I don’t really like talking about having a pet betta fish irl because there is two main responses to people finding out you have one:
To describe horrible ways they killed the betta they had as kids. Comes in two flavours, just being ignorant and thinking they’re describing good care, or outright brutally telling you about it’s death for shock factor because they think it’s funny/interesting. They will not pick up on your blatant discomfort.
or
To describe horrible care practices they are currently torturing their pet betta with. They will get offended if you try to tell them what they need to actually thrive and live comfortably.
In my few years of keeping fish, I’ve discovered that most filter problems can be fixed by taking apart the motor and giving the parts a stern talking to or glare.