Aquascaping For A Betta

[Alexarium]

Using Photoshop and a little imagination, I am trying to create an aquascape for my still cycling Aquanano 40.
 
The tank is a cube (40x40x40 cm) and it will eventually be the home of a single red male betta, some cherry shrimps and nerite snails.
 
My substrate is 5 litres of Black Colombo Flora Base (which is more of a dark brown).
 
This is what I've come up with:
 

 
1 - Dwarf Sagittaria
2 - Taxiphyllum sp. 'Spiky' moss or Java moss
3 - Amazon Sword
 
I'd also like to add a "curtain" of Vallisneria spiralis 'Tiger' or Vallisneria nana or Eleocharis sp at the back, which I couldn't "draw" in Photoshop.
Its purpose would be to hide the black background but not completely.
 
For No 2, I would like to choose a plant that will not float so that it will create a weeping willow tree effect like this.
Is that possible with Spiky moss or Java moss, or will these plants be floating?
 
Behind the number 3 in the photo above is the output of the filter.
You can see the tank without the plants here.
I am making a note of that because I think the output of the filter will be disturbing the plant (the "curtain") that will be in front of it and I don't know the results of that happening.
 
The tank will be low tech, and I am not planning to change the light.
 
Any advice or thoughts on this aquascape?

 

[christylee]

hmm..I don't really like the rocks. Or maybe its just the big rock that I don't like. I think if you found a nice piece of driftwood that made the same sort of "tunnel" like effect you have..and the plants you have shown there would make it look a lot more natural. If thats the look you're going for anyway

 

[fm1978]

Sorry, christylee, but I do quite like that! And that's some interesting photoshop work 

 
It looks like a shrimp play ground, but, never having had a betta before I don't know exactly how well set up it is for one. I always imagined a betta liking an area where he could just hide away if and when he pleased.
 
I don't know much about 'scaping or aquatic plants but I love the look of Christmas moss on a dead bonsai making it look like an underwater tree!!!
 
I'd bloomin' love that in my tank!

 

[Alexarium]

Do you think what I am trying to achieve is possible with my selection of plants?
 
After looking around, I widened my list for the back "curtain". Possible plants are:

1. Vallisneria spiralis 'Tiger'
2. Vallisneria nana
3. Eleocharis sp
4. Water Hyssop, Bacopa (Bacopa monnieri)
5. Asian Ambulia (Limnophila sessiliflora)
6. Anacharis (Egeria densa)

What do you think?

 

[daizeUK]

Hi Alex, I like the look of your tank.  The moss you want is weeping moss as java moss and most others will grow upwards.
 
The carpet plants you have pictured looks like eleocharis rather than saggitaria to me.  I recently got some saggitaria subulata for my 35L and it was a much bigger plant than I was expecting.  Only had it 2 weeks so I'm hoping it will grow more diminutive now it is submerged
 
Bear in mind the carpet plants are unlikely to grow well under your arch or near the back because of the shade, especially once the moss fills in.  I would recommend planning a sandy 'path' that leads from the front under the arch and leave it bare.  I just don't think your plants are going to get enough light to make the uniform carpet you've envisioned.
 
For the back curtain vallis sounds nice if you can get it to grow (wouldn't grow in my tank!).  Limnophila is quite a light coloured plant and would make an odd contrast against the black at the back of the tank, I think.  I'd say it's also a bit more difficult to grow.

 

[Alexarium]

Thank you for the info, really appreciated.
 
To be honest, the sandy path you said had actually crossed my mind more than once in the past, but I couldn't justify the fuss of moving the existing substrate aside to create it.
Aquascaping-wise I really thought it would be amazing and now, with your info on the negative effect of the shade for the plants, it all makes sense (so thank you for this!).
 
First thing tomorrow morning, I'll go to a shop to buy some.
What would you suggest? Sand or maybe white gravel of some kind to make sure they won't mix with the substrate?

 

[daizeUK]

A light contrasting path is usually designed to lead the eye towards a focal point of the aquascape.  I'm not sure if this is required in your setup since the focal arch is already central and there is nothing else to distract the eye.  It depends if you want a dark cave/tunnel effect or if you think it needs to be brightened up.
 
Mixing substrates is a pain.  It can look very effective but will invariably 'bleed' into each other over time.  You can use plastic dividers to help keep the substrates separate.  Sand is fine and heavy and will tend to sink so you may find yourself constantly maintaining the path to remove the larger darker pieces from the surface, especially when the plants aren't fully rooted yet.
 
 
There's something about the way the wood rests on top of the rock that looks slightly unnatural to me.  I think this would look fine if you allow the moss to grow and hide the join.  I would also put some accent plants randomly around the base of the rock/wood for a more natural look, perhaps some staurogyne.   I hope you'll forgive me but I had a little play with your photo to visualise what I mean!
 

 

[Alexarium]

Forgive you? Of course not! You made me jealous!!!
Thank you for your time to draw this.
 
I do want to keep the darkened character of the cave. And now that I see the path with black gravel/sand it looks even more interesting.
I thought it would look ugly in black as it would be visually compared to the dark brown substrate, but then I realised that this is not the case as the substrate will be planted/covered and therefore invisible.
 
I searched the substrates mixing issue and the general idea I got was that it is a pain to maintain the two unmixed. One solution I thought of is to create the path with gravel instead of sand. The gravel could be of the same size as the existing substrate (3-4mm). Maybe I could -as an additional measure- "engulf" the gravel in one of these, so that mixing would be minimal and only occur 1-2mm from its surface. What's your opinion on that? Would it work?
 
The idea of the weeping moss covering the point where the wood meets the stone is great. I'll definitely follow your advice on that!
I'll probably also allow the weeping moss to... weep like a curtain over the wood and give it a look of a semi-covered cave entrance.
 
Also, the staurogyne is an amazing addition, which really gives the tank dimension and perspective.
 
Thank you so much for your help.

 

[daizeUK]

I didn't actually realise that your substrate was dark brown - it looked black to me!
 
Two colours of gravel will gradually intermingle with each other if not separated.  It can look awful if the colours contrast but if they are close it may blend nicely although I would be tempted to just save effort and leave the substrate as it is.  It doesn't look at all bad from your pictures and you've got plenty of time to change your mind! 
 
I can't advise you on how to separate as I haven't done it myself.  I'm currently using a foreground of sand in my 35L with cat litter banked up behind and the cat litter has a tendency to roll on to the sand because it is so ridiculously light!  I won't know whether it was a good idea or not until the plants have fully grown in!

 

[Alexarium]

Yes, the substrate says "Black" on the bag but is is actually a very dark brown.
You are right, I still have time to decide so I'll wait to see how the planting goes.
 
One last question (well... for now at least...)
 
Could you guide me on the necessary quantity of plants I need to buy?
 
Just to give you an idea of the tank, here are side photos (along with some ugly reflections I couldn't avoid...)
 

 

 
And here's my draft calculation:
 
Carpet > Eleocharis sp "mini" x 2
 
Front > Staurogyne repens x 1
 
Wood top > Weeping Moss (Vesicularia ferriei) x 2
 
Background curtain > Vallisneria nana x 4
 
Side plants > Amazon sword (but I have no idea which one to choose from these) x ?
 
Are these quantities enough?

 

[daizeUK]

I bought the 1-2-grow pot of staurogyne and got about 8 plantlets (none with roots so they're a pain to keep planted!).  Pogostemon helferi is a nice alternative to look at.
 
Are you ordering online or shopping at an LFS?
 
I would only buy 1 pot of moss and let it grow.  You will end up with loads of trimmings that you can reattach anyway.  Mine grows like wildfire.
 
I'm not a fan of Amazon swords personally but I would try to choose a smaller variety if possible as the standard ones could easily take over your tank.

 

[Alexarium]

I will be buying online, either from the green machine or from aquaessentials (most probably).
Maybe if I'll stick to ready grown staurogyne there will be roots to plant?
 
What would you have as an alternative for Amazon? Anubias maybe? Or Echinodorus schlueteri?
I've seen them in your tank and they are beautiful. Where do you buy your plants from?

 

[daizeUK]

Most of mine are from AquaEssentials plus a few from my LFS.  I like AE but they are frequently out of stock of plants I want (such as potted staurogyne repens currently, which is one reason I went for the 1-2-grow stuff).  I guess that's better than placing an order and then telling me they're out of stock like some shops do!
 
I think some Anubias nana var. petite would be lovely on the wood/rock.
 
Also take a look at marsilea hirsuta, I'm planning to get this as a foreground carpeting plant for my 35L.  I suspect that eleocharis might be difficult to keep at the sort of height you have in mind and marsilea might be easier, although they do say that growth varies according to conditions and I haven't tried it myself yet.
 
Echinodorus schlueteri looks like it spreads out too much for the space you have in mind.  The Amazon you have pictured would probably be fine, I'm just wary because I know they can turn into monsters over time!  Have a look at Shelster's betta tank which has a similar layout to yours but smaller and she used an Amazon sword which looked really nice.
 
I like hygrophilas and I think H. pinnatifida is particularly beautiful.  This is another plant I've recently planted in my 35L!  It has a lovely unique leaf shape.

 

[Alexarium]

Thanks for the suggestions Daize. Lots of reading to do now...
 
Sheister's betta tank has been a great inspiration and a wonderful tank, I read all the thread and loved it.
 
My worries now have turned towards the intensity of the filter's flow am I'm trying to sort out a way to make it more comfortable for the betta.
My hope is that the plants will cut down some of the flow.
Unless the flow unroots the plants, which then will be a different story...

 

[CrazyDiamond88]

As for the filter, I had the same problem with my betta tank. I just found some instructions for making a baffle out of a plastic bottle, and it works great
 

Try this: http/www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=30139