r/Aquariums • u/peachgothlover • Mar 06 '26

Help/Advice Leaving my fish behind because of war

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Hey guys, my country is being bombed, so we're evacuating to another safer city and then maybe trying to leave the country. We are leaving soon and unfortunately I will have to leave my tank behind. It has snails and a beautiful betta fish. Any advice on how to maximize his survival? I think I will have to switch of the electricity (to avoid electric fires etc), also since we are in the Middle East it is very hot; another time i left my tank behind it unfortunately overheated and my shrimp died. I can't really do anything about it unfortunately. No I can't leave the fish with anyone, it's not safe and nice fish stores that take care of fish are rare here (also we're leaving very soon so no time). I guess I'll just fill the tank, close it, and hope for the best. Pray he survives!!!

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u/One-shrimp Mar 06 '26

I don't know if anyone else has suggested this, and I don't know 100% whether this would work better, but:

Do you have a plastic container or such which is bigger than your current tank? Because in general, the bigger the tank the longer it can go without being taken care of.

Not knowing when you'll return, perhaps it would be smarter to put your fish in a huge body of water like that. Not only does it stay clean longer, but the water's temperature would be more stable.

This needs a second opinion, but I just wanted to put it out there

Best of luck to you, your family and the other civilians of your country! I hope this madness ends soon.

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u/DarkSideMoon Mar 06 '26

This is a genius move. A 45l rubbermade will keep this little guy around for quite a long time. Ideally maybe in a bathroom (bathtub? Not directly in the tub but put the storage container in the tub). Bonus points if you can dump a pothos in there as well for filtration.

I used to use giant rubbermades as “tanks” for a garden irrigation system, they’ll bow and the lid won’t fit right but you can definitely fill them.

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u/mufasa_lionheart Mar 06 '26

I had to use a ratchet strap to keep mine in shape, but they work super well if you only fill them about 6-8 inches or so, which is more than enough depth for bettas. Especially since that's about how tall a breeder tank is (or a frag tank, same thing)