"Betta in a Vase"

a.k.a. Betta Death Chamber

* You've given Mom candy, you've given Mom flowers * Now give Mom a truly unique and meaningful gift! A Peacelily and Betta fish who live in harmony in a beautiful crystal vase! No maintenance required - just fill the vase with bottled water, put in the Betta fish, top with the peacelily and enjoy. The peacelily's roots provide the Betta fish with food and the wastes created by the Betta fertilize the Peacelily. * Instant, maintenance free beauty! *

Yes, that is right folks, now you too can own your very own Betta Death Chamber! All you have to do is follow the instructions in the add above and watch while your beautiful betta starves to death.

Seriously though, this product is being sold through various web sites and big name department stores. Many of these "Betta in a Vase" products are often advertised as being maintenance free, claiming that cleaning the vase and feeding the betta is unnecessary. Any responsible pet owner knows that all pets, including Bettas, must be fed and cleaned up after. Many betta breeders feel that this product should not be on the market at all. One has gone so far as to say that this product should be declared inhumane.

My personal feeling is that if you believe that this is a great idea and wish to spend $50 on a "Betta in a Vase" then do so. However, once your acquire such a product immediately disregard all instructions pertaining to the fish. Bettas must be fed a healthy diet every other day (see Feeding) and the vase that they are kept in must be of appropriate size (quart or larger) and cleaned at least once a week depending on size (see Water Changes). There are many claims out there that the Bettas can live off the plant matter that they may manage to munch off of the roots of the peacelily. There has been no official research done on Bettas and an all-plant diet, but the fact of the matter is that all current betta experts agree that the majority of the Bettas' diet is insects, making Bettas more or less carnivores.

A betta in the "Betta in a Vase" environment must be fed as one would feed a betta in any other tank/jar environment. Many marketers of the "Betta in a Vase" also say that the peacelily also absorbs all the waste created be the betta and as a result the vase does not have to be cleaned. While the peacelily may absorb liquid nitrogenous waste it will not absorb the solid waste excreted by the fish. This means that the vase must be cleaned on a regular basis, at least once a week. To sum it up, this "Betta in a Vase" idea may be appealing to some, but if you purchase such a product please do not fall victim to outrageous claims made by the sellers. Be a responsible pet owner and take care of your betta(s).