For a second there I thought you were saying that Tony Pinto was the
one who published the original story of the betta in the hoof print. I
almost fell off my chair vowing to tell him how crazy he has made me
with that story the next time I see him. (LOL) Only, as I read on, I
realized that wasn't the case. :-D

No, no hoofprints, but he's the one that was catching them in "leaf litter
puddles".

FYI: If you are in the area, (MA), Tony will be speaking on 3/21 about
his adventures in fish catching. It should be really interesting and
I'm sure it'll be geared toward anabantoids.

I've never met him althouh I keep hearing stories from friends
that do nkow him. Sounds like a fun guy.

Anyway, I'm getting off track. My point is that I don't believe lily
vases are the best possible or even good homes for Bettas. It doesn't
come close to replicating nature and it's not an ecosystem in and of
itself. With some heavy customization, you might be able to convert it
into an acceptable home. Otherwise, a cycled tank is the way to go.

Well, I think the point is almost any container that keeps them
wet will work, and at the end of the day is depends on the aquarist
and my concern with these things would be that people buy them that
realy don't have a clue how they work or how to care for a fish. But
when you consider what percentage of fish are killed by well meaning
aquarists it's pretty saddening; best to ignore it and do the right
thing with your own stuff.

If they'r enot screwed up in some way I don't see why they wouldn't
work though, there's a reason these fish have evolved over a very
long time to have the labyrinth organ instead of using gills
exclusively.

Offhand I'd guess very few bettas ever see a cycled tank; that
sure dosn't make sense if you're breeding them.

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