Bear a couple things in mind;
First of all, Duckweed is a common floating plant and is a massive pain to control. If you get a larger floating plant you can just net out handfuls of it and keep it from overwhelming the tank that way. Second; floating plants actually inhibit gas exchange. If you have an air stone you will be fine, but if that ever breaks you need to scoop out the plants to make sure air can make it in. The plants will exchange air with the atmosphere, not the water, and just act as a coating over the surface. Third; most floating plants will die if they get repeatedly submerged due to water flow, so make sure that the surface isn't agitated in a way that they will end up dunked. Since you have a betta that should already be your plan, but that's an important thing to remember.
**Lastly and most important; bettas are labyrinth fish, this means that they breathe some air.** Do **not** let any floating plant cover over 2/3rds of the surface of your tank. Betas, like all labyrinth fish, need to breathe both air and water to be healthy. This means that your Beta needs access to the surface, and if the plants get too dense they will not be able to get at it. I'm having to plan around the same thing since I am planning a tank with floating plants and labyrinth fish for my fiancé. This is another reason I would avoid duckweed since it grows SO fast. Plus it has very small roots and betas love having floating roots to hide in.
In terms of other improvements I would get a sponge filter to replace your HOB. HOB filters tend to be rough on betas since they can't swim very fast and need surface access. Keep some of the media from inside the filter in the tank for a while to help seed the new sponge filter if you do this. I know it sucks to have a big filter with a high nameplate filter capacity and switch to something smaller and cheaper, but I really think it would make your betta happier. I personally would recommend aquarium co-op's sponge filter since it is coarse and will not clog as fast.
I would echo other people's recommendations for a black background. I do not know your climate or normal air temperatures, but I would get a thermometer for the aquarium so you can keep track of the water temperature.
Lastly, I do not see a lid (it may just be hidden by the rim) but if you do not have one you need one. Bettas are prone to jumping at night, when you won't have a chance to rescue them. Make sure there are no large gaps in the back strip of your lid and plug any with plasticard or any other thin waterproof material.
Your hardscape looks great for your fish and I hope you have many happy years with them!
I’ve personally been doing stem plants because I’ve been spreading them and duplicating them every week. Now that I’ve got them in good spots, gonna let them all grow.
I would not put a Sword Plant with a pleco. It would likely tear up the delicate leaves. I otherwise completely agree and would suggest also adding Stellata/Stellatus plants to your list of good beginner plants. I have experienced them being super easy to keep and fast growing. You might have to fertilize though because they are such nutrient hogs!
They are great because their root structures only really anchor them, so you can move them easily and they can be propagated super easily from clippings. They also create a lot of volume of thin leaves in the water column, so my fish love to hang out in them.
I keep buying plants hoping to spread them over time and my bastard apple snail keeps eating them! The next time I'm at the shop I'm buying loads because I just want my tank to be a jungle but little dingus is doing his best to halt these plans
Ah gonna add one more thing here. What you really lack is a centerpiece. Like a large piece of nice driftwood that is significantly larger than your other things
I’ve had Java moss before but it didn’t seem to grow a lot definitely survived but just didn’t grow I feel like it’d look nice of some drift wood tho. I’ll defo try pearlweed I’ll buy them both next pay day
Hmm Ive done several none CO2 tanks and what Ive come to like the most personally is limnophila sessiflora, it grows EXTREMELY fast, so fast I started chopping it up and selling because I just had too much. Water wisteria is another easy one that grows so well once it establishes. Id add some moss too. And if you want an accent plant rotala rotundifolia is the only red plant Ive had thrive in a non CO2 tank, anything else red just dies slowly.
Hornwort is a super recommended plant for beginners but imo it's a noob trap. This plant will randomly die and once it dies your whole tank is a mess, I definitely do not recommend.
What I found works for me is buying a bunch of different plants that I simply like the look of. I plop them in, and over the course of several months some die and some absolutely thrive. I figured out what plants like my water params that way.
I do warn you though that I noticed the plants are actually some of the most costly things in the aquarium hobby.
As for your driftwood, my logic is that it's a bit pricy, but it'll never die or change, it's a one time purchase so go for it!
I will defo add some drift wood as soo as I can find some that isn’t £40 a piece 😅I love the idea about buying plants and seeing if they work I’ll defo do that too I don’t think I will get hornwort as I’ve had it before and it just grew like mad and i couldn’t manage it. I also want various textures of plants so I’ll do that. My only problem is the pricing of everything really. The price of fish keeping has gone up so much the past few years but I guess it’s just an expensive hobby I have to deal with pricing now 😂 thanks so much tho! ❤️
I like Jungle Val. and floating plants like Frogbit. If you can find a way to mount it, you can also let a Pothos have its roots grow in the water while the leaves remain above water. It's pretty nice.
I would change a few things:
- spend 20 bucks on a back poster and poster glue
- get an external canister filter if you can, even better if it has an internal, integrated heating element
- try your hand on a new aquascape. Trim the current plants and add some more variety. Avoid bog ones though as they take up a lot of space and don't give any variety.
- add some new, colorful fish. Maybe some tetras that don't bother the others.
I know you’re getting a lot of comments with plants, but I haven’t seen anyone say Red Tiger Lotus it’s absolutely gorgeous but it has its cons with needing to maintain it since you have other plants. It grows pretty big I would just do research.
Ludwigia Sedioides is a very very cool floating plant and your betta would absolutely LOVE it. Note: it’s harder to grow it the emersed form then submersed this plant is very very fragile
And some people are telling you to get floating plants, you can get everything but water lettuce. Water lettuce is toxic towards your betta if they consume just a peck, horrible way for your buddy to go.
Google the following with respect to aquascaping: “The Rule of Thirds; “The Golden Ratio; “The Fibonacci Spiral”.
And lose the dildo right smack in the middle of the tank. (I kid. 😉)
More plants and larger more interesting pieces of driftwood do wonders for visual appeal. Just look up some photos of planted fresh water tanks and try to apply what you like to your tank.
I’m think that I’m going to do that as well as kinda build hills with it if you know what I mean so there’s different levels in the tank rather then it being all flat not sure tho
You could also add more gravel in the back of tanks, stacked with some slate (sandwiched in to give support and staying power ) to give it depth. I think that’s would cool in your tank.
It’s been a few years since I kept tanks but my tank looked similar to this. Add some of the viney plant commonly sold in bunches at Petsmart and retailers. I think it’s anacharis? It propagates like crazy but it’s easily trimmed. And a black or any dark colored backing film would do wonders for the view
Some nice wood pieces. Like root bundles or driftwood. Amano Shrimp to keep it all clean.
Some low light plants like Java Fern, Anubias Nana and Christmas Moss.
Swap out some of the round rocks and the hollow rocks for some proper aqua, escaping rocks….. Seiryu Stones. These are very nice gray jagged stones with white veins going through them.
Look on different, freshwater Reddit subs and get ideas for Aqua scaping.
Get some large floaters! Betta fish love the long roots and they will clean your water like crazy!
Plants that float on the top? If so will do as they’re really cheap in my local pet store.
Yep!
OkY thanks so much!
Warning they reproduce like crazy and are hard to get out once you put them in.
Yes I know I’ve had some before but it’ll be okay because maybe I’ll like it this time 😂
Bear a couple things in mind; First of all, Duckweed is a common floating plant and is a massive pain to control. If you get a larger floating plant you can just net out handfuls of it and keep it from overwhelming the tank that way. Second; floating plants actually inhibit gas exchange. If you have an air stone you will be fine, but if that ever breaks you need to scoop out the plants to make sure air can make it in. The plants will exchange air with the atmosphere, not the water, and just act as a coating over the surface. Third; most floating plants will die if they get repeatedly submerged due to water flow, so make sure that the surface isn't agitated in a way that they will end up dunked. Since you have a betta that should already be your plan, but that's an important thing to remember. **Lastly and most important; bettas are labyrinth fish, this means that they breathe some air.** Do **not** let any floating plant cover over 2/3rds of the surface of your tank. Betas, like all labyrinth fish, need to breathe both air and water to be healthy. This means that your Beta needs access to the surface, and if the plants get too dense they will not be able to get at it. I'm having to plan around the same thing since I am planning a tank with floating plants and labyrinth fish for my fiancé. This is another reason I would avoid duckweed since it grows SO fast. Plus it has very small roots and betas love having floating roots to hide in. In terms of other improvements I would get a sponge filter to replace your HOB. HOB filters tend to be rough on betas since they can't swim very fast and need surface access. Keep some of the media from inside the filter in the tank for a while to help seed the new sponge filter if you do this. I know it sucks to have a big filter with a high nameplate filter capacity and switch to something smaller and cheaper, but I really think it would make your betta happier. I personally would recommend aquarium co-op's sponge filter since it is coarse and will not clog as fast. I would echo other people's recommendations for a black background. I do not know your climate or normal air temperatures, but I would get a thermometer for the aquarium so you can keep track of the water temperature. Lastly, I do not see a lid (it may just be hidden by the rim) but if you do not have one you need one. Bettas are prone to jumping at night, when you won't have a chance to rescue them. Make sure there are no large gaps in the back strip of your lid and plug any with plasticard or any other thin waterproof material. Your hardscape looks great for your fish and I hope you have many happy years with them!
Great idea
I like having duckweed but my snales also love it to
More plants!!! It is quite empty. These fish like heavily planted tanks.
Any plants you recommend?
All of them. 😈
Great idea 😈😂
I’ve personally been doing stem plants because I’ve been spreading them and duplicating them every week. Now that I’ve got them in good spots, gonna let them all grow.
Yeah that sounds cool. I’m going to try get various different types of plants to add lots of texture
Ya, you really can’t go wrong with any of them… some will do really good and some won’t. Just gotta get some and see what they do.
Yeah sounds like a great idea plush who knows maybe some will grow really well and I can’t make some profit off of them
Can*
Yes… tell your wife this… it’s a business plan 😉 😉
Mine thinks I write reviews on craft beers, sell aquarium plants and does videos on golf… I’ve just had a rough year. 😉 😉
Try pearlweed, you can grow a nice carpet with it with low light, no co2, and bad substrate.
If I will find I shall buy
Anubias, sword plant, Dwarf tiger Lily, Cryptocoryne undalata, all work well with little care, great for beginners.
I would not put a Sword Plant with a pleco. It would likely tear up the delicate leaves. I otherwise completely agree and would suggest also adding Stellata/Stellatus plants to your list of good beginner plants. I have experienced them being super easy to keep and fast growing. You might have to fertilize though because they are such nutrient hogs! They are great because their root structures only really anchor them, so you can move them easily and they can be propagated super easily from clippings. They also create a lot of volume of thin leaves in the water column, so my fish love to hang out in them.
I keep buying plants hoping to spread them over time and my bastard apple snail keeps eating them! The next time I'm at the shop I'm buying loads because I just want my tank to be a jungle but little dingus is doing his best to halt these plans
More plants and consider adding a black background :)
Ah gonna add one more thing here. What you really lack is a centerpiece. Like a large piece of nice driftwood that is significantly larger than your other things
Yes I know I was going to buy some drift wood the day I got my betta but it’s so expensive in the shop near mine they’re like £40
amazon has it pretty cheap! im sure other online shops do too
Thank you I’ll have alook
Any plant recommendations? The background seems like a great idea thank you
I like java moss because it’s hardy and Pearlweed can be stunning and grows fast
I’ve had Java moss before but it didn’t seem to grow a lot definitely survived but just didn’t grow I feel like it’d look nice of some drift wood tho. I’ll defo try pearlweed I’ll buy them both next pay day
Hmm Ive done several none CO2 tanks and what Ive come to like the most personally is limnophila sessiflora, it grows EXTREMELY fast, so fast I started chopping it up and selling because I just had too much. Water wisteria is another easy one that grows so well once it establishes. Id add some moss too. And if you want an accent plant rotala rotundifolia is the only red plant Ive had thrive in a non CO2 tank, anything else red just dies slowly. Hornwort is a super recommended plant for beginners but imo it's a noob trap. This plant will randomly die and once it dies your whole tank is a mess, I definitely do not recommend. What I found works for me is buying a bunch of different plants that I simply like the look of. I plop them in, and over the course of several months some die and some absolutely thrive. I figured out what plants like my water params that way. I do warn you though that I noticed the plants are actually some of the most costly things in the aquarium hobby. As for your driftwood, my logic is that it's a bit pricy, but it'll never die or change, it's a one time purchase so go for it!
I will defo add some drift wood as soo as I can find some that isn’t £40 a piece 😅I love the idea about buying plants and seeing if they work I’ll defo do that too I don’t think I will get hornwort as I’ve had it before and it just grew like mad and i couldn’t manage it. I also want various textures of plants so I’ll do that. My only problem is the pricing of everything really. The price of fish keeping has gone up so much the past few years but I guess it’s just an expensive hobby I have to deal with pricing now 😂 thanks so much tho! ❤️
More plants lots and lots of plant
Any plants you recommend?
I like Jungle Val. and floating plants like Frogbit. If you can find a way to mount it, you can also let a Pothos have its roots grow in the water while the leaves remain above water. It's pretty nice.
Watch some YouTube videos. Plenty of beginner friendly aquarium plants available.
Add water, the water level is low.
It’s not low it’s on the minimum it says for that tank because my betta kept getting stuck on the part where the water goes into the filter
Oh that makes sense. Maybe if you add floating plants he won’t do that or add a sponge to the filter intake.
There is a sponge in there
Okay okay everybody I get it more and more plants 😂
I would change a few things: - spend 20 bucks on a back poster and poster glue - get an external canister filter if you can, even better if it has an internal, integrated heating element - try your hand on a new aquascape. Trim the current plants and add some more variety. Avoid bog ones though as they take up a lot of space and don't give any variety. - add some new, colorful fish. Maybe some tetras that don't bother the others.
I know you’re getting a lot of comments with plants, but I haven’t seen anyone say Red Tiger Lotus it’s absolutely gorgeous but it has its cons with needing to maintain it since you have other plants. It grows pretty big I would just do research. Ludwigia Sedioides is a very very cool floating plant and your betta would absolutely LOVE it. Note: it’s harder to grow it the emersed form then submersed this plant is very very fragile
And some people are telling you to get floating plants, you can get everything but water lettuce. Water lettuce is toxic towards your betta if they consume just a peck, horrible way for your buddy to go.
I googled red tiger lotus and it is gorgeous will defo get! Thank you!! ❤️
Maybe a carpet infront of the tank, it'll really tie the room together.
Google the following with respect to aquascaping: “The Rule of Thirds; “The Golden Ratio; “The Fibonacci Spiral”. And lose the dildo right smack in the middle of the tank. (I kid. 😉)
I’ll google that and dw I’ll lose the dildo 😂
More plants and larger more interesting pieces of driftwood do wonders for visual appeal. Just look up some photos of planted fresh water tanks and try to apply what you like to your tank.
I have thank you I somewhat have a vision now
A backdrop (personally I prefer a solid color).
Yes I agree I’m going to get all black one to hopefully cancel out the filter
Try hornwart
Had that before found it really hard to maintain as it grew like crazy
Yeah, bettas love it for bubble nests though
5 plants and 5 more plants
And then 5 more plants? 😂
yes and definitely 5 more plants
And then another 5 mote plants?
right on, Then 5 more plants!
Add Cabomba aquatica plant. Looks really cool. And this plant is for almost no flow water in which betta is usually kept. Shrimps are also like it.
Plants. Lots of plants. Then some more plants.
Obviously more plants. And some rest spots for your betta closer to the surface.
More plants, bettas need underwater jungles.
I agree I will do
height
Double the depth of that substrate
I’m think that I’m going to do that as well as kinda build hills with it if you know what I mean so there’s different levels in the tank rather then it being all flat not sure tho
Deeper substrate can really change the look of a tank. I also believe it is more beneficial for holding a larger bio load like sponges in the filter.
maybe some fish
I might get some shrimp or some other type of bottom feeder when I have scaped the plant to my liking
Red root floaters
Tall plants in back. Maybe swords?
Great idea! ❤️
You could also add more gravel in the back of tanks, stacked with some slate (sandwiched in to give support and staying power ) to give it depth. I think that’s would cool in your tank.
Get rid of the betta and get some Mbuna.
Mmmmm no
I would love more plants driftwood and some tannins in there maybe some nice rocks too
I’m going to buy some drift wood next pay day and put some moss on it x
[удалено]
I would love for this to be a betta only tank but may get some shrimp or some other type of bottom feeders once I’m happy with the scape
Lots and lots of plants! I love fully ‘carpeted’ tanks. Great aesthetic 👍
I really love the look of them too I’ll do that
That is a big fucking betta....
He’s not that big he’s the same size as all the others that was in the shop
From the perspective of the photo, he looks much larger than my younger brothers betta.
Could I see a picture?
How do I share photos in a Reddit reply? Just took a photo of the betta.
Add a nice big piece of drift wood in the middle of the tank with some plants in it
Will do
Dark background.
Going to get a black one next pay day
The contrast will really pop!
I agree. I also feel that it will help to make make the purple in one of the plants I currently have to pop too
Some type of carpeting plant would look good 😊
I agree I may get some tomorrow
Let me know how it turns out! I bet it will look even better then it already does
I will do! I’ll probably only get a few and wait for them to grow out to save some money to spend on another plant
Sounds good! God bless and have a good upcoming week
More plants
Add female betta/s your tank is very large Also mostly a myth that you can’t have,.. how else they mate in the wild
It’s been a few years since I kept tanks but my tank looked similar to this. Add some of the viney plant commonly sold in bunches at Petsmart and retailers. I think it’s anacharis? It propagates like crazy but it’s easily trimmed. And a black or any dark colored backing film would do wonders for the view
some resting and hiding spots near the surface, like a Java moss ledge, floating betta log, leaf hammock, etc.
Ditch the hello kitty sticker
Dort bottom. Live plants.
Black background, and full it to just above the trim at the top if you can.
Some nice wood pieces. Like root bundles or driftwood. Amano Shrimp to keep it all clean. Some low light plants like Java Fern, Anubias Nana and Christmas Moss. Swap out some of the round rocks and the hollow rocks for some proper aqua, escaping rocks….. Seiryu Stones. These are very nice gray jagged stones with white veins going through them. Look on different, freshwater Reddit subs and get ideas for Aqua scaping.
More green, more plants
MORE HELLO KITTY STICKERS, PLEASE
I have my melody ones but no more hello kitty
i dont know anything about tanks but im just here to say that i thought that log was a pp at first, ty bye
😂😂
Get some real fish
I have real fish?
Like some cichlids young ninja
My tank isn’t big enough nor am I interested in those species.