betta nibbled some of the bamboo he might get sick. Also, im planning on buying a really big jar/bowl for the betta, does it need a lid. Do you have any advice about setup for the betta, or any helpful websites? Is it also true that bettas don't like flake food? What should I then feed them if this is true?



Thank you for all your help!

 

Lids are a good idea as bettas are pretty good jumpers.

I've fed my bettas flakes before but had a few that just flat out refuse to eat them. All my bettas now enjoy pellets.

 

Here's some good info on keeping bettas:

http://flippersandfins.net/faq.htm

-Chelle

 

dont worry about your betta eatng the bamboo....thats stuff is WAY to strong for bettas to be taking bites out of.

 

The rumor at the local department store is that the bettas eat the roots from plants and don't need to be fed at all. The truth is that I have never seen a betta chew or nibble on a plant root. The roots provide no nutritional value. Just try to trim down the roots from the lucky bamboo every once in a while, they grow pretty crazy. The betta will find refuge in the roots and may even rest on them.

 

yea, i have never seen any of the bettas that i have owned before that had the plant above them eat the roots.

 

Plus, bettas need quite a bit of protein in their diets so even if they did eat the plant roots, they'd still suffer from malnutrition.

I did read somewhere that the original idea was to use goldfish (the'd actually nibble on the roots). But someone realized that goldfish got way too big so it was a really bad idea. Someone else figured bettas stay small so they just substituted in a betta but never bothered changing the instructions (not that either idea was a good one if you want to keep the fish alive for more than a few weeks).

Not sure how true it is, but it sounds plausible.

-Chelle

 

Alright, thanks for your posts!

 

I'm not at the least an aquascaping expert but, I'm going to buy my betta bowl about two days from now, but I don't know where I should get one of those betta starting kits that come with a plaster container thing for the betta, water conditioner, gravel, flake food and a fake plant for like 10.00 or should I go to walmart or the dollar store and buy a big goldfish bowl, or a big jar and buy colorful pebbles or marbles, and add my own live plant and snail, more than likely my bamboo and decorate his bowl myself for possibly a bit more.


Here is the link to the exact one I'm going to buy at super pet.

http://www.petco.com/familylisting....at=83&cm_pla=fm1556113400&cm_ite=fm1556113400

 

Since the tank in that kit is too small to use, I think it would be a waste of money.

Personally, I'd buy everything separate. Walmart has 3 gallon jars (they're labeled as 2 gallons, but they're actually 3) for around $12. I currently have 2 set up with bettas.



For lighting, you'd probably have to get something that would clip onto the lip, or you could just put it under a desk lamp.

Then you could buy your own decorations. It would be a little more than that kit, but like I said, the tank with that kit is pretty much worthless becasue it's so small.

-Chelle

 

That's true chelle, not to mention that those kits usually supply a bowl that is not very thick. When you wind up with glass that is thin and needs to be cleaned out, you can really break them quite easily. I've known some people that have actually cut themsleves when a break occurs.

 

I had that exact same one (same exact color) and they're definately not the healthiest environment.

Aside from the tank being too small they give you way too much gravel. If you put the whole pack in you'll end up with about and inch of gravel which takes away a lot of the space (not that there's much to being with).

The slits at the top are very wide and allow a lot of dust to get into the water.

I also found that the water would evaporate quickly and not to mention the plant that comes with it takes up almost half of the tank!

 

I see, it seemed at a decent size at least 2 gallons when I last saw it at the pet store, or maybe it was another similar look a like. I guess I have to spend more and buy a bigger home for the betta. I guess I'll buy a big bowl for like $8.00 at super pet.

 

There are ones like that you can buy that look the same but are bigger if you like the shape.

Hagen makes an acrylic tank for small animals/fish that I use as an aquarium for my betta. It's called "Small Pen Pals". The Large size is about 2 gallons and the extra Large is 3 gallons.

Here's a pic:



With gravel, plants,decoractions, a net, and food (plus the tank) it cost me around $30-$35.

 

K, thanks for your posts.

I went to the wal - mart today and there was not any of those giant glass jar things that t_chelle was telling me about, but they did have those really small betta starter up kits ( the small one in my link) and they had a bunch of goldfish bowls. I really want my betta now so then I bought a 2 gallon goldfish bowl. All that I need is get is something to cover it and then I should be set. I spent too much of my money on other things so I couldn't buy really colorful marbles or pebbles, but I'll do that later. I just haven't quite decided on what color to buy. I think it is going to be between blue or red. Thanks! Any other suggestions?

 

Oops, I probably should have mentioned it earlier, but the jars I mentioned are in the kitchen supply dept. But a 2 gallon fish bowl is good too.

-Chelle