Anyone Successful with a Fish in a Bowl?

We had a goldfish that lived in a 3-gallon bowl of tap water for over six, almost seven years.
No filter, no pump. We added dechlorinating drops to the water and did a half change on it once a week.

The only types of fish I have ever had success w/ in a bowl are betas.
And yes-they move. They always come to "greet" you when you get near the bowl. Maybe it's more of a defense thing...but I like to think they are excited to see me. :)
Easy to take care of and hardy.
Goldfish...not so much.

We had a goldfish (a party favor--thanks!) in a 2 gallon bowl for over 2 years! I cleaned it & changed the water every week.

Well as "cruel" people we have a goldfish in a bowl currently. We have a large 30 gallon tank also currently emply as we moved a while back. We have had goldfish for over 10 years off and on one even lasted 7 years! Our current goldfish is very happy in his bowl and we feed him well.

We use tap water, but we have a tap water condition that costs maybe $6 and last for at least a half year.

Our little fishy cost us 22 cents and the extras run about $10 a year with a fish bowl.

Betta fish although beautful are a very boring pet for kids. My kids love giving our goldfish oranges to eat, among other fruits and veggies. Fun for the kids cheap for mommy and daddy.

Get a single Betta fish, they survive just about anything. You can use tap water and add purifying drops. They hardly eat anything. Betta's are fun, yes they move! The one we have 'bucks up' and me if I put my face to the (small) habitat, and he gets all excited before you feed him... the silly little thing is pretty cute ;)

Our goldfish "Goldie" is in tap water in a glass bowl for three years. She seems very happy!

when my daughter wanted a fish this Christmas I thought it would be a cheap alternative to another pet (i.e. gerbal, gunea pig, hampster). Well, the fish (we got 2 guppies) were cheap--about $2. Their upkeep, not so much. We use tap water with some purifying chemicals. Guppies are very social so you need to get 2 or more of them. they are also smelly little fish. Now that I have purchased all the gravel, small tank, chemicals, vacuum, etc, I haven't had to spend anything, but it was initially a lot more than I wanted. I didn't get a goldfish because I was told they need more room to swim. I have heard betas can live in a small bowl, but you have to keep them alone (no sharing with other fish).

We're successful with one or two goldfish in a bowl. We have some fish rocks on the bottom and a couple fake plants. We use tap water, but only after it sits for 24 hours. The fish are fed a small amount of food once a day. If I skip a day, no big deal. The more you feed it, the faster the water needs to be changed. Good luck!

A paradise gourami is a good choice for a bowl. They like the temps, and do not need much space. betta's really are supposed to have warmer water temps. A paradise gourami is related to a betta, and you cannot house two males together. We have had our paradise gourami in a bowl for 5 years now! Google the name and you should come up with info. Also, they may be called "paradise fish" at petstores. I have seen them at petsmart. Look at the pictures online so you can know what you are looking for.

Goldfish do not do well in bowls unless you are prepared to change their water every single week without fail. The reason: Their feces is too acidic and they need more oxygen. If you want to get a goldfish, I strongly recommend a small tank with a filter and airaetor. But be prepared...goldfish are a dirty fish and their filters/tanks need a lot of attention.

If you want a "bowl fish" get a Betta. We've had ours in a nice big bowl for 2 years. I change the water every three weeks or so, and add water as it evaporates in between. I don't treat the water at all....just get a pitcher of tap water and let it sit out overnight until the chlorine evaporates. We've neer had a problem.

Don't believe the little pet store kid who tells you that Bettas only need tiny spaces. Get a big bowl for him. Mine is about 12 inches in diameter. Also, make sure that it's not one that is made for turtles (with a really wide opening). Bettas occasionally jump. I bought our bowl from Walmart after initially having our Betta in a little container, but then researching and realizing that he'd probably like some room to move around.

Best of luck!

10 gallons per goldfish is the proper way to take care of them, but as you see, plenty of them survive with less. As to needing bottled water it really depends on how the water is where you live. I have lived places where tap water was fine and places where the fish died if I didn't bottled water no matter what I did to condition the water.

I have had better luck with Betas. We have two.. One in each girls room.. The fish are still going strong 2 years old. Yes they move around. We have little square tanks for each fish.. With the large gem shape rocks.. They like the big rocks. We bought our cute little tanks at pets smart. They are on sale for 12 dollars on line at pet smart.
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I'd say go with a beta. My favorite fish growing up (we had a few) was a beta. It was more lively than other fish we had. My husband got one kind of as a joke one year for Christmas, and I was surprised how much he enjoyed it. I was also surprised at how it seemed to really respond to him. They are easy to take care of and don't need a huge amount of room. You do have to be careful about how you change the water, but I'm pretty sure we used regular tap water with some kind of drops. You should be able to get better information from someone at a pet store.

My parents had a goldfish for my son in his room at their house. It was in a fishbowl with a small filter and some rocks at the bottom.

I had a beta for 3 years in a vase with some marbles, no filter no nothing , so a fish bowl would be plenty big :) He needed distilled water (not bottled drinking water, the kind you put in an iron), but it didn't have to be changed often at all. He DEFINITELY moved around. Beta's are great about knowing you're in the room etc. He would give "kisses" through the glass and all that stuff :)

We have a Beta. We are on Rex 2 and he's lived for almost 2 years! He swims to the edge of the bowl and watches people when they are close by. He also recognizes his food container and follows it (not sure how he knows this - he's a fish - but he does). He Rex moved around and fanned out his fins a lot more when he was younger. As fish go, he's pretty cool.

My daughter won a goldfish at the county fair at the end of July. I Let her play the game because she had to get a little ping pong ball in a tiny beta bowl. Sure enough, last ball, she got it in, she was so proud and got to pick out her little fishy, then her sister, her and her new fishy and I were off to the store to get everything we needed for "Nemo". Just got a 1/2 gallon rectangular tank on a stand, colorful pebbles, a little character for the inside of tank and fishy food. Think it was all under $12. Didn't think he was going to live very long, especially since we have well water but he seems to be doing well. Might have to get a bigger tank because he is getting bigger. I empty about half off the water out every other day, wash everything with warm water and fill it back up, takes like 5 minutes. But the "coolness" of the fish definitely wore off about 3 days after he arrived. Now he's just another chore for me, but every once in awhile they still really enjoy him. Have also have had betas live for a few years in a 1gallon tank. Had a filter and put a divider in between so they could see one another. They were pretty neat and very pretty. Good luck and have fun!

Pet peeve of mine. It is not a beta, it is a betta. It is not pronounced like the greek letter, but like bet uh. I don't even know why I had to bring that up lol.

Anyway, I had a goldfish in a 10 gallon from walmart tank for a year, till he could no longer turn around, I used to put tap water in mine, and he was just fine. Actually he is still alive, but I gifted him to my daughters school, he is 2 years old now, and spent his first year in tap water. You can buy tap water treatment, but if you leave a gallon of water out on the counter it settles out just fine.

Bettas are awfully pretty, and they move around like any other fish.

This is really lame, but I was president of an aquarium club for a number of years, so I know a good bit about fish!

Edit - I said 10 gallon, I meant ONE GALLON lol, sorry.
Hope you enjoy violet, and I am so glad you said betta!

Oh gosh, when I was a kid I had 2 goldfish in a little "bowl" (It was actually a small aquarium but it only held a gallon (Probably less) of water. After a few months, the bigger one killed the other one. Then I got mad at that one and didn't want it anymore so we gave it to my next door neighbor (Who was actually my great great aunt) to have in her small backdoor pond.

The fish was great while it lasted, and no... You do not need 10 gallons of water for a goldfish. The fish might like living in a bigger tank more but it definitely doesn't NEED it.

omg...when I was a kid we won one of those free goldfish in a bowl at a fair or a kids day thing somewhere.....no one took care of it very well, the water was always yucky, and that stupid thing lived for like 3 years! haha
as far as getting a Beta to put on a show....just put a mirror up to the bowl! they freak! LOL

I would go the Betta route, they usually lie 2-5 years. For a betta I would let tap water stand for a day or two, then there are specail drops you can put it in the water (bottle last a long time). I usually cleaned the bowl every week, somtimes every other week. Bettas are great first time fish, note you can only do one in a bowl otherwise they will "fight."

Our ballet studio has had Goldie the Goldfish on the front counter for several years now. It's in a small bowl (maybe 1 gallon?) with a tiny little filter in it. The fish seems perfectly content (I mean, I don't know how you tell, but it's still alive and hasn't tried to jump out of the bowl or anything! lol). I do know that you CAN use tap water, however you are supposed to let the water sit and air out for a while (24 hours) first because that allows the chlorine to dissipate. If you are on well water, you'd probably be fine to use the water right away. They also sell tablets at the pet store that will get rid of the chlorine right away if you want to use tap water.

leave the water out for 24 hours and it's fine.
My daughter had a goldfish she won at the fair for 7 years.
If you buy water buy spring water, distilled is to clean for the, They like plants to eat. They sell plants for goldfish. lol

We've had 2 goldfish that we have had since Sept and they seem to be surviving just fine. But we have them in a small aquarium (about 2 gallons) with a filter to help keep it clean. We do use tap water but we also have a water additive that helps clear the water of anything harmful (you just add a few drops for each gallon of water).

Betas can do okay in a bowl because they have the ability to get oxygen from the air, and they do swim around and are fairly active - it's just those poor things that you see in these tiny little bowls probably are not swimming around much because they just don't have any room! (I always feel sorry for them!). But they would still do better with a small aquarium with a filter system. We were actually able to get ours at the local thrift store for $7 and it's worked great!