A few days ago I got a beautiful baby girl from Petco and decided to name her Norie (like norovirus, since I got her when my best friend got norovirus). Anyways, she was really weak and I couldn't pinpoint the exact cause. I put her in a hospital tank for roughly two days before she got her strength back and was able to go into her tank.
I got back from school this evening and immediately went to go look for her in her tank. I couldn't find her anywhere. I spent an hour and a half looking through all the plants and logs, etc. I was about to give up when I noticed her beautiful little pink tail poking out from the sponge I have around the intake of my HOB filter.
My baby had somehow gotten herself between the sponge and intake and couldn't get herself back out. My beautiful Norie had tried so hard to get out that she snapped her back in the process. My lovely baby died stuck between a stupid sponge and a current that she could never escape.
I'm in tears right now. I never thought I would be this attached to a fish I just got, but I genuinely loved her so much. I'm mad that I never checked for possible gaps between the sponge and I'm sad that her life ended before it had barely begun.
The picture is the only picture I have of her. She was so beautiful even before she grew up. I wish I could have seen her reach maturity.
https://i.redd.it/sqecum3lzhog1.jpeg
Posted by ComprehensivePin214
6 Comments
I’m so sorry
They are a risk, but curious betta’s are curious. Don’t blame yourself or beat yourself up. It’s just something we all have to deal with in some form or another, and it happens sadly. Sorry for your loss OP. I understand the pain.
I scream Sponge filters for this reason😭 I’ve lost loaches to HOB when the weather gets crazy
Fish deaths like that are always so sad and frustrating!!! So sorry she went that way 🙁 bettas are notorious for getting stuck in places they shouldn’t any chance they get.
Very sorry for your loss. Since you do have an open tank, now would be a good time to chuck the HOB and switch to a sponge. I will say I have sponges now and LOVE them. Haven’t had any fish accidents with them (I’ve owned bettas, currently a gourami in one tank betta in the other, khuli loaches, tetras) none of my little guys have had a problem with the sponge filter. Amazon usually has them.
And sponge filters are super cheap compared to HOBs or canisters.
I am so sorry for your loss. I hope this doesn’t discourage you from fish keeping. It happens. You learn as you go. There’s always something to learn and mistakes happen. Plenty people accidentally kill their fish tanks because they forget to dechlorinate. I despise HOB filters. One thing to know about sponge filters though. You wanna go bigger than what’s stated for your tank.