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I have a crisis that needs resolve...

My neighbors daughter, who is now away at college. She buys a Betta fish. Mom did not know. Well cleaning out her room, the mom finds a small container with brown SLUDGE inside!!! She goes to throw out the sludge & notices movement in the liquid...she finds a Betta fish...ITS STILL ALIVE!!!!

So she saves the fish and puts it into a clean container.....Well it gets better...the fish is no slowing recooperating in front of her kitchen window & the younger daughter is now caring for the Betta... Well on a routine water change, the daughter drops the fish in the sink down the disposal....yes the disposal!!!!

Well the mom rescues the fish again & gets the fish out. & Yes the fish is still alive!!
I have offered to take the fish but the daughter wants to keep it. I have made suggestions to upgrade the cup to an actual fish tank.

No luck.

So now when I go to visit them I always ask about the fish & I always offer to take him.
But I feel like I'm being pushy at this point....any suggestions???

The Betta needs HELP!!!!

It sounds like this girl wants to keep the fish, so let her. I would make suggestions on how to do a safer water change from now on.......... if she hasn't learned how to already.

They have those cute small 1gallon & up filtered things at the local discount store. All kids are attracted to those & not much money & they filter the water......... no more yucky cup. Have you suggested one of those, or is that what you meant by an "actual fish tank?" If she hasn't seen one, you might casually have her go to the store with you someday & then, "Hey, while we're here, I want to look at the fish section!"

She might end up wanting one for a B-day or Christmas present if they don't want to spend money on it now? Wow, what a story! That has to be one to save for the files! At least the little guy is in clean water right now! Put him in an actual fish tank now & he will think he died & went to fishy heaven!

Here's my suggestion.

Offer to look after the fish for a week.

Put it in a much more suitable aquarium. At least 5 gallons, preferably more.

Then let the kid see how happy it is in such a spacious home. Especially if it has real live plants to swim amongst.

Then encourage the kid to save pocket money for a proper home for it.

Once the kid in question has seen how it's done properly and how happy the fish is in a proper aquarium, you've won half the battle. From that point on, it's a matter of introducing the kid to the finer points of looking after an aquarium properly. In a Betta setup, all that's needed for a gravel vac is the top part of a soft drink bottle, a hole drilled in the cap, and a length of siphon tube pushed into the hole. Hey presto, 50 cent gravel vac. Which has served me and my Panda Fun Palace admirably for a long time.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Hey guy thanks

I was thinking if she has not upgraded the "cup", I was thinking maybe for XMas.

At least she's doing routine maintenance...

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Well considering the option of the disposal or the stinky cup of water, I guess I would settle for the cup too...I just feel really bad for the fish.

Well if you take up my suggestion now, then at the end of a week show the little girl how happy the Betta is in a proper aquarium, this gives her mother about six weeks before Christmas to arrange for a proper aquarium to become part of the household. During which time, you have plenty of opportunities to indulge in a little coaching.

Then you can have all the fun of helping her set things up. which in turn gives you the chance to coach the little girl away from garish plastic ornaments and steer her toward setting up a natural looking piece of miniature Betta stream. At the end of this enterprise, you'll not only have given the fish a decent home, but gone some way toward launching another young fishkeeper on what will hopefully be a long and happy road of caring for fishes properly. Everyone wins all round.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002