Betta Fish: Turning a bad situation into a good one! A “Movin’ On Up” story

Around a year ago, my 4 year old daughter was gifted a red crowntail betta by a family member. And yes, as you can probably guess, he came in a 1 gallon bowl, complete with neon gravel, fake plants, no heater and no filter. This simply would not stand!

I got a hold of my mom who keeps about a dozen tanks, explained the situation, and she gifted us her used fluval flex 9 gallon tank; it was heaven for Chris the betta. My daughter and I spent the next year adding plants, trying new foods for him, and learning about keeping a healthy tank and fish, together. It reignited the passion I had for keeping fish as a kid, learning the same values from my parents. We now have 4 tanks!

Her flex 9g has been BULLETPROOF. I will forever hold this tank in a special spot in my heart for the ease of keeping it. But, all good things must come to an end…

My daughter calls me panicking, "my tank is leaking!"

We rush to Petsmart (thank you for selling tanks at a loss!), grab a 20 gallon long for him, hit the REAL local fish store to grab substrate and everything else we'll need. I grabbed the filter media/sponge from the flex, added them to the new hob filter and gave the sponge a little squeeze in the water. Unfortunately, due to the nature of a leaking tank, he will have to ride out a fish-in cycle for now as my other tanks have gourami or aggressive fish. And btw, I'm very aware of cycling, I'll be testing his water every day as well as doing water changes as needed.

My daughter is very excited to watch him explore his new home and for us to fill out the rest of the tank with plants. I told her eventually she can add some of the corydora that I've been breeding to her tank. Her bettas temperament is very chill, and we can always move them back if needed.

Sorry for the novel, I just needed simmering to do while waiting for water to warm up for a change on my tank at home lol.