No one thinks it’ll happen to them until it does, my boyfriend got a betta fish from his works secret Santa. It came in one of those betta fish kits with a 1 gal tank and neon gravel and some food and conditioner. I get to take care of it for the time being. Luckily i have an old 10gal tank and some old tank equipment from a retired tank that i can try start back up again. But come on. For a Petco betta fish he doesn’t look too bad yet but I’m hoping he’ll survive long enough in his prison cell while i get his new planted tank set up as fast as i can.
Has anyone ever had this happen to them before, and realistically what’s this guys survival probability?
I’ve done lots of research on fish before and I’ve kept freshwater fish for around 2 years, but never a betta. So don’t need a ton of advice/help just here to vent about this semi-unethical gift lol
Posted by HistoricalAd7534
13 Comments
Good on you for taking care of it. It’ll be fine for a while, bettas survive for years in bowls like that (unfortunately). Give it a bubbler and a heater if you can, or just set the bowl somewhere warmer
i really don’t understand why anyone would use live animals as a gift (ofc unless they asked beforehand), it’s just so cruel and stupid
Absolutely wild – I think I’d be without a job if someone got anyone in my office a live animal without knowing they were ready for it.
It sounds like you’re ready to give this fella everything he needs – I would feed sparingly and keep doing water changes daily to help get rid of his waste until your 10 gallon is ready, and do a fish-in cycle with him in the 10 gallon. It sucks to be put here unwillingly, but welcome to the betta fam lol
If he survived in that shitty cup then that 1 gallon is like a palace but to be honest I wouldn’t bother cycling the bigger tank before putting him in. That bowl isn’t cycled either and a 10 gallon will at least have more water volume to handle any ammonia and nitrite while it cycles.
Idiots. Oh well. Glad you got him. His survival probability is actually pretty good. He is a labyrinth fish so if O2 gets low in the bowl he can breathe air and you know how to watch ammonia level etc. so he should be fine until you get him into his proper environment.
Given the tiny cups they keep bettas in at the pet store, this’ll seem like a hotel suite to him until you get his house built.
I know we’re better suited to care for these fish than people who aren’t in the hobby, but that’s not a gift I would accept personally.
Fortunate that he’s ended up being gifted to someone with a partner who knows about fish care! Why do people think this is okay? You wouldn’t randomly give a dog or a cat to someone so why is this viewed as okay?
Just boggles the mind that anyone would do this; kinda makes you want to gift them an unhousebroken puppy or something to retaliate (except absolutely not bc you know the poor thing likely wouldn’t be treated well). I’m glad he has you (the fish, haha), but good lord, such thoughtlessness! I can’t even
Bettas are tough. Might be the picture but this one looks to be a short body one so I would just be mindful when feeding and do small, regular meals rather than big ones.
Just keep in a room above 70° ideally for now. You could also do a fish in cycle with the 10 gal and just keep an eye on parameters. Live plants help a lot.
https://preview.redd.it/gyk2diitjm7g1.jpeg?width=2100&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8207ede8703ffcdd05f0cd9eaa590c17f8c172f4
Tis the season. Gifting empty tanks/appropriate accessories can be awesome (it’s how I got my original 30 gal) but living animals should never be gifts (unless it was talked about realistically previously with the gift recipient and there is a contingency plan for if they “change their mind”)
Just get him a little heater and a little sponge filter and I think he will be grand.
Also 5 gallon tank is the minimum for these guys but I highly recommend 10.
They arent too big.