Oh my goodness...I am so sorry for your loss!!
Bettas are fantastic little fish, and I especially have a soft spot for females! To be honest, I don't think I've ever had an
HOB filter in a
Betta tank, so I can't tell you whether I've had the same experience or not. But one thing I know for a fact is that one of my fellow fish enthusiasts did have this experience happen to herself. One of her favorite girls got stuck on the intake tube! The intake ripped some of her scales off and tore her beautiful fins. She didn't pass away, but was scarred, both physically and emotionally, from the experience. Luckily, however, with a clean
hospital tank, she was able to return to her favorite fishy friend in about 2 weeks! I know this has also happened to my brother with one of his very first fish tanks. It was a 12 gallon with 2 baby Common
Goldfish (I know this is far too small permanently, but it was only a temporary setup. I gave him two baby Goldies from my massive outdoor pond to help him get accustomed to the care and maintenance of an aquarium. If he took care of them correctly, he would be ready for a "real" aquarium). Sadly, I've heard of fish getting stuck, sometimes even to the point of death, in the intake tube is not all that uncommon. This is why for all fish, especially Bettas, I will always recommend other filter types instead, unless you know for a fact that the filter will be 100% safe for your fish. If you do want to switch filters, however, I would like to recommend my personal favorites that I use often;
Canisters are one of my favorites, as the inside can be overfilled with media and their flow can be adjusted! Box filters are another one of my favorites; they're a lot like
sponge filters but can hold various media inside. As for sponges, these are a pretty common type of filter used for Bettas,
Guppies, and other fish with long, flowing fins, swimming problems, or to those who have a hard time with fast currents. They're a good filter, I must say, but they will not clarify your water the same that other filters will. Sometimes I'll even recommend internal filters! You can get ones that can be jam-packed full of media and ones with a spray bar to help lower the water current. You can even "
DIY" your own
aquarium filter, if you're willing to do so! Just check online for some ideas and try them for yourself! Hopefully this helpful for you and your little girls! I would be absolutely devastated if I were to hear that more of them somehow vanished...
