How to Decorate a Fish Bowl for a Betta Fish

Betta fish are beautiful and elegant; they have vibrant personalities and are very easy to maintain. All you need for a simple betta fish setup is a good bowl or aquarium, substrate and fun decor. With a proper setup, you can enjoy a betta fish for years.

  1. Size of the Bowl

    • It's very common to house a betta fish in a small fish bowl, but you want to make sure that the bowl is at least 1.5 gallons. When using a fish bowl, you need to be more diligent at keeping the water clean, but a fish bowl is the easiest option when housing a betta. If you opt to upgrade your betta, a small tank with a filter will help maintain the water better and give you more room to decorate.

    Substrate

    • There are many options that you can use for the substrate in the bowl. Plain gravel, large stones and colored glass marbles are popular options. When housing a betta in a small bowl, avoid using sand because full water changes will be needed regularly, so the sand can become messy. Marbles and pebbles are easier to clean around when using a smaller fish bowl, but larger stones can create space for waste to hide. If you're using a bowl that is on the larger size, or you have a small tank, plain aquarium gravel is the easiest to siphon through to remove waste and keep the water balanced.

    Caves and Statues

    • Your betta may not swim through the caves and decor, but he will swim around them. Adding decor will create a fun theme for your fish bowl. Your can find a wide variety of caves and decor at your local pet store. Fun themes include ancient oriental or Roman empires, pirates ships with buried treasure and underwater ruins. Be careful of decorations that have sharp or rough edges because the edges can tear your betta's delicate fins. If you're using a small fish bowl, use fewer plants and statues, whereas a larger bowl or aquarium offers more space for decorations and swim paths.

    Plants

    • Both live and fake plants can create a fun look to your fish bowl. Fake plants come in a wide variety of sizes and colors. Live plants also come in a wide variety. Fake plants can be an easy choice, but you will find that live plants can help maintain the water balance in the bowl as they oxygenate the water and air. Safe plants for your betta fish can include the Chinese evergreen, pothos, philodendron and peace lily. Live plants sway in the water, and your betta fish will have more interaction with a natural plant over a plastic plant that remains stiff.