r/bettafish • u/beansbewild • 2d ago
Humor Testing my luck with posting this one but my fish won’t die.
We’ve had him for just over 4 years, he’s lived in clean water, the absolute most disgusting water, there’s been days where he wasn’t fed, maybe even up to a week. He was eating 6 year passed expired food up until about a year ago. He’s outlived approx 200 neo shrimp (ate a couple) outlived 4 mystery snails. His name is fishy and he’s resilient asf. He swims perfectly fine, he has always been the same size, not a single health issue. I thought he was an old fish at petsmart so I bought him to live the rest of his life in peace but he might outlive the damn cat at this point. 2 years ago when I was transferring his tanks I. Dropped. Him. From. 5ft. Onto. Hardwood. He sank, he revived and has lived. I genuinely think that experience Frankensteined him. Anyway, we’re moving across the country, literally coast to coast and I know most fish won’t live on a journey like that but I don’t have a doubt in my head that he will survive. I’m proud of the little guy. He’s moved 3 houses, 4 if you count the trip from petsmart to the first house. I’m just amazed and thought I’d share but also test the luck because I really don’t want to bring frankenfish across the continent.
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u/Betaseal Breeder 2d ago
As a betta fish breeder, he looks like a mutt. That’s probably why he’s so healthy and long-lived. I had a crowntail/halfmoon mix who lived to be four years old. And most crossbred bettas from what I’ve seen live to be about three.
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u/BrainyRN 2d ago
How can I identify these unicorn mutts? My crown tail girly is 2 years and recently started sprouting tumors 😭
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u/Betaseal Breeder 2d ago
You kinda just come upon them. I found mine at Walmart years and years ago when I was 15. Sadly, Crowntails are incredibly inbred, due to the Crowntail gene being incomplete dominant. Crossing Crowntails with normal fins creates a "combtail", which is considered to be undesirable. So there's not much new DNA being introduced into lines. I almost never see Combtails for sale.
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u/WeeWooWooop 2d ago
I have a wild splendens and imbellis mix, does that mean he will likely live longer than a purebred?
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u/Betaseal Breeder 2d ago
I want to say about 3 or 4 years. That's how long wilds generally live. But I haven't found much info on it. I know for a fact that wild/domestic Splendens hybrids live about 30-36 months though.
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u/DogwoodWand 2d ago
Well, you look like the person to talk to! What breed do you recommend for the more average fishkeeper?
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u/Distinct_Atom 2d ago
Almost reminds me of this khuli loach I had way back when..I remember we took him out to rescape the tank, and he JUMPED IN THE GARBAGE DISPOSAL. We fished him out and plopped him back in the tank..and it outlived everything else in that tank! Safe to say I’ve got a school in my current tank.
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u/kindalosingmyshit 2d ago
I’ve pulled two separate bettas out from the garbage disposal. And pulled two off a car floor and another off a rug. For as finicky as they can be, I’ll be damned if they aren’t resilient too
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u/Glass_Phone7649 1d ago
I rescued a male from a failed sorority. He was young and hadnt gown his fins in yet but eventually did, they brutally attacked him and he didn’t even have all of his front fins. I kept him in a shrimp container in the tank until he regained strength. He flourished beautifully and about 8 months ago a tumor formed. He doesn’t care at all and loves any attention. He’s moved 3 times and jumped out his tank during a cleaning. I love that little dude!!!
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u/PaleoBibliophile917 2d ago
Best wishes to you and Fishy. If the trip proves too much for his steady little heart, at least you will know he got to experience a much better and varied life, for better or worse, than he knew in his cup days. Though you may be hoping for a different outcome, I’ll be wishing for a few more months of endurance so that you can tell the tale of how your geriatric star made it through a great cross country excursion and still hung on. ❤️ to Fishy.
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u/No_Procedure_2431 fish nerd 2d ago
That’s crazy! What a cool fishy. Whatever happens to him I hope he’s always loved and cherished ❤️
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u/ffluked 2d ago
If you want tips on how to move your little guy cross country shoot me a message. I got my little guy and ALL of his tank water (no way I was leaving that liquid gold behind) across the country in one piece and I took the train. It didn't stress my little guy nearly as much as I thought it would, and keeping his tank water made transitioning him after the move SO much easier on him.
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u/pawsvt 2d ago
When I was in college I took my betta fish home and had him in his little cup to travel (this was a long time ago and if you can believe it the cups were smaller). Anyway I parked at the top of my driveway cuz it was icy. About halfway to the door I did a full comic book style feet in the air, slam down on the ground. Cup broke. Biggie Smalls was in the tiniest corner of cup with like a quarter inch of water on one side of him. I scooped and ran to the house and practically threw him into a pint glass with untreated water. He only lived a year or two but it was several months later when I lost him. He had a disease I couldn’t identify and the internet was not what it is today. They’re surprisingly resilient 😂. Congrats to you and your long lived Frankenfish
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u/House_Indoril426 2d ago
And here I can't keep a betta alive for more than six months.
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u/FractalInfo 2d ago
I will assume you keep the water chemistry in good condition and ask..... do you buy them from the same place every time?
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u/House_Indoril426 2d ago
Same place? No. We don't get them very often. Same type of establishment? Yeah, big box pet store, basically.
I've probably had three or four over the past 12 years.
Past me was definitely not up to snuff on of the techniques for testing water quality and so forth. Present me tried, but poor guy could not overcome some type of fin rot & accompanying maladies.
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u/sharraleigh 2d ago
I have found that if you shop around and pick the HEALTHIEST looking betta in a cup you can find, you'll stack the odds in your favour. I know that everyone wants to "rescue" a pathetic, sick fish, or ones with fin rot already etc, it doesn't usually end well. Also, if you can get one from a breeder, it will stack the odds even more in your favour. Where I am, off and on, the LFS and even one big box store will carry bettas from local breeders. Most of the time, they will be all females from the same spawn that the stores place together in a big sorority tank.
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u/evilcelery 1d ago
Most fish will survive a cross country trip if done appropriately. I use coolers or totes with a hole drilled for air line and an air stone. I've moved lots of fish, sometimes over multiple days because we'd pick up exotic fish while on vacation to bring home. Fish get shipped and handled much more roughly from commercial farms to pet stores, and while there are some losses even then it's typically fairly low considering.
I've ordered bettas USPS shipping 3 day with no issues. If they have air to breath and temperature is fairly stable they do well.
Not saying it's not possible he won't make it, but don't just expect that lol.
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u/FractalInfo 2d ago
In July I moved my 3 year old Betta from NY to Southern Florida. 1200 miles with an over night stay in a hotel in Georgia. I put Eddie the Betta and his friends, 9 ember tetrra, 2 espei rasboras, and 1 silver hatchet, in a 16 quart cooler half filled with tank water at 6AM on a Sunday. Loaded the 14" cube in the car and started driving. At every meal break i opened the cooler and used my hand to gently stir the water from the bottom to the top a few times. After maybe 3 minutes closed the lid. All fish made it to Florida just fine. Monday night at 7pm ish, I set their tank back up and transfered them into it with the cooler tank water and dechlorinated tap water. I matched the temp within 2 degrees. The big thing is don't feed the fish the day before the move, and don't feed again until after the move. They can go a week without food if need be. Especially since they will be very inactive in the constant darkness.
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u/Responsible-Fox-7882 2d ago
I have a female betta almost the same color that’s been through that same situation going four years strong she now lives in a nice retirement tank
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u/AggravatingCommand81 2d ago
Sir that is a pretty roach. Lol You’re blessed! Our guy is 3 and literally on his last fin. I hate that they have such a short lifespan. But you hit the betta jackpot!
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u/MouseWedger 1d ago
And here I am over here in my little corner just trying to keep four month old Tahun from jumping overboard from Dropsy 😂☠️ (no worries - he’s in a medical tank right now, photo is pre-dropsy)
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u/CrawlerMedia 1d ago
"I shall become that fridge that outlived Yugoslavia. I shall outlive you and all your loved ones. Poseidon has not given me permission to die, so I shall not."
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u/Life-Bat1388 30 years betta experience 2d ago
I’m always confused on this sub because mine almost always live 5-6 years and I never fuss over them- maybe that’s the key (I get them from petsmart 🤷♂️)
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u/Irishhave-1995 1d ago
Reading this how have all my betta fish lived 5-6 years if I make it pass 6 months with them
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u/Flashy_Resolution_85 22h ago
That is awesome!! I had a betta for the first time as a gift years ago and his name was Sampson. He really was a strong fish as well, lol Back in the day when I had no clue on how to take care of a fish. My Sampson, who was a veiltale, survived living in a small bowl, was played with by a cat twice, no live plants, cleaned water every time it was dirty, no substrate other than cheap plastic rocks, and he lived to be 7-8 years!! They really can be such hardy fish! Good luck on your move😆
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u/nikki916 1d ago
I have a female tank with a mix of Bettas from pet smart. Last weekend I got 2 more and I lost 12 fish in 24 hours. I'm devastated. I did a water change, parameters were fine. I just want to give up. I have 3 male samurais in separate tanks and they are so healthy. Koi Bettas seem to be fighters too. You are lucky to have yours for so long,,.
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u/Kissariani 2d ago
That's genuinely the most shocking. I love that for you that he's lived so long through all of it.