| Vase + Betta + Peace Lily = Betta Death Trap |
Article written By Amber C - TBO Founder
You may have received this as a gift. You may know someone who has one just like it. You think they look just
SO beautiful, they're just SO adorable. What could possibly go wrong with them? I'll tell you: Everything!
In most cases, you will receive an instruction card inside the vase. Normally, it will say to feed your Betta,
which is good. However, it also adds that you should use distilled water, and to never change the water, this is
wrong. Though Bettas hail from the rice paddies and mud puddles of Thailand, that does not mean they can
survive everything. Bettas use something called a labyrinth lung to breath surface air, while still using their gills
to gather oxygen from the water. This ensures that they are always able to breathe, in even the muddiest
environments. The Lily in the Lily Vase plugs up the hole, and thus prohibits your Betta from taking a breath of
air from the surface! Added onto that, in such a small environment, the roots begin to rot and fall off, thus
rising the level of ammonia and other toxins in your water, which are lethal to Bettas, as well as any other fish.
The roots also take up most of the space in the vase, added with the amount of feces your Betta puts off, it
would be like you swimming in a giant crap-infested toilet, with only a few inches to move around! I am sure
that does not sound very appealing to you at all, does it? Well, it's not appealing to your Betta, either, and it can
kill him!
Bettas mouths are upturned, so that in the wild, along with gulping fresh air, they can snatch bugs and larvae
that have fallen onto the water's surface without a problem. Bettas are meat eaters. They cannot survive off of
the roots of the Lily Vase. If you see him pecking at it, it is because he is starving! NOT because he likes it! If
you were hungry enough, you'd eat anything in sight too! Bettas need to be fed minimum of 6 pellets or
live/frozen food pieces of food a day (not all at once, spaced out).
The Lily Vase instructions also say to use distilled water. Again, false! You should be using either tap or spring
water, and you MUST use dechlorinator. Distilled water lacks the natural nutrients and minerals needed to keep
your fish healthy and happy.
In general, you will begin to see your Betta become lethargic. Then, he will begin to lose color. His fins will
become clamped, he will act like he is starving (BECAUSE HE IS!), soon he will develop a variety of illnesses, and
then he will die. This could take a long time, or a short time, but the point is, he is suffering a slow and
agonizing death. I have seen people try to "alter" the Lily Vase to the Bettas needs, but another factor, along
with dieing roots within such a tiny area, is that the vase is too small in the first place. Bettas need to be kept in
at LEAST a gallon of water.
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Page revised on 2/13/05 by Ruth-The Betta Obsession
Addition by Glorious Bettas 8/28/06:
Bettas are tropical fish and need a constant tropical temperature 78-80 degrees. Most aquarium heaters are for 2
gallons and up. Even though bettas do not need filters for the air they produce ALL fish (including bettas) need a
filter to help keep the water clean. Long finned bettas especially MUST have clean water or they will develop fin
rot and other bacterial diseases.
You may have received this as a gift. You may know someone who has one just like it. You think they look just
SO beautiful, they're just SO adorable. What could possibly go wrong with them? I'll tell you: Everything!
In most cases, you will receive an instruction card inside the vase. Normally, it will say to feed your Betta,
which is good. However, it also adds that you should use distilled water, and to never change the water, this is
wrong. Though Bettas hail from the rice paddies and mud puddles of Thailand, that does not mean they can
survive everything. Bettas use something called a labyrinth lung to breath surface air, while still using their gills
to gather oxygen from the water. This ensures that they are always able to breathe, in even the muddiest
environments. The Lily in the Lily Vase plugs up the hole, and thus prohibits your Betta from taking a breath of
air from the surface! Added onto that, in such a small environment, the roots begin to rot and fall off, thus
rising the level of ammonia and other toxins in your water, which are lethal to Bettas, as well as any other fish.
The roots also take up most of the space in the vase, added with the amount of feces your Betta puts off, it
would be like you swimming in a giant crap-infested toilet, with only a few inches to move around! I am sure
that does not sound very appealing to you at all, does it? Well, it's not appealing to your Betta, either, and it can
kill him!
Bettas mouths are upturned, so that in the wild, along with gulping fresh air, they can snatch bugs and larvae
that have fallen onto the water's surface without a problem. Bettas are meat eaters. They cannot survive off of
the roots of the Lily Vase. If you see him pecking at it, it is because he is starving! NOT because he likes it! If
you were hungry enough, you'd eat anything in sight too! Bettas need to be fed minimum of 6 pellets or
live/frozen food pieces of food a day (not all at once, spaced out).
The Lily Vase instructions also say to use distilled water. Again, false! You should be using either tap or spring
water, and you MUST use dechlorinator. Distilled water lacks the natural nutrients and minerals needed to keep
your fish healthy and happy.
In general, you will begin to see your Betta become lethargic. Then, he will begin to lose color. His fins will
become clamped, he will act like he is starving (BECAUSE HE IS!), soon he will develop a variety of illnesses, and
then he will die. This could take a long time, or a short time, but the point is, he is suffering a slow and
agonizing death. I have seen people try to "alter" the Lily Vase to the Bettas needs, but another factor, along
with dieing roots within such a tiny area, is that the vase is too small in the first place. Bettas need to be kept in
at LEAST a gallon of water.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Page revised on 2/13/05 by Ruth-The Betta Obsession
Addition by Glorious Bettas 8/28/06:
Bettas are tropical fish and need a constant tropical temperature 78-80 degrees. Most aquarium heaters are for 2
gallons and up. Even though bettas do not need filters for the air they produce ALL fish (including bettas) need a
filter to help keep the water clean. Long finned bettas especially MUST have clean water or they will develop fin
rot and other bacterial diseases.