Advocate

WHY YOU SHOULDN’T KEEP YOUR BETTAS IN BOWLS

A Betta place: Why you shouldn’t keep your bettas in bowls

When I was about seven or eight years old, my mom brought home a betta and kept it in a regular ol’ bowl. He was blue and very active and I loved watching him swim around in the bowl smacking into whatever things I dropped in for decoration. His name was Tamahome and he only lasted for about two and a half weeks before he died. A moment of silence for Tamahome (and for the fact that I named my fish after an anime character)...

Okay, as a kid, I did not know a thing about taking care of fishes and left that up to my mom (which I realize now might have been a mistake). All I did was feed my new fish twice a day – according to the little paper that came with my blue betta – and change the water once a week. I thought that was it. Guess not, because the next thing I knew, Tamahome was gone (and without me ever getting him a Miaka, too. Sads) and I didn’t even know why. I thought it was because I only fed him once a day before. Turns out, that wasn’t actually it. I don’t want to say it’s common sense, but it’s probably common sense but it’s probably common sense that keeping a betta fish in a simple little bowl is only asking for hard times and sadness. Luckily, a book entitled The Betta Bible by Dr. Martin Brammah landed in my lap – okay, no, a friend lent it to me when I asked for help. In any case, thanks to the book and some extra help from the Almighty Internet, it’s time to get cracking on why bettas shouldn’t be kept in bowls.