bettas & fish bowls

Hi, I was wondering if there were any betta (aka Siamese Fighting Fish) experts out there because I have a question. A lot of pet stores and breeders keep the fish in those tiny little jars, and I'm wondering why. Do the fish not care that they have nowhere to swim? Do they not like to swim around that much anyway? I'm in an apartment where space is at a premium, and the smaller the bowl, the better (because it means I can have more fish http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/wink.gif However it seems inhumane to keep fish in tiny bowls where their movement is so restricted, unless I knew that the fish didn't mind. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Siamese fighters usually kept in small jars by people who have too many to house properly - breeders and pet stores. It really is suitable only for a short time.
You can only have one male fighter per tank and you must choose tank mates very carefully as fighters are easily stressed. Tiger barbs, for instance tend to bully and fin bite unless kept as a fairly large shoal.
Gourami's do well with fighters but need a decent size tank for several fish.
The best advice I can give is to ask at your local pet stores about tank conditions/mates, see what store is happy to advise and are not just after your money and stick with them. Good luck, once you start you will be hooked for ever!

I've thought the same thing about my two fighting fish (Herb and Sushi - seperate bowls of course). And then one day Sushi's bowl accidentally broke while I was cleaning it. The only other bowl I had to put him in was a large gold fish bowl. So I set him in there thinking that he'll probably take advantage of the space and go crazy. But for weeks and months he just kept in a little space at the bottom of the bowl. No matter how much space you give them, I don't think they really care too much for a lot of long distance swimming.

That is sad - Siamese are very territorial fish and if they are kept in a small space that is their territory. Then moving them to a large space is very stressful for them and they often can't handle it. Putting two or three females in with him may perk him up and give him something else to think about!!

I have heard, someone please correct me if I am wrong, that fish have a memory of about 3 seconds. I was told that the reason it's ok to keep them in a tank so small, compared to their size, is because by the time they do a lap around the tank they have forgotten what the rest of the tank looked like, therefor, they always have "variety" no matter how small the tank is. I am skeptical as to whether or not this is true, but fish are the creatures I know VERY little about so I guess I am asking you fish people if this was something said to me to help ease the pain of keeping fish in a tank too small for them.

This is a well known "fact" - but how do they remember where their territories are, how big the tank is, to hate the dog and try to attack him but not mind the cat, to react to my son and me and ignore my daughter and my husband? I too think this is rubbish - a lot of fish behaviour can be put down to instinct but certainly some of it requires a slightly better memory than is popularly believed.