Growing up: My parents bred bettas for many years. We had to keep them in the basement because the floors could not withstand the weight of hundreds of 5 gallon tanks filled with water. We didn't bother with individual heaters for every sub-adult fish either: we had standing racks full of heated sand with mason jars stuck in them. Eventually my family stopped breeding them because cheap imports flooded the pet trade and without the internet (ancient times) there was little demand for 'show quality' bettas.
In those days we also started suction for gravel washing with our mouth on the end of a hose. Now I mentally cringe every time I drink something through a straw.
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