Can Betta fish survive without a heater or filter in a fish bowl?
Aquarists usually keep betta in a
bowl, which means they do not use any heater or filter in the bowl. Betta fish
endures in the bowl even without any filtration or heating method that is the
reason why Bettas are classified for beginners.
However, Betta fish, similar to
any other fish, need clean & warm water otherwise it will live in stress
& your fish might get sick or have a shorter life span.
Keeping Betta fish in a bowl needs hard work because you will change water frequently. Before cleaning a bowl, it is recommended to remove Betta from the bowl, and then siphon the gravels to wipe out impurities. Fill water in the bowl, & wait for the water temperature to settle before you put Betta back in the bowl. If you keep Betta fish in a 10-gallon tank, then changing 30% water after a week will not take more than 10 minutes. Choosing a larger tank will reduce the maintenance because fish waste & other impurities releases ammonia that is very toxic for the fish. They can stress or ill your fish. Toxic chemicals have a higher impact on fish in a small tank because their concentration is higher but in large tanks, the concentration of dangerous chemicals is lower. It is very important to cycle your tank before adding fish so aquarists first perform a nitrogen cycle that produces heaps of useful bacteria in the tank, and then add fish to the aquarium. Useful bacteria removes ammonia from the water & keeps water clean. Hence, if you add a filter, then the mechanical filtration media will remove the remaining food, fish waste & other debris that will otherwise rot & release ammonia. Useful bacteria grow in abundance over the bio media so they break down ammonia into less dangerous forms. The product of the nitrogen cycle is nitrates. Nitrates are considerably less dangerous than ammonia but still toxic for the life of fish if their concentration is higher. Changing partial water on a weekly basis will wipe out nitrates from the water & it takes around 10 minutes. Therefore, experts recommend changing around 30% water every week to keep nitrates in control. Keeping Betta fish in a 10-gallon aquarium will only need 10 minutes maintenance. Now you would have understood the job of a filter & you might consider adding a filter or might want to skip it. If you still do not want to add a filter, then make sure you add heaps of live plants in the bowl that will absorb ammonia, & nitrates to improve water quality. In addition, you should not overfeed your Betta & siphon the substrate when performing water change.
Another role of an aquarium filter is that it adds oxygen in the water. Bettas however, do not need that much oxygen. Filter disturbs the water, & Betta fish do not like turbulence in the water. Therefore, you can keep your Betta in a bowl without a filter.
If you want to keep Betta without a heater in a bowl, then ensure that your room temperature remains in the mid of 70s Fahrenheit. Cold water will stress your Betta fish & your fish might get ill or die.
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