[Jeremy]

Planting your Betta tank!


Often times beginner hobbyists want to provide the best homes for their new Bettas, but need a little help. One of the best gifts you can give your new pet is good water quality and one way to go about that is adding live plants to your Betta's home.

Let me start off by saying that if you have no fluorescent means of lighting the tank, it may be in your best interest to stick with silk plants. In my opinion, it is not the best idea to subject your fish tank to natural light, i.e. putting it next to a window or on a window sill. I think that the temperature changes that this situation subjects the fish to are unnecessarily detrimental to your Betta's overall health. Incandescent lighting can also put out enough heat to cause drastic changes in temperature. The size of your tank, the amount of light over the tank, and the amount of maintenance work you're willing to put forward all play a part in selecting which plants to use. Substrate plays a roll as well but for article length's sake, let's assume that you are using a small inert substrate or you're going bare bottom.

In order for plants to maintain water quality, they need to grow. It sounds silly, but there's nothing worse for a small amount of water than a bunch of rotting plants. This means, in my opinion, that you must provide enough space for your plants to grow and spread. The UB Betta caresheet recommends 2.5 gallon tanks for Betta's and there are lots of plant choices for this size, but starting with the largest tank you can maintain will give you so many more options and your betta will love you for all the extra swimming room. When choosing a home, keep in mind that light is better able to reach the bottom of the tank if it is shallow, not deep. Basically go for a rectangle, not a square.

Lighting a Betta tank can be made very simple. 2 watts per gallon of water over a rectangle shaped tank. This is enough light to allow certain plants to grow and flourish, but not enough to let algae take over the aquarium walls and plant leaves. Also, Bettas prefer darker tanks so they aren't a good candidate for high lighting. Leaving the lights on 8-10 hours a day is sufficient for the plants we will talk about. If you do notice algae creeping up, clean it off as soon as possible and look into a water change or reducing lighting time.

Most of us know water changes are imperative to maintaining fish health, the same principle applies to plant health. If your tank is unfiltered/uncycled, continue to perform the same water change %/schedule that is working for your Betta. If your tank is filtered/cycled, weekly 50% water changes are recommended. This will replace the nutrients that are taken from the water and used by the plants as well as reduce any nitrAtes that are leftover. During your water change, get any algae off the glass and plants that you may see.

Now the fun part, PLANTS!
First is Java Moss. An excellent, easy care plant that is widely available and relatively inexpensive. Because there is no root system, you can use it as a floating mass, tie it to driftwood or rocks, or make a carpet out of it. It is slow growing, but Betta's love to rest in it.


Java Fern is a water fern that has thread like roots growing from its rhizome. A rhizome is a horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes. The rhizome should not be buried in the substrate. Alternatively you can tie Java Fern to driftwood and rocks, much like Java Moss.

There are several different types of Anubias. The most widely available it seems are Anubias Barteri and Anubias Nana. Most Anubias will do quite well in low-light situations. They have a much thicker rhizome than Java Ferns which kind of resembles a green carrot. It, like Java Ferns, should not be buried in the substrate, but can also be tied to driftwood and rocks. The drawback to Anubias is that they tend to be a bit pricey. I paid 10$ for the A.Nana pictured and it was far smaller when I first bought it.

My favorite plant of the moment is Hornwort. It is a floating, rootless plant that can be left floating, or partially buried in the substrate for a stem plant-like appearance. Care should be taken in researching your water quality as I have heard stories of this plant melting away in many a tank. I have it in all of my planted tanks and it is a great plant for getting rid of leftover nutrients thereby outcompeteing algae. It can be divided without worry of damage or left to grow into a wild bush. It is quite a fast grower so take care to prune to tallest pieces that may be shading the lower leaves from light.

Pennywort is another one that can be planted or floated. It does not grow as fast as Hornwort but does grow at a moderate speed. Each leaf nodule has it's own roots which makes this plant easy to divide and replant. I like this one a lot because as it grows towards the light, it appears as a staircase with each leaf as a new step.

Duckweed, Frogbit, and other floaters. These floating plants can provide a feeling of safety for your Betta by providing shade. They can make a pretty dense cover over your aquarium, almost like a forest canopy. Note, once these become established you will more than likely need to remove a large portion during weekly water changes. I do not recommend using Duckweed in a tank with other plants as the rate at which it covers the tank could easily deprive the plants beneath from light.

Watersprite and Cut-Leaf Watersprite are two variations on aquatic ferns that are easy to care for and can be planted or left floating. If planted, once the leaves reach the top, they can continue to grow out of your aquarium up towards the light. Cut-leaf Watersprite is the only kind I have worked with. It grows quickly and spreads by growing plantlets and letting them separate to fall and grow where they may.

Cabomba (credit to Red_Rose for this picture) is a stem plant similar to Hornwort. It does have a root system and it a little more demanding of light. I does make a great floater if you don't mind the roots.

These are my most popular choices for Betta tanks, but there are plenty of options so read up on your favorite and experiment. Find out which works out best for your Betta and for you. Those of you who have a planted betta tank you want to share, please post pictures in this thread!

[Jeremy]

[Jun]

This is excellent, Jeremy. Lots of good info there.

[Orion]

Nice writeup Jeremy! Sorry, I only just noticed this thread =). Regarding the anubias nana, you might want to mention that many people recommend planting it in the shade of other plants if you are having problems with algae growing on the leaves. I really like arrangements of anubias in combination with narrow leaf , or regular Java fern. The ferns tower over the anubias and also provide some shade to them.

[starálfur]

Hmm, I'm confused about the 50% water changes - in Orion's thread he says that no water should be changed...?

[Jeremy]

It's a different method. Mine's about planting your betta tank where bettas are the focus. Orion's is about a low-tech planted tank where maintaining a planted tank is the focus.

[imsarah]

what if you want to maintain your betta AND plants?

[Jeremy]

Pick what works for you. You can do either, it's all personal opinion and what works in your water.

[Orion]

So if you're going the low-tech,non CO₂, non Excel way, it is recommended to go with no water changes. Although the water changes won't hurt your fish, what it can do is give rise to algae in your tank by introducing periodic fluctuations in the CO₂ concentration in water. Usually with the Excel method...or any other hi-tech method where you are overdosing your ferts (within safe limits) to provide non limiting nutrient concentrations to the plants for growth, you need to do the weekly water changes to effectively "reset" the system by bringing back the nutrient levels.

If you follow the guidelines in the post, and dose very lean (As is recommended in that thread), then you are effectively not raising nutrient levels over time as the plants will be taking up the nutrients at pretty much the same rate at which you dose ferts. In addition the occasional skipping of fert dosing helps even more in bringing the nutrient levels down in case of any build up. Apart from nutrients, what else do you have to worry about? Mainly it is Ammonia from fish waste and food decay. This is far more toxic in tanks than most other bi-products of a healthy fish tank. A healthy planted tank (and it is healthy since you are giving it all the nutrients it needs along with ample light) is great at processing any ammonia being generated and using it for plant growth. Also you have ample bacteria in the soil, and the bacteria/plants combo takes care of any normal levels of ammonia. So again, no water changes are really required.

The only time you'd really need to do water changes in this scenario is when you introduce an unnaturally large amount of toxins into the water...say by pruning and pulling plants out (Stirring the gravel and releasing ammonia into the water column), decaying/dying plants, dead fish/snails, etc. In this case, the large amounts of ammonia cannot be processed by the plants alone, and this excess ammonia can lead to algae as well as hurt your fish. This is why it is recommended to do large water changes anytime you do a lot of pruning/uprooting of plants.

Also remember that if at all at any point you feel something isn;t right in your system and your fish don't seem to be healthy, you should do a large water change to essentially reset the system and remove any buildup of toxin that might have been causing these symptoms in your fish. While it isn't recommended for the plants in a low-tech tank, fish health is of most importance. You can always fight any algae that might arise from the water change by being persistent with cleaning it as soon as you see it, and making sure your plants are healthy and have ample nutrition available to them in the water column.

Ofcourse this no waterchange concept comes from Tom, and he has done extensive testing to back this up. I have also read a bunch of tank journals of people with beautiful low tech tanks who haven't done water changes for months. Infact, proof that it isn't bad for your fish is a thread I read a while ago on another forum where the owner had a low-tech discus tank, and he hadn't done a water change in almost a year!! If you don't already know, discus are very delicate fish and are extremely sensitive to water quality. Most owners of discus tanks do water changes every other day. Yet this persons fish were doing fine for over a year without any water changes while following similar guidelines as mentioned in that thread.

So to sum it up, no WC is not the definitive answer. It has worked for people in their low-tech tanks though, and someone who is very knowlegeble in the field (Tom Barr) who has done extensive testing has also found that the no WC idea works fine in such systems. However other people have done weekly 15-20% WC with their low-tech tanks too. If you do choose to do WCs, make sure it isn't larger than 25% and be on the lookout for algae.

Phew, sorry for the long post. I hope this makes sense.

This post has been edited by Orion: 19 May 2008 - 11:53 PM

[Orion]

It's a different method. Mine's about planting your betta tank where bettas are the focus. Orion's is about a low-tech planted tank where maintaining a planted tank is the focus.

Exactly. As you have read in most posts here at UB which obviously has a fish centric approach (obviously more so for non planted tanks), the emphasis is always on doing weekly water changes to try and ensure the well being of your fish. This is obviously the right thing to do because the weekly water changes help remove any unknown toxins that might be in your water, and regulate the water conditions by introducing a fresh supply of water with known (safe) water parameters. In the long run, the weekly water changes help establish a stable environment for the fish.

The only reason why no WCs are suggested for a plant centric tank (one which is very well planted and low-tech, non CO2) is because it has been found that weekly water changes (especially large ones) cause fluctuating CO2 levels in the tank giving rise to algae. The WCs don't hurt the fish in the tank, nor do the algae (unless indirectly, in that if the algae begins to kill plants, they in turn rot, which in turn causes an ammonia spike which hurts the fish), but they do hurt the overall health of the plants in the tank, which in turn as described above can indirectly have effect on its inhabitants.

Remember that no WCs isn't a compromise on fish health. If you follow the guidelines well and are attentive to your tank, then the water quality will be great inspite of no waterchanges and your fish will be happy as ever. The owner of the discus tank had some tetras which were breeding every few weeks in his low-tech tank. You just have to be a little more careful and observant with your tank. If anything seems wrong, immediately do a large water change. Better safe than sorry.

Also, I guess I should mention in my post, and maybe I will append it, the no WC rule will only work with a well planted tank. If you decide to have a 10 gallon planted tank with only 1-2 java ferns and anubias, and nothing else, then it isn't a good idea at all as the plant biomass isn't big enough to be able to handle all the ammonia generated from fish waste. This is also why it is very important not to overstock such low-tech tanks.

I hope this helps resolve the apparent conflict in WC advice.

This post has been edited by Orion: 19 May 2008 - 11:56 PM

[divy]

great thread its actually good timing that it came up cause i need some help

just a quick run down on my tank

i have a custom 3foot tank divided into 6 that will hold 6 male hm's, the tank has a fluval plus 1 internal filter that runs the drip system also a 9w uv sterilizer and a filter box that has sponge, bio-balls and seachem matrix carbon
and the light is a Hagen Life-Glo T5 Tube 6700K 39w
and the plants are two corkscrew val and anubias nana on a small piece of driftwood in each compartment oh and substrate is moon sand

what i would really like to know is once the tank is cycled how often should i do 25% waterchanges? and i have seachem flourish so when should i fert the plants?

any extra info on how to look after my tank would be great also the bettas come first not the plants so the question about waterchanges is more to do with looking after the fish

p.s i will have one glass shrimp in each compartment too just cause i like them lol

thanks in advace

[Orion]

great thread its actually good timing that it came up cause i need some help

just a quick run down on my tank

i have a custom 3foot tank divided into 6 that will hold 6 male hm's, the tank has a fluval plus 1 internal filter that runs the drip system also a 9w uv sterilizer and a filter box that has sponge, bio-balls and seachem matrix carbon
and the light is a Hagen Life-Glo T5 Tube 6700K 39w
and the plants are two corkscrew val and anubias nana on a small piece of driftwood in each compartment oh and substrate is moon sand

what i would really like to know is once the tank is cycled how often should i do 25% waterchanges? and i have seachem flourish so when should i fert the plants?

any extra info on how to look after my tank would be great also the bettas come first not the plants so the question about waterchanges is more to do with looking after the fish

p.s i will have one glass shrimp in each compartment too just cause i like them lol

thanks in advace

I think your best bet would be to do weekly 25% water changes (After your tank has cycled). If you have the fish in there while you are cycling the tank you probably need to do 50% WCs every other day till the tank stabilizes. You don't have much planted mass, and in this case the plants alone will not be able to maintain water quality in the tank. In addition, divided tanks are always harder since the water flow is going to be messed up and it will be hard for nutrients to get everywhere.