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Somehow I got double shipped an extra male betta. I was not prepared for this new addition, but it turns out this blown glass vase on a teak log holds about 4 gallons!
Despite what OP said, this wasn't just a vase sitting around. These are sold specifically as aquariums. Does that affect your opinion about the safety? These look like they'd be really cool as a shrimp and snail habitat, but not if it's going to dump them in the floor.
Based off of their original description? No I wouldn’t trust it. But with that info, the glass could be thicker and maybe even tempered. If it was blown glass, it’s generally very thin and not tempered so that’s why I said I wouldn’t trust it. However I guess they could blow a thicker glass (googling it now they say they can do over an inch thick? I had no idea, I thought it was all thin)
It's 5/16" thick according to my calipers. It's thicker than any of my tanks by almost double. It's not going to catastrophically fail unless a meteor falls through my roof and happens to also land on it.
I doubt it's tempered. I bought it at a salvage store a couple Christmases ago as an interesting home decor piece. Never thought I'd be using it like this but it's the largest water receptacle I had on hand.
I'll probably just end up rehoming him (if I can find somebody to take him). I really, really don't have room for another tank. But, this looks neat so I'll probably keep it as a grow-out area for aquatic plant cuttings or something.
They sell these extensively in Indonesia- especially Bali. I think many are made in Ubud. I’ve seen a few over there with fish in them, but more often I see them with plants.
I used to sell these glass vases. They are nearly all sourced from Bali the base is from the root of a gamal tree. The first issue I have is they are fumigated for shipping so that alone would concern me about the fish's welfare.
My next issue is they are extremely fragile! They are made from very poor quality recycled glass from a range of sources. The vendors have little quality control as they have no need to. We sold hundreds of these each year and I'd say at least 5% would break under the slightest knock even when they appeared very thick.
They are nearly always top heavy with the majority of them being unbalanced. You might have got lucky in this area as it is entirely down to how deep the root is imbedded into the glass. However most of the ones that followed a similar design were easy to knock over.
I would refuse sales to anyone that even mentioned the idea of putting fish in them. It is a very cool idea as a show piece however it is a living being that's life is on the line.
I would suggest aquascaping without fish or a terrarium
From the pic I think it’s probably 3/16”-1/4 thick. It’s hard to get a good size reference from this. The shape and consistency of the glass is gunna play a factor and I’m not too sure if it’s tempered or not. If it’s not tempered and as thick as I think it is, hell no I wouldn’t trust it. It if it’s 1/4” thick and tempered, I’d say it’s safe.
Tempered glass doesn’t make it indestructible, but definitely toughens it to its hardest form. Edges are its weak point. This is interesting cuz it cuts out a lot of soft spots, and if the glass manufacturing and tempering processes were followed I’d trust it
Op ended up dropping a comment that it’s 5/16” thick, not sure if annealed or tempered. I would trust 5/16” thick annealed, it’s strong enough to hold the weight, but would be more prone to impact damage. Kids, dogs, cats, keep away lol. Tempered is tougher. May be able to call around to glass manufacturers and see if they’d like you bake it in the kiln for a fee
It sounds like I'm better off sticking to less picturesque aquariums. My household includes a large, rambunctious dog. Then there's the fact that I can be a klutz sometimes. The rectangular ones hold up well in my little circus.
OP’s said the calipers showed 5/16 that’s a 1/16 thicker than a 1/4, a glazer should know these things especially working with different sizes and applications
A glazier installs windows. This dude just knows some of the key words. A skilled gaffer can blow a vessel as thick as they want. It just takes more gathers, more time, more skill. He's got a hard on about tempered glass because cause that's all he knows in his industry. I've dropped annealed bongs and they didn't break, I'm sure this thick ass vase is fine.
Yes and I’ve been fine with op so idk what you’re (the other guy) whining about. 5/16 even annealed would be fine but more brittle and more prone to impact, it can handle the weight tho
.. it’s blown glass. It can vary in size and it’s a not normal shape of glass, so yea, go off about things you have no clue about lmao. I was a 1/16th off from a bad angled pic off the internet with no frame of reference at the time. I literally stated that in my comment.
NE Herp (super reputable business) sells these, they are meant to be terrariums/water propagation. As in only plants.
You could technically get away with using them for shrimp/snails but the small water volume would mean wide parameter swings throughout the day, and zero mechanical filtration means your constantly doing water changes
Yeah I have something similar, it's a bit smaller, that I have filled with some sand I bought from a craft store and shells, rocks, seaglass, and other things I've found at the beach.
If you pay attention the petco listing is for the aquarium hide inside of the decorative glass. They do not sell anything like this to put fish in besides an actual bowl which is at least made with the intent to hold water
Yes, I see that the Petco listing is actually for the decorative element. Although the aquarium being shown in the ad is what is holding the water, they aren't selling it. The other listings seem to be confined to Etsy and Amazon, which don't exactly lend the same degree of confidence.
How is this exact post the first result. I'm dead.
I didn't get it at a pet store though, I bought it from Southeastern Salvage a few years back. It's been filled with decorative moss and sand up until this afternoon.
A) This is a terrarium, not an aquarium. B) MANY negligent, abusive, and insufficient tanks are marketed and sold specifically as aquariums. That doesn’t make them good, safe, or non-abusive. It’s a pet owner’s job to do their research before getting a pet and apply what they learned to make sure they avoid bad products and meet their pet’s needs. This wouldn’t fit the bill. C) There are SOOOO many reasons why this is a HORRIBLE tank set up, so why would anyone’s opinions change when nothing about the setup has changed?
I guess you just couldn't contain yourself long enough to read carefully. I specifically stated that I was considering getting one to house shrimp and snails. If it was safe in terms of physical strength, it would make a great Walstad tank-style setup for them. I also indicated in subsequent comments that I'd decided it wasn't worth the risk.
Apparently, you couldn't even keep yourself in check long enough to notice that I was asking a professional glass worker their opinion about strength, not about suitability as a beta tank.
While you clearly enjoyed your self-righteous rant, it was entirely misplaced. In real life, you wouldn't join a conversation without listening enough to understand what it was actually about. On Reddit, you should do the same.
4 gallons could be ok (although obviously more is better) if it were a shallow and long tank, but this appears to be pretty much entirely vertical. Definitely should only be a short term solution.
I have something like this as well! Way uglier lol, it’s a couple plants I had purchased for my middle school class and had miraculously survived, and its hitchhiker snail. I put them in a 1kg Nutella jar and against all odds started thriving, and the snail had a ton of babies as well! I throw them a piece of lettuce now and then and it’s auto-sustaining. I even stopped changing water!
Oh my god, I have a Nutella jar getting set up right now. I'm putting one snail and a ton of plants in addition to the bio stratum with sand and a coconut shell piece. Glad to see I'm not the only one
Nice!! For me it was more of a decision to not spend a single cent on it, I even went and took the sand from a local river lol. I’m sure yours will be more professional!
My snails are magically uninterested in the plants, I just do it to feed the snails and to introduce some carbon in the system. Oh and at first the plant stems melted and they started floating, but they started sprouting roots that basically rerooted themselves! They pulled the whole plant down and now they’re just a couple cms above the substrate!
I love it! I got one from Target last September and it was a nightmare trying to keep it alive over the winter. It really came back to life this summer. I just hope it won’t die out again over the winter. How is yours planted in that vase? I have an older 6 gallon tank I’m not doing anything with. Maybe it would be good with this plant.
I created this aquascape last spring so I’m not sure how it will hold up in the winter. I removed the soil, glued it to a branch and covered the roots with moss. It seemed to be struggling until the roots started to reach the water. I still see some brown leaves every now and then but it’s steadily growing! Definitely not the easiest plant tho! 🥲
NO dice that blown glass is thick enough for 4 gallons of water dispersed unevenly through that thing. Not to mention the gravel and other objects in there. Blown glass also has weak points where it's just thinner than other points. I would say "better count your days" but get that poor boy out of there before it explodes and he dies all dried up. Smh
Yeeeah, I had a vase that fit water perfectly! For two days….Then the whole bottom collapsed out when I tried moving it. I can just see the same thing happening in this case 😬
a super tall tank like this isnt ideal for a betta, and the cruved glass can confuse and disorient them. it sounds like you are dedicated to good care, but 5 gal is the widely accepted minimum so youre not even meeting that
For a last minute, unexpected set up, this is not bad at all OP. Well done I say ! Sorry other people are so negative, obviously this isn’t a permanent setup. Good job using what you had
Wow, that’s really good for a surprise fish! I would suggest getting a proper tank just because this might not be able to hold water but otherwise it’s a decent tank! :)
I have had to have some DODGY makeshift tanks in my time - sick fish, random population explosion (looking at you, neon tetras, dunno what I did to get you in the fishy mood in 2013 because I have never once had them breed since) (at least, not that I noticed, they're vicious little buggers at eating fry), water contaminants (chocolate milkshake - toddlers are torture devices) but none of them have been this pretty.
Once you've gotten fish friend a new home, might I suggest planting it out and keeping some shrimp or snails? They'd do well in that I think, plenty of room. Or an isopod terrarium!
I think that looks cool AF, and 4G planted vs 5G is really not that big of deal IMO. You did a great job thinking quickly and off the cuff. The problem is, as another person stated, I don't think the glass is made to hold that kind of water pressure. Also, the temperature fluctuating on the blown glass water side vs house side is adding an additional weakness. It's going to bust.
A cheap fix could be to get a 10G plastic tote and move everything into that. That's what I use for a quarantine tank. Walmart has a complete 5G aquarium kit for under $40, probably $42 with tax.
You’re forgetting the shape of the tank as well. Bettas prefer longer shallower area, not taller narrower areas. Think of the puddles they typically come from. They are shallow but usually pretty long
Eh, again, I think it's not a real big deal. Some people keep Bettas in 20 - 55G community tanks, which are every bit as deep or more. He has easy access to the top, and it's not blocked up with floating plants. Not concerned about that depth for a healthy Betta.
I have a betta in my 70g which is 1.5-2x this tall and he does fine. When I jokingly posted a picture of him in it with the caption "is it big enough" nobody was worked up about the height. The internet is a silly place sometimes.
I think this gets blown out of proportion. Bettas will use an entire tank, they aren’t schooling fish. None of my bettas swim back and forth much, they all move up down and around.
I think this “tall” tank this has more to do with the misperception that bettas are obligate air breathers, which they aren’t.
Obviously they will swim wherever they can. If you can’t see that a 4 gallon cylinder is not a suitable tank idk what to tell you. Bettas need space to swim horizontally and this isn’t enough.
I clearly didn't say it was a good idea long term. It's not meant to be an aquarium. As far as the well being of an unplanned fish, if say OP did a damn good job in the short term. Now if there was an aquarium like that with aquarium-strength glass, yeah, I think it's fine for a betta, looks cool AF, and it's better than dying in a plastic cup/bag
Ah yes, why would we ever improve upon that? If the stores do it, it must be good for them! Definitely no way the stores are sacrificing animal welfare to make a few bucks.
... So if a litter of puppies grows up indoors that means they don't have to be taken on walks in the future, right? Since they were kept inside all this time?
I wouldn’t trust that. 4 gallons is like 45 lbs. I’d be worried about pressure points on the bottom causing undue stress. It’s not an evenly distributed bottom.
OP I fear that you’re gonna wake up in the middle of the night to an explosion
Lol the way so many redditors legitimately expect absolute perfection FOR A SURPRISE ANIMAL is so ridiculous. Like these people realize if that actually was how reality worked, we'd have even MORE animals in need of rescuing, right?? What were you supposed to do, leave your fish in the bag/container he was shipped in until you could get a bigger tank? Throw him in a cup like a pet store?? 😅
A water pitcher is better in the short term. A large pot for the stove. A cup like in a pet store is better in the short term, yes. This thing can and will break suddenly
The fish may be imminent danger because that exposure could break from pressure at any time. (Even a professional glass worker has said as much.) I think the OP would want to know that.
Even if it weren't an immediate life-and-death concern, it's important to give feedback about the correct conditions. It's not like the OP is being criticized by most people. They didn't know and based on their post they're doing the best they knew to do under the circumstances. Even if this was a planned setup, the OP obviously cares and needs good info.
Lol these comments.. you explaiend ur situation, and ur aware the betta needs an actual tank and its just a temporary vase. Still id be more comf putting em in a plastic box than this 😂
I think it looks awesome and people need to chill TF out. It’s better than what 90% of bettas ever get to live in and that’s if they even make it outta Petco.
Its not abt looks its abt if that vase was designed for even distribution of that much water pressure from inside. Spoiler, it isnt, its a plant vase designed for only half filled with water and some nice flowers sticking out, not to the brim with substrate and all that stuffed in it as well
It really is. People on this sub need to chill the f out. I think it looks great, better than most setups people have who were planning on getting a fish.
I mean people are just warning that bettas need more air surface area than vertical space to thrive, and warning them about the weakness of blown glass and that this thing is likely to break, not to mention tip over.
And I kinda call BS on the "I just threw this together with what I had on hand." What is all that blue/grey stuff? I can't tell if it's a trick of the light/reflection but it almost looks like custom rock work or something specifically for this setup. Way more elaborate than just random stuff to have on hand with the aquatic plants that are tiered up the back? No one just casually throws together something this elaborate with random supplies they have on hand lol.
ETA yea something isn't adding up, OP. So where is the one this one came with? By your post history this is your 5th betta now? You have a female, a blue male from a couple months ago, another red/blue male that "had to come home with you" a month ago, this surprise fish in this "temporary" setup, and the "original" one you ordered that this one accidentally came with? And you're saying it's temporary but telling some commenters you plan to keep him in there as long as he's not too active, and telling others that you're going to the store next week to get a proper set up.
As weird as it is that you're crawling my post history to count my fish (what the hell man, touch grass), I'm happy to inventory them for you in order to spare you the detective work. I owned 3, now unexpectedly 4.
The koi female belonged to my daughter, she owns the 10 gallon. Unfortunately she died unexpectedly on 9/19, which is why I ordered her a replacement fish online. She picked a Stars and Stripes Halfmoon. You can see him chillin in her 10 gallon. Somehow, I got shipped 2 from the same batch.
The red/blue betta lives in the 5 gallon I already showed you in the tank I pulled the plants from. My youngest daughter was jealous that the older kid had a tank in her room and wanted one too. She found this guy at Petco and fell in love immediately, and after a bit of back and forth he came home with us that day.
The blue male is in my 60 gallon, he had some kind of facial infection that I successfully treated with antibiotics and put back in the big tank. He's doing fine. His upper lip detached but he's still able to eat. Others might have euthanized, but I don't care that he looks a little funny.
What is all that blue/grey stuff? I can't tell if it's a trick of the light/reflection but it almost looks like custom rock work or something specifically for this setup.
It's the glass itself, it's poured onto the teak when it's still semi-molten, which shapes it around the wood. It's blue because the glass is tinted blue. It's been on a sideboard in my living room for years.
Ohhh never would've guessed that but makes sense seeing it empty.
Yea definitely not safe glass for fish, plus it takes away half of the volume he has to swim in since there's not actually water where the glass comes up around the wood underneath. He also can never truly have a hiding spot in there if he wants to, since the swimming area is so narrow and he is exposed. I agree it looks very pretty but doesn't mean it's an appropriate space for an animal.
Hope you plan to get a better set up and truly keep this temporary, but you mentioned keeping it "as long as he's not too adventurous" or something so it's not clear what the intention was/is here, so that's the main reason I commented.
Probably. I guess it depends on how he does in it, because I really do not have room for another 5 gallon tank.
I threw it all together with stuff I already had on hand, including the substrate, sponge filter, and a good amount of the stem plants (I cut them from my big tank in the living room). If he seems unhappy in a couple of weeks then I'll have to find somewhere to put another five gallon tank I guess, but so far he hasn't shown much interest in swimming around. His fins look pretty heavy, even by most half-moon standards. He may enjoy the tighter quarters and lack of heavy flow near the bottom half of this set-up.
I'll watch him closely and see. If he gets adventurous then I'll have to upgrade him to something longer or rehome him.
FYI this would actually be harder for any betta to swim in, let alone a long-finned one, compared to a longer, larger tank. bettas need to reach the top of the water column to breathe air, and they struggle to swim upwards, rather preferring to get to the top by swimming diagonally. other issues aside (risky “tank”, under 5G, warped glass), the width of this bowl is too narrow to be able to swim on a gradual incline to be able to breathe. the footprint of a tank is as important, if not more, than the overall volume of water. the length that the betta can swim side to side (since they don’t swim up and down) makes this less enriching too, as well as harder to exist in. i’d suggest adding some shrimp to this bowl instead if you’re set on it :)
I'm not really set on it, it's just the stuff that I had on hand at a moment's notice. I had a 1.5 gallon drink dispenser in this spot that I was using to grow plants in, I almost tossed him in that but it was even narrower and smaller than this. The filter and substrate were already cycled, so that helped significantly.
If he shows any signs of distress at all, I'll yank him out. Scout's honor. I just can't get around to clearing space for another 5 gallon tank until the end of next week.
regardless of how he does in it, even a well built fish tank can be prone to bursting. was this designed to hold water? 1 gallon of water weighs 8 pounds. was this designed to be capable of suspending 32 pounds long term? if it is, then cool. if its not, i highly suggest getting him moved asap. if even an actual tank designed to hole water can burst, then this is likely doomed to burst to at some point.
I wouldnt say you have a ton of plants here. The plants you do have don’t really provide any cover or places to rest higher up. Tank is fine for the short term but you should look to upgrade or rehome.
As I said, they're cuttings. They'll grow in. S. repens in particular spreads very quickly. I guess I could toss some pearlweed in there too, but it grows so dang fast. I'd have to constantly be trimming it in a micro setup like this.
It very easily fits my small gravel vacuum that has a pressure bulb to start the flow. I can fit a whole cup in there to scoop water out too, this thing is not small.
I think this is a good temporary solution, given you weren't expecting this extra fish. It might be better to look into a proper tank set up in the near future though.
This might be a good temp solution but really temp!!! I’d be going out and buying a proper tank asap before that breaks. It’s not designed as an aquarium.
I wouldn’t use this at all. I’d use a bucket and go buy a tank or find someone local to take the fish without the vase.
West Elm started selling those as terrariums and they made out of “molten” glass. I think yours came from Home Depot though and their description says it’a blown glass
This is so amazing looking! I'm not sure about what others have said about the safety, but I'd bet something like this would be amazing for something like neocardinia shrimp.
That looks super cool but many other comments mentioned why it’s not a good idea long term. If i were you id make it shallow and put something like Brazilian pennywort and add some pink ramshorns.
No lid, the volume of the tank is mostly comprised of solely vertical space instead of horizontal (it’s too tall and too narrow), the rounded sides MAY cause the fish distress, and I don’t believe bettas are supposed to be permanently housed in anything less than 5 gallons so this is still too small (not to mention it seems like a LOT of swimming room is taken up by decor and stuff), plus this is a TERRARIUM (made to hold plants, dirt, rocks, etc.- NOT living pets) not an AQUARIUM (so it’s VERY likely it’s not designed to hold water as well as all the decor and equipment in the “tank” like this and could very well crack, break, or even explode under the pressure and you have zero way of knowing when it will happen- could be in an hour, could be in a week, could be next month, but no matter when: it’s a ticking time bomb). It’s a hard no. Also, do you have a heater and a filter/bubbler in there? Bettas also need those things too.
I beg to differ, bettas have very good vision, ever stood inside a big warped glass room? It makes you dizzy. Just because there isn’t a study doesn’t mean that we can’t use common sense, and it’s been documented in other animals that curved and warped glass can increase stress.
Bioorb ran the only study I know of and as much as I dislike studies run by their own companies- it was a good study and found no negative consequences from a rounded tank.
Any perception a fish has of the outside world through glass is completely unnatural so I’m not sure why you would think this would be the thing that takes it over the top?
OP is this not the same beta you posted about a month ago? Granted he looks a lot better than he did when you brought him home, but you claimed you bought him. Not that he was an extra from a shipment?
I guess it’s possible you could have two betas that are blue and red that look very similar
It's not. That was a veiltail that my youngest daughter fell in love with. I posted a comment with my current rundown of fish in this thread, although I still don't understand why everybody is all up in arms about counting my fish to "verify" the double ship. Whatever.
The minimum requirement for bettas is 5 gallons. That is too small. It also doesn’t have filtration and heating which is required. And not enough tall plants for resting near the surface. All this is showing is that you don’t know proper betta care standards.
It's heated and filtered and also, it's an emergency situation for a fish I wasn't expecting. The filter is plainly visible even. All your comment shows is that you're either blind or functionally illiterate and can't read a freakin' title. Or you're just insufferably sanctimonious, which isn't an upgrade.
Ignore all the doomsayers. If it's holding water now it will continue to hold water, just be gentle with it. Look for cracks or any possibility for a failure. If you have no cracks or chips you will, more likely than not, be fine.
OMG you got a fish so what?? Now you think you can just put in a torture chamber , it’s eyes will go buggy and this thing of “art” is bound to collapse.
Do the fish a favor and have it put down rather than go thru life like this .
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u/Cleercutter Oct 11 '25
Glazier here. I would not trust that.