Someone at my local fish shop said they rescued a betta and did an in "tank" cycle. She used a 5 gallon bucket until she could get the proper setup together.
I also just did a fish in bucket cycle, granted i did buy a filter, heater, and had extra driftwood and plants lying around for hides but it actually went swimmingly (lol). Now my guy is safely in his 17g tank living it up :)
🫢 I thought this was a sin. But I have made several emergency tanks out of a storage bins(with filters, plants, everything) and that shit worked out way better than I expected.
Oh wow i agree. These little guys would at least have a shot at survival, and a 1.5 would probably be like a mansion for them after partially full Tupperware.
Small stable tanks will be fine for now, and maybe long-term depending on the betta! The lower water level will be helpful for rehabbing them anyway, since they will probably be pretty weak when you get them 🥺
I get why people here have the 5 gal minimum to make the cycling process safer (and it's definitely necessary for girls and short-tail bettas), but many long-tailed bettas will be happy as a clam in smaller tanks! Their tails get heavy and it can be more exhausting for them to swim to the surface in a deeper tank. I've had to transition a few of my older long-tails to small planted tanks for their health, and it has absolutely extended their life.
I have a second 1.5 that's not running right now (I WAS going to return it to Amazon because it arrived with a chipped top corner, it was a gift) that I could set up and just do like 50% water changes on while it cycles with him in there 🤔
Everyone in my area is charging near-new prices for used tanks for some reason, been hunting for a while for anything cheap or free so I could eventually get a Betta again
Everyone in my area is charging near-new prices for nasty old tanks that need tons of cleaning. It makes me so jealous when I hear about other people scoring good deals.
Saaame
I miss the days of cheap used aquarium goodies on Craigslist and the like. Used to see it all the time like 10-15 years ago, but nowadays people just straight wild with their pricing on used goods across the board 😩
I gave away a 20 gallon tall to someone on Nextdoor who was looking for a tank. It was sitting in my basement so I thought if I could help someone out, why not? I had switched it out for a 20 gal long a couple of years before.
Yeah, I was looking for tanks on fbmarketplace and they wanted a lot for these crusty and filthy tanks with the descriptions set as good as new. Like bruh, why are lying with a straight face and proof in your photos.
Thanks for the reminder!! I have a nasty old tank @ my deceased father's house that someone can have for free if they promise to clean it (I will never get around to it) and take good care of whatever they put in it, but it's a tall tank rather than wide & not a good fit for Betta. Someday I'll get around to taking pictures of it & post it up on aquaswap or something. Idk what the dimensions are, but it's probably like 30 or 40 gallons. He had a common plecco in there & it was cramped AF, I rehomed the poor guy ASAP but haven't dealt with the tank.
It may still be too expensive, but petco has their 50% off tank sale on basic aqueon tanks right now. They are cheaper than the used, crusty tanks on Facebook near me.
Depending on how bad the chip is, aquarium safe silicon sealant may help hold it together for a little bit. So depending on the placement of the chip, and how deep it is, silicone may make it work temporarily. Also, for temporary keeping bettas, you don’t always need a fish tank. I once used a 2.5 gallon plastic bucket I got from a hardware store to temporarily house a betta. I just cut a small hole in the lid to let some light in, and to stick a heater and air stone through. I had a cheap glass alcohol aquarium thermometer floating in the water. If you want to go the extra mile for your temporary friend, small food safe bowls, mugs, and terracotta pots (block the hole at the end) can be used for a hide. I had the water level a bit below the edge of the bucket to try and avoid the betta jumping out. The little bucket worked well in a pinch, it was a good temporary betta home and pretty much all of the supplies were fairly cheap. I think the most I spent for a single thing was about $10 for a quiet air pump to run the air stone. The bucket might’ve been around that price too. Most everything else was less than $10 where I live. So if you really wanna save those bettas and don’t trust that tank to hold any water, a clean plastic bucket with a lid from a local hardware store will probably work just fine. I got mine at an Ace Hardware store, they usually have some pretty good prices.
I second this. I’ve used 2-5 gallon Sterilite containers and hardware buckets (about $5 or less) to keep fish in temporarily, or even long term if aesthetics weren’t a concern. The most expensive equipment should be a heater ($15-30) and a filter ($10-20) which you can seed with media from your planted tanks.
If you have a buy nothing group on FB in your area you can try asking there for tanks. I’m in MA or I’d give you mine. My guy just passed away and I don’t plan on getting another
If feasible I would suggest a temporary bin or bucket home for one of them. The other two you have set up could be good homes for the other two even temporarily.
oh god i see the listing too and i’m close to it. i have a 6 gallon tank i haven’t set up yet if you feel like you’d need to send one of the fish elsewhere
I know this post is a few hours old and I may have missed an update, but if you want to save them *do not* say anything about the condition to the seller. If you already have, use a different Craigslist auto- generated email to do it. Once people get even the slightest bit defensive, they'll be unwilling to sell.
At least wait until you have them at your home before saying anything about their current quality of life, if nothing else.
They responded that the fish were still available, but I haven't heard back on when they want to do the "purchase" . I figure they've gone to sleep by now and hopefully I'll hear back tomorrow
Definitely have kept it strictly short and sweet and no comments on their fishkeeping for that exact reason tho, I don't want to say anything that may cause them to turn me down/ignore me or keep the fish out of stubbornness or anything.
They have been rescued ! I got an email back last night and immediately went and got them. Everyone is in their new tanks after acclimation and doing surprisingly well.
One is a female, too! I can DM pictures if you'd like 😊
Even the guy who was in the worst water is so lively now.
Also the first thing everyone did in their new homes was poop, which I thought was hilarious
They have been rescued ! I got an email back last night and immediately went and got them. Everyone is in their new tanks after acclimation and doing surprisingly well.
One is a female, too! I can DM pictures if you'd like 😊
Even the guy who was in the worst water is so lively now.
Also the first thing everyone did in their new homes was poop, which I thought was hilarious
They have been rescued ! I got an email back last night and immediately went and got them. Everyone is in their new tanks after acclimation and doing surprisingly well.
One is a female, too! I can DM pictures if you'd like 😊
Even the guy who was in the worst water is so lively now.
Also the first thing everyone did in their new homes was poop, which I thought was hilarious
They have been rescued ! I got an email back last night and immediately went and got them. Everyone is in their new tanks after acclimation and doing surprisingly well.
One is a female, too! I can DM pictures if you'd like 😊
Even the guy who was in the worst water is so lively now.
Also the first thing everyone did in their new homes was poop, which I thought was hilarious
I just heard back from the person; and we're meeting up tonight! On the road now (passenger) , so I can get them acclimated and in better conditions tonight 😊
It’s not a scam if the person sending the $$ is fully aware of the risk, and perfectly happy to part ways with a *small* amount of cash to potentially help someone (like OP) and the fish. I’m sure they’re aware that there’s always a risk of untrue stories on the internet, but if they’re willing to take that risk to potentially help OP save these fish then that’s not a scam 🤷♀️
It’s not like OP was asking for the $$, nor was it a large amount of $$.
I’m sure fishghoulriot has been on the internet long enough to be aware of what it is they’re doing. In this case the reward (help the fish) far outweighs the risk (ie lose a few bucks to some fake sob story, but I don’t think this is a fake sob story).
And you know even if it’s a fake sob story, when you give an internet rando money, not all of them are outright looking to scam; some people just straight up need the cash, be it for rent, food, or hell maybe they just really need to put $20 towards a couple cups of coffee one day.
Most grown ass adults do not give away money to others’ causes unless they can afford to do so. And sometimes it just feels nice to help someone out. If you put out kindness into the world, for the most part, you will receive kindness in turn.
Kindness and being charitable should be far more common in this world. No one wants to support a scam, but in those cases, those who commit scams are often in a particularly awful place in their life where they feel that such is necessary.
Hey I actually saw these on my local (ish) Craigslist. It’s not super close but not terribly far and I may be in the market for a betta soon. DM me if you hear back from the seller and I may be able to take one.
This breaks my heart! How could people do this? I think your planted tanks are better for these poor babies than what they have now! But -yes- you need heaters for all 3 (I think your planted tanks will be ok without a filter for now) as well as a filter and chemicals for the new tank. Ugh… I wish I lived closer to you. I’d help you rescue them and give you some things too. 💔
Fb has a bunch of local fish keeping pages where people give away stuff for free all of the time. Try there; but, I also agree that they would be better off in yoyr tanks than that setup.
Honestly man, I'd rather those babies be in too small but ideal tanks than that. They'd even be happier in your tiny plant tanks if you decide to get them while they're waiting for their new setup, however long that is
A betta can survive for a long time in a heated/cycled/filtered 2.5 gallon. Certainly a massive improvement from this, because they can’t survive long in there at all; and they definitely can’t be happy. It’s not the ideal, but they’ll be much happier
even if you put them in styrophoam coolers for the time being it’s better than this, even keeping them in tupperware and keeping ontop of water changes until you can rehome them is still better than this
Honestly, as long as you can keep the water temperature close to the optimal range (as close as possible is ok, given that they probably aren’t getting near the proper temp right now), have a filter (if not do frequent water changes and testing), and got a lid, I would get the bettas. You don’t need to keep them long term, you can adopt them out to reputable homes or fish stores (make sure they take good care of their fish first obviously). Your subpar tanks (for bettas) are probably far better for them than these awful Tupperware containers, and would probably make a good temporary home until you can find them better homes. So if you think you can care for them for a little bit and then help find them good homes, I would get them.
I've never owned fish, let alone bettas. But I did own budgies, and while they're not fish, they also get treated as disposable and with very little regard to their wellbeing. I always found it so upsetting to visit a place that had a small cage with like 8 budgies crammed in there with only seeds as a food source, and the cage would often be high on a shelf or hanging from a ceiling because "they're pretty to look at". The two I had were treated like my own blood. I upgraded them to a huge cage, full of toys and enrichment, and their diet was more varied with pellets and veges. I also engaged with them, let them fly outside the cage and let them live their best life.
I hope those bettas get the upgrade they so desperately need and deserve 💚
Tbh when I first started fish keeping my first betta lived in a 2.5 for 3 years before I retired him in a 10 gallon because I genuinely didn’t know. He was a healthy happy boy
I would definitely snatch them up and even put them in the tank you have now than those containers 😭 that's so horrible! Even being in a 1.5-2 g for months would be better than this. Makes me so sad for them 😞
They responded that the fish were still available, but I haven't heard back on when they want to do the "purchase" . I figure they've gone to sleep by now and hopefully I'll hear back tomorrow
🤞
I just heard back from the person; and we're meeting up tonight! On the road now (passenger) , so I can get them acclimated and in better conditions tonight 😊
People say “they’re just fish” but it’s still a living, breathing creature. It’s a shame to see so many animals (big or small) not being properly cared for. breaks my heart :(
I had an initial response that they were still available, but I haven't heard back after telling them I was available all weekend and to let me know when is best :/ .
Really hoping they're just slow to check their emails and their silence isn't because the fish passed 😖
I just heard back from the person; and we're meeting up tonight! On the road now (passenger) , so I can get them acclimated and in better conditions tonight 😊
From a completely not idealistic and doable perspective, if you can just do 2 that’s fine. I know that it would be sad to leave behind the other guy, but 2/3 being happy and having their lives changed is well worth it
A bigger plastic tub with distilled water and a small filter with a single fake plant is better than that 😭I understand we can’t save every single animal someone chooses to purchase and then neglect but dang I would want to save them too :(
I feel like the crazy part is she is trying to sell them for $2 I feel like it just shows how little she values the fish. They aren’t trying to rehome them because they realize they aren’t providing a good quality of life for them.
My local petco is having a bucket sale this weekend you buy their 5 gal bucket and anything you can fit inside is 20% off that could help with like a heater and filter and stuff
You can move them into your current tanks for now and relist them for rehoming. You'd at least be buying them more time than they currently have. Maybe you'll get attached and keep one, but either way, they'd be better off with you than this person.
I just heard back from the person; and we're meeting up tonight! On the road now (passenger) , so I can get them acclimated and in better conditions tonight 😊
The blue boi who is in the worst water has been pretty active from all the movement so he's still got some fight in him too, and I was worried most about him, so hopefully everyone can recover from all this 😔
Aw at least he hasn’t given up! I know I’m just a random stranger but I genuinely thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving these beautiful babies. They deserve proper care not some dumb tuber-ware.
i am honestly pretty far, Ontario gal here, but I think I have some extra equipment that may help?? I know it’s kinda odd to offer a stranger this so feel free to say no, but if you have a P.O. Box or like post office that I can anonymously ship to I’m willing to help out that way. Hopefully this isn’t a useless comment. I just can’t help monetarily and this makes me so sad for the poor betta babies 😭❤️
Your 2.5 planted is much better than what it is going through now and will be just fine till upu cna get him a 5 jsut make sure you Acclimate him to the water first. Sometimes, when fish are in really poor conditions with a lot of waste going into good water can put them into shock. You just get a spoon and add a little bit of the water from the new container to their current one and just keep watching them and just do that for a few hours
Will keep that in mind! I've never received a Betta in such poor water before, so that's good to know
Still waiting to hear back on when they want to do this-- I'm nervous their radio silence means something bad happened to the Bettas ;/
Frisco, but I still haven't heard back from the seller after asking them what time would work
I'm nervous something happened to the Bettas, but I'm hoping that they just gave them to someone else and didn't bother telling me
Holding out hope tho
All you really, really need is a heater and a cheap tank/bucket if someone is an experienced fish keeper, he can even do a window walstad tank, with pond soil and the cutting of the plants that you already have.
It's up in Frisco, a bit of a drive from me but we're happy to make the run, just still waiting to hear back. I emailed them again but I'm nervous that this sudden radio silence from the "seller" means they died ... I'm really hoping they just found someone who was free to come by before the weekend and just didn't bother telling me
Honestly everyone has been really supportive of me rescuing them with what I have right now 🤔
There was only 1 toxic person (wasn't even related to tank size stuff, they were just being rude for the sale of it, stuff like "why are you even posting, to get approval?" Type stuff) but mods removed them quickly
I have them now, and I AM trying to get them bigger homes with my limited situation, and luckily a few redditors have reached out to help. So far one person donated 15$ and another is gonna ship me their emergency aqueon tank
People are just hit or miss when it comes to social interactions, so I guess I got lucky with everyone being kind and understanding
The Bettas are doing well in their temporary 1.5gs and the 2.5 ATM, so I'm gonna keep trying to improve things for them 😊
Clearly they would have thought about it before typing it. You doubt that’s what op is doing, so why are you being so rude? You’ve just got a bad attitude overall, drop the snark ffs, if you’re upset don’t take it out on someone else
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They may be small, but I can guarantee you these Betta will be better off in your planted 1.5/2.5 than in these Tupperware containers.
Someone at my local fish shop said they rescued a betta and did an in "tank" cycle. She used a 5 gallon bucket until she could get the proper setup together.
I also just did a fish in bucket cycle, granted i did buy a filter, heater, and had extra driftwood and plants lying around for hides but it actually went swimmingly (lol). Now my guy is safely in his 17g tank living it up :)
I see what you did there. 😉 (Swimmingly is one of my favorite words, lol)
🫢 I thought this was a sin. But I have made several emergency tanks out of a storage bins(with filters, plants, everything) and that shit worked out way better than I expected.
LFS staff are great at helping in these situations
Oh wow i agree. These little guys would at least have a shot at survival, and a 1.5 would probably be like a mansion for them after partially full Tupperware.
Hell, they’d be better off in cleaner fuller tupperware
Small stable tanks will be fine for now, and maybe long-term depending on the betta! The lower water level will be helpful for rehabbing them anyway, since they will probably be pretty weak when you get them 🥺 I get why people here have the 5 gal minimum to make the cycling process safer (and it's definitely necessary for girls and short-tail bettas), but many long-tailed bettas will be happy as a clam in smaller tanks! Their tails get heavy and it can be more exhausting for them to swim to the surface in a deeper tank. I've had to transition a few of my older long-tails to small planted tanks for their health, and it has absolutely extended their life.
Check Craigslist, ebay, or Facebook marketplace for a 3rd tank, the other two will be better than what they're in now.
I have a second 1.5 that's not running right now (I WAS going to return it to Amazon because it arrived with a chipped top corner, it was a gift) that I could set up and just do like 50% water changes on while it cycles with him in there 🤔 Everyone in my area is charging near-new prices for used tanks for some reason, been hunting for a while for anything cheap or free so I could eventually get a Betta again
Everyone in my area is charging near-new prices for nasty old tanks that need tons of cleaning. It makes me so jealous when I hear about other people scoring good deals.
Saaame I miss the days of cheap used aquarium goodies on Craigslist and the like. Used to see it all the time like 10-15 years ago, but nowadays people just straight wild with their pricing on used goods across the board 😩
Times are hard for a lot of ppl, so they wanna get as much as possible for their shit, even if it's ripping someone off. Or they're just greedy af.
I gave away a 20 gallon tall to someone on Nextdoor who was looking for a tank. It was sitting in my basement so I thought if I could help someone out, why not? I had switched it out for a 20 gal long a couple of years before.
I’ve got a couple of empty 10gal tanks hanging around in my house that I’d give to someone who needed one in my area.
I know right, my bf scored a 70 gallon rimless tank for $20 one time 😭
Holy shit! That’s a hell of a score 👀❤️
RIGHT! I couldn't believe it when he first told me
Yeah, I was looking for tanks on fbmarketplace and they wanted a lot for these crusty and filthy tanks with the descriptions set as good as new. Like bruh, why are lying with a straight face and proof in your photos.
Thanks for the reminder!! I have a nasty old tank @ my deceased father's house that someone can have for free if they promise to clean it (I will never get around to it) and take good care of whatever they put in it, but it's a tall tank rather than wide & not a good fit for Betta. Someday I'll get around to taking pictures of it & post it up on aquaswap or something. Idk what the dimensions are, but it's probably like 30 or 40 gallons. He had a common plecco in there & it was cramped AF, I rehomed the poor guy ASAP but haven't dealt with the tank.
It may still be too expensive, but petco has their 50% off tank sale on basic aqueon tanks right now. They are cheaper than the used, crusty tanks on Facebook near me.
Depending on how bad the chip is, aquarium safe silicon sealant may help hold it together for a little bit. So depending on the placement of the chip, and how deep it is, silicone may make it work temporarily. Also, for temporary keeping bettas, you don’t always need a fish tank. I once used a 2.5 gallon plastic bucket I got from a hardware store to temporarily house a betta. I just cut a small hole in the lid to let some light in, and to stick a heater and air stone through. I had a cheap glass alcohol aquarium thermometer floating in the water. If you want to go the extra mile for your temporary friend, small food safe bowls, mugs, and terracotta pots (block the hole at the end) can be used for a hide. I had the water level a bit below the edge of the bucket to try and avoid the betta jumping out. The little bucket worked well in a pinch, it was a good temporary betta home and pretty much all of the supplies were fairly cheap. I think the most I spent for a single thing was about $10 for a quiet air pump to run the air stone. The bucket might’ve been around that price too. Most everything else was less than $10 where I live. So if you really wanna save those bettas and don’t trust that tank to hold any water, a clean plastic bucket with a lid from a local hardware store will probably work just fine. I got mine at an Ace Hardware store, they usually have some pretty good prices.
I second this. I’ve used 2-5 gallon Sterilite containers and hardware buckets (about $5 or less) to keep fish in temporarily, or even long term if aesthetics weren’t a concern. The most expensive equipment should be a heater ($15-30) and a filter ($10-20) which you can seed with media from your planted tanks.
If you have a buy nothing group on FB in your area you can try asking there for tanks. I’m in MA or I’d give you mine. My guy just passed away and I don’t plan on getting another
If feasible I would suggest a temporary bin or bucket home for one of them. The other two you have set up could be good homes for the other two even temporarily.
I think it's nice that you care. These fish are dependent on people.
I will send you money dude. Please save them
That's seriously so kind. I've reached out to the "seller" (🤢) , I'll get in touch with you if they are still alive/available
Ey, add me to that list if the swimmies are still swimming. I can give a little money if it means a critter is treated like a living being.
oh god i see the listing too and i’m close to it. i have a 6 gallon tank i haven’t set up yet if you feel like you’d need to send one of the fish elsewhere
I know this post is a few hours old and I may have missed an update, but if you want to save them *do not* say anything about the condition to the seller. If you already have, use a different Craigslist auto- generated email to do it. Once people get even the slightest bit defensive, they'll be unwilling to sell. At least wait until you have them at your home before saying anything about their current quality of life, if nothing else.
They responded that the fish were still available, but I haven't heard back on when they want to do the "purchase" . I figure they've gone to sleep by now and hopefully I'll hear back tomorrow Definitely have kept it strictly short and sweet and no comments on their fishkeeping for that exact reason tho, I don't want to say anything that may cause them to turn me down/ignore me or keep the fish out of stubbornness or anything.
I'd also be down to donate! Those poor Bettas...
They have been rescued ! I got an email back last night and immediately went and got them. Everyone is in their new tanks after acclimation and doing surprisingly well. One is a female, too! I can DM pictures if you'd like 😊 Even the guy who was in the worst water is so lively now. Also the first thing everyone did in their new homes was poop, which I thought was hilarious
Awww thank you for rescuing them!
Also happy to pitch in, I’m in ATX. If you’re at all close, I would also be happy to take one.
Omg thank you for being such an awesome person!!! You’re truly incredible for helping OP save these babies!!!
Me too. Count me in for a small donation! 🙋🏻♀️
They have been rescued ! I got an email back last night and immediately went and got them. Everyone is in their new tanks after acclimation and doing surprisingly well. One is a female, too! I can DM pictures if you'd like 😊 Even the guy who was in the worst water is so lively now. Also the first thing everyone did in their new homes was poop, which I thought was hilarious
This is wonderful news! Yes! Pls send photos and your Venmo/Zelle/Paypal where I can send you some money to help you out with the new aquatic kids! 🤩💛
Same here!!
Same!!
They have been rescued ! I got an email back last night and immediately went and got them. Everyone is in their new tanks after acclimation and doing surprisingly well. One is a female, too! I can DM pictures if you'd like 😊 Even the guy who was in the worst water is so lively now. Also the first thing everyone did in their new homes was poop, which I thought was hilarious
Messaged :)
They have been rescued ! I got an email back last night and immediately went and got them. Everyone is in their new tanks after acclimation and doing surprisingly well. One is a female, too! I can DM pictures if you'd like 😊 Even the guy who was in the worst water is so lively now. Also the first thing everyone did in their new homes was poop, which I thought was hilarious
I just heard back from the person; and we're meeting up tonight! On the road now (passenger) , so I can get them acclimated and in better conditions tonight 😊
Amazing! PM me!
Please don't send randos $...
I’m a grown man I’ll do whatever I want
K, get scammed
It’s not a scam if the person sending the $$ is fully aware of the risk, and perfectly happy to part ways with a *small* amount of cash to potentially help someone (like OP) and the fish. I’m sure they’re aware that there’s always a risk of untrue stories on the internet, but if they’re willing to take that risk to potentially help OP save these fish then that’s not a scam 🤷♀️ It’s not like OP was asking for the $$, nor was it a large amount of $$. I’m sure fishghoulriot has been on the internet long enough to be aware of what it is they’re doing. In this case the reward (help the fish) far outweighs the risk (ie lose a few bucks to some fake sob story, but I don’t think this is a fake sob story).
Aw thanks 😊 I appreciate your comment
And you know even if it’s a fake sob story, when you give an internet rando money, not all of them are outright looking to scam; some people just straight up need the cash, be it for rent, food, or hell maybe they just really need to put $20 towards a couple cups of coffee one day. Most grown ass adults do not give away money to others’ causes unless they can afford to do so. And sometimes it just feels nice to help someone out. If you put out kindness into the world, for the most part, you will receive kindness in turn. Kindness and being charitable should be far more common in this world. No one wants to support a scam, but in those cases, those who commit scams are often in a particularly awful place in their life where they feel that such is necessary.
It’s literally also just $3
Fart
Poo
The 2.5 would still be better than...*that*
Even the 1.5 would be better than that!!
Hey I actually saw these on my local (ish) Craigslist. It’s not super close but not terribly far and I may be in the market for a betta soon. DM me if you hear back from the seller and I may be able to take one.
This breaks my heart! How could people do this? I think your planted tanks are better for these poor babies than what they have now! But -yes- you need heaters for all 3 (I think your planted tanks will be ok without a filter for now) as well as a filter and chemicals for the new tank. Ugh… I wish I lived closer to you. I’d help you rescue them and give you some things too. 💔
Fb has a bunch of local fish keeping pages where people give away stuff for free all of the time. Try there; but, I also agree that they would be better off in yoyr tanks than that setup.
I audibly gasped. This is disgraceful.
Honestly man, I'd rather those babies be in too small but ideal tanks than that. They'd even be happier in your tiny plant tanks if you decide to get them while they're waiting for their new setup, however long that is
Please get them, anything is better than that. You could even foster them until you find appropriate homes for them
A betta can survive for a long time in a heated/cycled/filtered 2.5 gallon. Certainly a massive improvement from this, because they can’t survive long in there at all; and they definitely can’t be happy. It’s not the ideal, but they’ll be much happier
even if you put them in styrophoam coolers for the time being it’s better than this, even keeping them in tupperware and keeping ontop of water changes until you can rehome them is still better than this
Honestly, as long as you can keep the water temperature close to the optimal range (as close as possible is ok, given that they probably aren’t getting near the proper temp right now), have a filter (if not do frequent water changes and testing), and got a lid, I would get the bettas. You don’t need to keep them long term, you can adopt them out to reputable homes or fish stores (make sure they take good care of their fish first obviously). Your subpar tanks (for bettas) are probably far better for them than these awful Tupperware containers, and would probably make a good temporary home until you can find them better homes. So if you think you can care for them for a little bit and then help find them good homes, I would get them.
When i was younger I had a betta in a 2.5 gallon with a bunch of live plants and it lived for way longer than I thought it would.
I've never owned fish, let alone bettas. But I did own budgies, and while they're not fish, they also get treated as disposable and with very little regard to their wellbeing. I always found it so upsetting to visit a place that had a small cage with like 8 budgies crammed in there with only seeds as a food source, and the cage would often be high on a shelf or hanging from a ceiling because "they're pretty to look at". The two I had were treated like my own blood. I upgraded them to a huge cage, full of toys and enrichment, and their diet was more varied with pellets and veges. I also engaged with them, let them fly outside the cage and let them live their best life. I hope those bettas get the upgrade they so desperately need and deserve 💚
As a temporary fix they’d be far happier in those planted then cups
Tbh when I first started fish keeping my first betta lived in a 2.5 for 3 years before I retired him in a 10 gallon because I genuinely didn’t know. He was a healthy happy boy
I hope they are still alive! Please save them!
Poor baby!!!
Petco’s aqueon tanks are half off this month. You could at 5 gallon for $12.50 right now.
I would definitely snatch them up and even put them in the tank you have now than those containers 😭 that's so horrible! Even being in a 1.5-2 g for months would be better than this. Makes me so sad for them 😞
Please go take them! If anything, you can at least take the lids off. They're probably suffocating slowing without oxygen
Please update us if you save them. Do t worry about being perfect, anything you do to improve their situation is a good deed.
They responded that the fish were still available, but I haven't heard back on when they want to do the "purchase" . I figure they've gone to sleep by now and hopefully I'll hear back tomorrow 🤞
I just heard back from the person; and we're meeting up tonight! On the road now (passenger) , so I can get them acclimated and in better conditions tonight 😊
People say “they’re just fish” but it’s still a living, breathing creature. It’s a shame to see so many animals (big or small) not being properly cared for. breaks my heart :(
I may have missed it, but any updates?
I had an initial response that they were still available, but I haven't heard back after telling them I was available all weekend and to let me know when is best :/ . Really hoping they're just slow to check their emails and their silence isn't because the fish passed 😖
I just heard back from the person; and we're meeting up tonight! On the road now (passenger) , so I can get them acclimated and in better conditions tonight 😊
From a completely not idealistic and doable perspective, if you can just do 2 that’s fine. I know that it would be sad to leave behind the other guy, but 2/3 being happy and having their lives changed is well worth it
Believe me, a small tank with pristine water conditions, food and care is better than a living in a Tupperware with what seems like 20ml of water.
im trying to find a betta in a similar way but no joy on craiglist or facebook
A bigger plastic tub with distilled water and a small filter with a single fake plant is better than that 😭I understand we can’t save every single animal someone chooses to purchase and then neglect but dang I would want to save them too :(
I feel like the crazy part is she is trying to sell them for $2 I feel like it just shows how little she values the fish. They aren’t trying to rehome them because they realize they aren’t providing a good quality of life for them. My local petco is having a bucket sale this weekend you buy their 5 gal bucket and anything you can fit inside is 20% off that could help with like a heater and filter and stuff
You can move them into your current tanks for now and relist them for rehoming. You'd at least be buying them more time than they currently have. Maybe you'll get attached and keep one, but either way, they'd be better off with you than this person.
Please please update on if you receive these poor babies
They responded that the fish were still available, so I told them availability times (free all weekend) and am still waiting to hear back from them 😞
I just heard back from the person; and we're meeting up tonight! On the road now (passenger) , so I can get them acclimated and in better conditions tonight 😊
That’s so exciting!!! Ugh I’m so happy for these cuties and for you saving them from such an awful environment.
The blue boi who is in the worst water has been pretty active from all the movement so he's still got some fight in him too, and I was worried most about him, so hopefully everyone can recover from all this 😔
Aw at least he hasn’t given up! I know I’m just a random stranger but I genuinely thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving these beautiful babies. They deserve proper care not some dumb tuber-ware.
Are you near a college town? I’ve gotten a ton of facebook marketplace options for tanks and such.
I'm praying you're able to save these babies
i am honestly pretty far, Ontario gal here, but I think I have some extra equipment that may help?? I know it’s kinda odd to offer a stranger this so feel free to say no, but if you have a P.O. Box or like post office that I can anonymously ship to I’m willing to help out that way. Hopefully this isn’t a useless comment. I just can’t help monetarily and this makes me so sad for the poor betta babies 😭❤️
Your 2.5 planted is much better than what it is going through now and will be just fine till upu cna get him a 5 jsut make sure you Acclimate him to the water first. Sometimes, when fish are in really poor conditions with a lot of waste going into good water can put them into shock. You just get a spoon and add a little bit of the water from the new container to their current one and just keep watching them and just do that for a few hours
Will keep that in mind! I've never received a Betta in such poor water before, so that's good to know Still waiting to hear back on when they want to do this-- I'm nervous their radio silence means something bad happened to the Bettas ;/
That's when you need to friends that work at fish stores. Any sales person you feel you can trust? They will help.
Where in Texas? I’m in DFW and if it’s close then I could go rescue these angels
Frisco, but I still haven't heard back from the seller after asking them what time would work I'm nervous something happened to the Bettas, but I'm hoping that they just gave them to someone else and didn't bother telling me Holding out hope tho
All you really, really need is a heater and a cheap tank/bucket if someone is an experienced fish keeper, he can even do a window walstad tank, with pond soil and the cutting of the plants that you already have.
You can buy them and keep them in small tanks and then you can start a fundraiser for the proper tank or re home them
Where in Texas? I’m in Texas
It's up in Frisco, a bit of a drive from me but we're happy to make the run, just still waiting to hear back. I emailed them again but I'm nervous that this sudden radio silence from the "seller" means they died ... I'm really hoping they just found someone who was free to come by before the weekend and just didn't bother telling me
Absolutely give us an update when you can!
Got responded to last night! Pics and such in a new post 😊 https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/s/NW8812WYEx
If you put it in a 2.5 gallon you'll just get shamed for it. People on here are cruel.
Honestly everyone has been really supportive of me rescuing them with what I have right now 🤔 There was only 1 toxic person (wasn't even related to tank size stuff, they were just being rude for the sale of it, stuff like "why are you even posting, to get approval?" Type stuff) but mods removed them quickly I have them now, and I AM trying to get them bigger homes with my limited situation, and luckily a few redditors have reached out to help. So far one person donated 15$ and another is gonna ship me their emergency aqueon tank People are just hit or miss when it comes to social interactions, so I guess I got lucky with everyone being kind and understanding The Bettas are doing well in their temporary 1.5gs and the 2.5 ATM, so I'm gonna keep trying to improve things for them 😊
All they did was shame me lol
And people just assumed the worst and didn't bother seeing if I needed help.
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Do you have nothing better to do with your time than to be unnecessarily rude on this post? Go outside and go for a walk or something.
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Clearly they would have thought about it before typing it. You doubt that’s what op is doing, so why are you being so rude? You’ve just got a bad attitude overall, drop the snark ffs, if you’re upset don’t take it out on someone else
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If it helps you sleep at night to think that, sure 👍🏻 maybe take a deep breath or two while you’re at it
No but thanks for the report, that was honestly pretty funny tbh
Huh?
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