Gravel Substrate For Betta Tank

[celaeno]

i've had bare bottom tanks for a long time now because they're easy to clean. but now i want to switch to a gravel substrate for my 10 gallon tank. i have 4 female bettas in there, each about 2 inches, and plan on putting in 4 1-inch otos later on.

1. what would be the advantages and disadvantages of gravel compared to bare bottom?

2. how high should the gravel bed be? would you recommend sloping it downward from the back?

3. what size should the gravel be?

4. how much gravel should i use? estes recommends 1.5 lbs/gallon.

5. i have red, blue, and peach bettas. what would be a good color to help them stand out? what color would make them feel most comfortable?

 

[Netty]

I've just done the same on a couple of our tanks. All ours are bare bottomed but wanted a couple of the permanent tanks to look more appealing to the eye.

The advantages of gravel are that it looks nicer and you can grow live plants if you want. As for cleaning then just use a gravel vac each time you do a water change to clean up some of the muck.

The size of gravel, amount and landscaping is purely your personal preference. If you want live plants then just go for a deeper substrate.

As for colour if the the females are dark then go for a lighter substrate and the opposite if they are lighter in colour. There are sooo many colours to choose from. I put up a couple of pics of mine in the "Spring Clean" thread if you want to see what they look like.

 

[The Village Idiot]

1. Advantages would be listed above. I, too, believe it looks nicer. The only disadvantage I can think of is that it's slightly harder to clean. I cannot overemphasize the word slightly.

2. The height is pretty much your preference. Personally, I don't like really deep gravel, but as long as you're vacuuming it, it really doesn't matter how deep it is. As far as the sloping, that's an aesthetic choice. I like the way it looks, but don't have the ambition to do it every time I clean it.

3. Whatever size blows your hair back.

4. I would say 1-1.5 pounds per gallon is good, assuming you have any of the standard shaped aquariums.

5. In my opinion, small black or small white gravel look the best in terms of accentuating the colors of fish. Neither looks natural, but I find them both attractive choices. If you don't have a background I think the black would really help the colors of the fish stand out. If you have a black or dark blue background, you could really go either way and the colors will pop.

 

[LionMom]

Most of my tanks (betta & others) have natural gravel I purchased at my fish store - shades of brown, black, etc.

That looks the best, IMO. I have found over the years too light colored gravel seems to wash the color of the fish out.

IMO, natural or black is the way to go, but it really depends on your preference and the look you are going after.

 

[Jdubz]

black gravel,sand is the future! the colours come out so much more!