#..3x the usual size of your canvases?

[the-insanity-of-mojiru]

That was inside this whole time?!

[hella-free-space]

Repurposing “Betta Tanks”

I’m a big fan of ‘upcycling’ stuff and I hate just throwing things away (especially pricier things).

There’s SO MUCH (literally a ridiculous amount) of misinformation about bettas that gets circulated by pet stores, facebook users, pinterest users, youtube users, and even betta-centered websites! There’s also plenty of people who have gone out and purchased bettas and “betta tanks” only to find out later that they’re completely unsuitable homes for their new finned friends! D: (If you’d like to know more about bettas and proper husbandry, check out this post) It would seriously suck if I went out and bought one of those Aqueon Betta Falls tanks (they are completely inappropriate for any fish or live animals and they can seriously injure bettas and other fish), which costs around $40 btw, only to learn that I’ve got to start totally from scratch and shell out another $40-100 PER safe and proper setup (the betta falls holds up to 3 fish, so that’s up to 3 new setups). and then after buying a whole new tank and equipment, I’m left with an expensive death trap. I wouldnt feel right selling it anyone else (who might use it to house bettas) but I also don’t want to just throw it away. Do I just put it back in the box and put it up on some high shelf in the garage? NO. NO I DO NOT. I’m going to find a good use for it, and I’m hoping that some of the ideas listed below give y’all some ideas too! more under the cut

Wall Mounted Fish Bowls

[Source]  These are usually anywhere from 1/2 - 1 Gallon, and are available from a number of brands and sellers on amazon and ebay. The idea is pretty cool and novel, but obviously not a healthy home for a betta (or other fish / invert). Consider using it as a hanging terrarium or planter! You can do fresh cut flowers, marimos, pothos, bamboo, java fern, anubias, or even an entire miniature aquascape! Funny enough, you can actually buy hanging glass terrariums / planters as well, so here’s some visuals!

USB / Desktop Aquariums

NO. DON’T DO IT. PUT THOSE FISH DOWN RIGHT NOW. THEY ARE NOT GOING IN THIS TANK. I’ve seen people keep bettas, guppies, tetras, etc. in these things and I just want to make it very clear that these are NOT suitable for anything...

EXCEPT MARIMOS!! :DD Marimos love a little bit of current and can be kept in bowls, jars, or tiny tanks! I think that having a little bit of current and some mini marimos and even some miniature decor would make an awesome edition to any desk, especially since it comes with a light and pump! :) Feel free to get creative tho! you can grow bamboo, pothos, and other plants out of it as well, or do a miniature aquascape, or even do some simple aquatic plants like anacharis, or an anubias nana petite one a tiny piece of driftwood~ have fun with it! :)

Betta Falls

OF DEATH. these tanks can seriously injure your fish, are too small to hold a stable cycle, will stress the fish out (because they can see each other) and are honestly no bigger than the cups you bought them in :/ 

What’s really cool about this tank is the design, though. Its got this cascading waterfall type design which would probably be awesome for marimos since they get their round shape from being rolled around by the current! A bit of flow is the way to go~ Also, being able to do 3 totally different (or completely complementary) sections is what makes this an especially fun and challenging upcycle! 

- You can do some cool rocks or miniature aquarium decor and use it as a waterfall, similar to how these little countertop fountains are used - You can grow bamboo or other semi-aquatic plants out of these compartments - You can grow fully aquatic plants in these compartments - You can even add some fake bettas if you want to add a lil fishy centerpiece - You can do any combination of different things and you’ve got 3 compartments to decorate however you see fit! :D

Betta Cubes

no.

NO!!

YAAAAAAAAAAS!! see where I’m goin with this y’all?

Other “Betta Tanks”

Besides plants, betta tanks also make fantastic enclosures for invertebrates!! :D I’m talkin about your snails, your millipedes, your slings (baby tarantulas), and even your mantids!!

@hipsterzombiesquad took this 1/2 gallon “betta tank” and turned it into a small terrarium for their snails!! :D It’s literally the cutest thing <3 (there’s two teeny tiny snails on top of the rock ornament in case you’re looking for them!)

Amanda L. left this review about the Sweetness Betta Tank: “This is not appropriate for any fish, but I bought this to house a tarantula spiderling. My spider is quite happy and not only is the enclosure cute and a good size for this dwarf species juvenile but the interesting shape let me set up a really deep starter burrow that he's currently excavating and webbing up.”

This is one of these marina betta tanks.  Youtube user ShreckKram used it for a praying mantis! I’m not sure how tall the mantis is compared to the enclosure, but generally you want the terrarium to be 3x as tall and 2x as wide as your mantid is at the very least :)

Emzotic also used the marina betta tank for some snails! :D (skip to 6:20 to see baby snails!)

Bugsincyberspace sells a ton of different invertebrate kits as well! These are biobubble deco cubes that are often marketed towards bettas but as yall can see, they’d make a great bumblee millipede terrarium! :D

The Fish Bowl

[Source] Last but not least, we have to talk about what in the heck to do with these classic fish bowls, drum or not. These bowls are basically blank canvases and there are tons of decor ideas floating around on pinterest, but for now I wanted to give yall a few decor ideas and a then show yall some more interesting uses!

These sand bowls are a really cute alternative to live plants and with all the miniatures you can buy on amazon or ebay or at hobby lobby or michaels (or even walmart), there are so many unique themes / scenes you could choose to create. You can also do a little zen garden of sorts with rocks and different colored sand and a miniature rake even!

A fairy garden!

I don’t personally drink, but I know there are Of Age fishblrs on here, so this is for you! Tipsy Bartender also did a video for this drink!

Of course I had to include a planted terrarium too! Now, when I created a fish bowl succulent terrarium a lot of people said that it wasn’t the best kind of container for succulent since it traps humidity and there’s no drainage (feel free to drill some holes if ya know how to do that tho!). If you’re worried about keeping succulents in a bowl like this, there are tons of mosses and ferns and such that you could use to create a terrarium :) SerpaDesign has a TON of instructional videos for making terrariums!

Another decor idea! 

Now, this is similar to something I actually made for my then-boyfriend (now husband) for valentines day a few years ago. I made a little luvdisc aquarium in a dollar store fish bowl (they’re like 16 oz. super small). I used like, glass pebbles and plastic plants and filled it with this fake water stuff and it came out pretty cute! I’m so sorry that I don’t have a picture of it for yall but the concept is fun and you can do the same thing with pretty much any plastic creature you have!

The last idea I have for y’all today involves food. I’m not the best cook, but I do freakin love me some chocolate, so with halloween coming up, you can use that old fish bowl (preferably cleaned. very well.) for a party-size bowl of dirt-and-worms or the summery sandy alternative (for the vanilla or banana pudding lovers out there). This version features some cute little amphibians! And of course I had to include a dinosaur version because of course I do.

There’s tons of other holiday decor and food and drink ideas as well. since this post is sooooo incredibly long, I’ll just list these last few ideas as links instead of including pictures and everything else.

Glass halloween lighted bowls

DIY Gumball machine

DIY Candy Dispenser

Shark Jello Bowls

The cutest halloween graveyard terrarium

Fishbowl centerpieces

Frog jello cups

Caught ya bein good reward bowl

Fish-themed slime

Goldfish snack bowl

Tissue Paper Lanterns

Dinosaur Terrariums

Origami Fish bowl

Resin Fish Bowls (most of these are miniatures but i dont see why a larger version would be any less cool)

Fish bowl punch (feel free to switch it up and add gummy octopuses too)

Paint it black and make a dry ice cauldron

Paint it black and make it a cauldron candy or punch bowl