They are cheap enough, about $4.00 in a pet shop. I have had a nice red one for a couple of months that I bought on a whim while shopping for dog food. They are air breathers so they can be confined in a tiny cup for display and they seem to survive. I put mine in a pretty substantial glass thing about 12 inches across and he seems happy. Rumor has it that they attack and kill their own species and other fish so they are doomed to be solitary. I put a couple polywogs from a tiny pond and they disappeared. Anybody know if you can put another fish in without a deadly fight? You almost gotta laugh, I bought a small container of "tetra-betta" pellets and I feed about three per day and by my calculations I have about 25 years worth of feed at that rate. Sounds like the ideal pet.