Can fish live in a glass bowl without a filter?

Question

Can fish live in a glass bowl without a filter?

Answer 1

NO!!!!!! the poor things See your pet store pro and get them an aquarium That's like having 5 dogs in a cage!

Answer 2

use tap water but add water conditioner to remove chlorine and other harmful chemicals.



bowls are not proper homes for any fish, as far as being able to survive in a bowl, it depends on the type of fish. what type do you have?



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unfortunately goldfish (especially comet) are one of the worst fish to keep in bowls. they are very very dirty and get to be 18" or more. I'd find them a new home or take them back (unless you have a 60g tank laying around or a pond in your yard). trash the bowl, do some research on the nitrogen cycle, types of fish you like and how to care for them, then try again.

Answer 3

Fish can sometimes survive for a few months in a glass bowl without a filter, but they'll be happier and healthier in a larger and more appropriate environment.



I'm guessing that you have either a betta or a goldfish, so I'll put some info in the sources for you to check out.

Answer 4

No they can't live in a bowl - at all - ESPECIALLY not without a filter. Your fish is a classic example. S/he's beginning to show the advanced signs of ammonia poisoning and gill damage caused by chlorine-rich water - gasping for air. Ammonia gets into the fish's body via the gills, and begins to restict bloodflow to the gills, causing the fish to gasp at the surface.



You NEED to get this fish a filter, otherwise, it won't survive for much longer :-( . It also needs a 55gal tank or bigger.



Yes, you can do water changes with tapwater, but you can't put tap water straight into the tank - you need to treat it first. Any pet shop will sell dechloronator which will remove the chlorine. I recommend you go for a brand that SPECIFICALLY says it deals with chloramine as well.



Once you have the filter and dechloronator, you need to start carrying out DAILY partial water changes of 15% until ammonia and nitrite (which is almost as poisonous as ammonia) read 0. Put a liquid based test kit such as API freshwater liquid test on the shopping list as well.

Answer 5

no you have to have a filter in the tank. Goldfish are very filthy fish and produce a lot of waste so they do need a filter because if you change the water like every week the fish will die

Answer 6

yeah they need a filter, the water will eventually run out of oxygen if you don't have one..plus the tank will get really dirty..that's why goldfish never live long at fairs and stuff (cruelty to animals).

Answer 7

Normally i would just say fruit, but i think both. I enjoy the sugariness of the fruits but i love the piquancy and kick the greens bring

Answer 8

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Hi, I hope I can persuade you to change your plans! First off the simple answer to your question is yes it is possible for a fish to live in a glass bowl but it really isn't much of a life. Look at it this way-despite popular belief that fish are stupid, short lived & have a 3 second memory the facts are that fish are extremely intelligent, friendly, inquisitive, long-lived creatures with good memories & can grow well over a foot in length so to incarcerate one in a tiny bowl is plain cruelty. He will have a miserable short life & will die from either suffocating on his own waste, 'stunting' where his internal organs grow while his body doesn't or he'll simply go stir-crazy in a featureless sphere with nothing to do. Those iconic images of Goldfish in bowls you see in Hollywood movies are borne out of nothing but pure ignorance where the feelings of a living creature are ignored & he is reduced to nothing more than an ornament for our entertainment. Keeping fish is like looking after any other living creature that we choose to share our lives with-we have a moral duty to provide it with the best possible care & do as much research as we can to that end. No fish deserves anything less than a large, filtered tank with a fitted lid. The first link tells you in great detail about why bowls are a bad idea all round [pun intended] & the second one shows you some fish that are ideal to keep in unfiltered bowls!

Answer 9

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RE:

Can fish live in a glass bowl without a filter?

Do fish have to have a filter to live? My fish is always going to the surface of the water and "sucking" at the air. Is this normal?

Answer 10

There have been loads of answers, and many people are still parroting the same propaganda spread by money-minded manufacturers & retailers of goldfish bowls & other small 'tanks'. It's one of the most insidious & dangerously pervasive misinformation that has plagued this hobby for eons.



Theoretically the fish can certainly live but the real follow-up question is "for how long?". I fail to see any benefit in aiming to keep fish alive for only a very short time. NO fish can survive long, grow well & thrive in a small, unfiltered tank. This also includes bettas who, contrary to popular misconception, do not live in "small bodies of water" in their country of origin. I would hardly call rice paddies that are constantly at least semi-flooded (way bigger than your house's total floor area), river streams & long canals "small bodies of water", right?



Constant gulping of air at the surface is NOT normal, this is a condition called hypoxia or oxygen deprivation. Which only proves that bowls & other small containers can support only a very limited amount of oxygen in the water, which is further worsened by lack of some kind of aeration. Goldfish are coldwater fish who need way more oxygen than tropical freshwater fish, so it is even worse to keep goldfish in such conditions.



The smaller the tank, the faster the water quality deteriorates from the fish's urine, poop and decayed uneaten food. So actually larger tanks are definitely easier to maintain & are more stable. The aim should be to have better water quality & need for less frequent water changes, so people who want smaller tanks that are also unfiltered are only making things difficult for themselves. If keeping goldfish, they are champion poopers which makes a good filter even more essential.



As for tap water, it varies widely even within the same country. So one person's success with water straight from the tap is quite unlikely to be duplicated by someone even in the next city. The safest is still to use a water conditioner that can deactivate both chlorine & chloramine, as well as removing heavy metals. Best also to wait about 10 mins after adding it before using the treated water in your tank, to give it time to thoroughly treat your water.



Common goldfish & Comets can reach a max size of 1 foot or 30cm, with fancy goldfish half that size, hence are commonly kept in outdoor ponds. Indoors, they need at least a 3 foot long tank. They can live for decades in the right conditions & practically become lifelong pets that children grow up with. However, they will never live to die from old age as long as misguided people continue to stress them out in wildly inappropriate living conditions.

Answer 11

Round Glass Fish Bowl

Answer 12

Fish aren't decorations. They are living creatures. Please consider this before you try and use them as such. This is real life, not the movies. Most glass bowls are far too small to comfortably keep a goldfish (or a betta for that matter). As it gets larger, it will need a bigger tank or problems will arise. Also, you need to be sure to keep it very clean and moderate the temperature carefully. Without a heater, your fish could become stressed by temperature fluctuations. You will most likely have to do daily water changes in order to keep it habitable. Personally, I've found that my betta fish prefer those "electrical aids", such as a heater, filter, and a slow, controlled air pump. I also keep my fish in decent-sized tanks specially planted to provide cover without taking up too much tank space. Just because a fish can survive the harsh conditions of a glass bowl does not mean you should subject them to that. They will likely be a lot more stressed in that bowl than they would in a properly maintained tank that provides for their needs.

Answer 13

Glass Goldfish Bowl

Answer 14

Goldfish often have a lot of difficulty living in bowls without filters. It's certainly possible to keep them without one, but the bowl will require a LOT of cleaning in order for the goldfish to get the oxygen they require from the water. Keep a close watch on your fish. If they really are sucking air from the surface extremely frequently, it's likely that they aren't getting enough air from the water. Clean the bowl as much as possible (a few times a week wouldn't hurt) and continue watching them for troubled behavior, and you might want to at least consider opting for a nice little tank with a filter so that they'll be healthy and happy!

Answer 15

Fish will NOT live in a bowl if they did they would only live for a few months at the most, the fish going to the top is a sign of oxygen depletion, my advice to you is go and buy a big tank for them with a filter, live plants, and a air pump before its too late

Answer 16

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Answer 17

Okay, for a goldfish to grow and survive to it's full potential, it really needs atleast 10 gallons of water.

The chlorine in tap water is harmful to the fish, it's best to go to your petshop and buy water conditioner, usually it's a drop of conditioner to 1 gallon of water.

Goldfish are dirty fish. they need to be cleaned very often, therefore a filter is a good idea.

your fish is probably sucking at the surface due to lack of oxygen in the water, i use a filter, bubbler and live plants to combat the problem.

plus live plants are edible for the fish.

be sure to allow your fish to adjust to different temperatures. the shock can kill them.

i'd say the whole bowl of water should be changed weekly, but with tanks 25% of the water should be changed each week with a monthly scrub of the tank.

a bowl is a novelty, it is not best for the health and lifespan for your fish.

Answer 18

You dont need a filter unless they are tropical fish, If they are you will need a filter and warm water, But if its just a normal fish you can use tap water and no filter, But you will need to clean it out Alot more than what you would have to if you just used a filter.

Answer 19

Yes, your fish can live in a glass bowl without a filter- since your fish are goldfish, goldfish are hardier than a lot of other types of fish and can survive in the colder water of bowls. You'll have to be more vigilant about cleaning it out and not overfeed in a bowl, though. The best bowl to have would be one with a wide surface area so the fish can do just what you saw it do- go to the surface for oxygen. There's more oxygen available in a wider mouth bowl than in a tall bowl with a narrower mouth.

The plus side of a filter and good aeration in a tank environment is it improves the quality of the oxygen in the water, keeps it circulating regularly for the fish. It helps to keep them healthier.

Answer 20

You have to change the water frequently -about once every other day- if you don't use a filter. I used tap water for my fish but I let it stand in a jar for a few hours before putting it on my fish bowl -someone told me it helps, I don't know it might be wrong. I also filtered the water before using it when we moved to a hard water area.



I think it depends on how hard the water is in your area though and the type of fish you have.

Answer 21

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Answer 22

Yes, it has to have a filter. Try filling up your bathtub with water, add your daily piss and poop and see how you would like living in your own waste. Why would you want that for your pet? If you don't use a filter, nitrogen levels go up and your fish will die.



And tap water is fine if you let it sit for eight hours, the chlorine evaporates, just make sure it's 65-75 degrees F before adding the fish

Answer 23

Yes, they can, but after a day or two all the oxygen goes out of the water. The smaller the bowl the less water and therefore the less oxygen.

Round bowls aren't really very nice for fish to live in, can you imagine swimming round and round and round, so boring for them?

Anyway back to the water, I used to let the tap water run into the fish tank to re-oxygenate for a couple of minutes, the fish used to love swimming through the bubbles.

My fish used to live to a right old age, so can't be that harmful using tap water.

I must stress though I'm talking about goldfish.

Hope this helps.

Answer 24

Yes they can life in a glass bowl without a bowl, they will go to the surface for occasional air.



I don't like fish in bowls anyway, I see it cruel and Be live they should be kept in a proper tank. A filter isn't necessary for your bowl. But you will have to clean the Bowl more often.

Answer 25

it depends on the fish... most fish probably cant because the fliter puts oxygen into the water. and without that, they'll die. goldfish and bettas can live just fine in a fish bowl though. you just need to clean the blow every few days and it can turn out to be a lot of work. their also probably happier in a tank with a filter.

Answer 26

The only fish that can truly live out it's life in a bowl is a betta. That's because in nature they live in small bodies of water, and therefore do not need a lot of space (though they certainly don't mind large tanks) and can live without a filter.

A goldfish is another story. They all grow quite large, and process their food very quickly. Which means they poop a lot. The more a fish poops, the quicker your water fills up with ammonia. Ammonia is toxic to fish. Eventually your fish will die prematurely from constantly being under stress. (Goldfish are supposed to live upwards of 12 years!)

The fish is most likely going to the top because he is suffocating. This can be caused by both lack of oxygen in the water (which you can use an air stone to solve) and too much ammonia - which means you aren't cleaning your bowl enough. To be honest - it's much easier to keep a fish alive the bigger your tank is.

And tap water is the best choice for your fish - just go to a pet store and pick up a three dollar tap water dechlorinator.

Hope that helped.

Just in case anyone is wondering - tap water is best because it already contains the potassium, calcium, and other minerals that your fish NEED. And unfortunately, while letting tap water sit for 24 hours will allow the chlorine to evaporate, it will not evaporate the chloramines, which are even more toxic to your fish. That's why you need to buy dechlorinator. It's cheap, and it'll save your fish's life.

Answer 27

it depends on the type of fish; most tropical fish need to have a filter, otherwise the oxygen content of the water isnt high enough for them to survive. the water becomes "flat" and theyre used to living in water that has a large amount of air trapped in it.



yeah, fish are always "sucking" at the surface; still, i'd get a filter because thats better for the fish...

Answer 28

They do not need a filter. I have a Betta and I use tap water, but the trick is to let the water sit (I use a gallon jug) for 24 hours before you do a water change.

Answer 29

No they dont. And you would need to clean the tank once a week.

Answer 30

yes thay can



you just need to clean there bowl once every two weeks

Answer 31

Suzann p is correct.

Answer 32

yes but it takes more work.

Answer 33

Yes they can,

Yes its normal.

Just clean it out alot and dont feed them too much, its the over feeding that kills them.