Planted Betta Tank

[Dieses Madchen]

Hi all. So I have decided to set up a 10 gallon Betta tank for my betta, Shimmer. I would like it to be planted with real plants, and little hidey holes for him. I would also like it to be a good environment for him to be able to enjoy the company of some females in. I'm not going to introduce ladies to him yet, my main concern is getting a great environment set up. If anyone has any ideas or advice, I am open to anything as I have never done a planted tank before. Advice on good plants to use, way to set them up, type of woods that are okay to use, how to attach plants to them for a nice look, and if anyone has pictures of some great setups I would love to see them so that I can get some ideas. I am pretty excited about doing this and i want it to look really nice, as well as provide a good environment for my betta, and any ladies I may put in the tank for him.

 

[lilfishie]

do not put females in with the male

 

[Dieses Madchen]

do not put females in with the male

I don't plan on it right away. Isnt there a process you have to go through for introduction? I havent researched it so he woudl be in the tank alone for a while

do not put females in with the male

I don't plan on it right away. Isnt there a process you have to go through for introduction? I havent researched it so he woudl be in the tank alone for a while

Oh I just looked it up. I see why you said that. Okay then i am still trying to get ideas for my ten gallon betta tank, for my male. No females...it will be like a big fishie bachelor pad lol

 

[lilfishie]

that sounds much better, if your after females then its a good excuse for another tank

 

[Dieses Madchen]

that sounds much better, if your after females then its a good excuse for another tank

Well, when I move my male over to his new home, it will free up my smaller tanks for some females. I have given some thoughs to breeding bettas at least once. I honestly was under the impression they could live together, but I just looked it up and saw that was not the case. I have a total of 5 tanks in my house at the moment. I have a 40 gallon community, 3 betta tanks, and an unnocupied 10 gallon that is cycles <I have to keep putting food in it to keep it cycled, as the most recent occupant passed on. Once it get it sterilized and everything I plan on starting my planted tank project and would like to moved my betta into it within a month. I am just scoping for ideas on a good planted tank setup as I have never done real plants before.

 

[lilfishie]

a lot of people think you can keep them together, most stores will tell them this

Plant wise, some great easy grow plants that require little attention (eg no CO2, just a trim now and then) are:

Cabomba
Amazon Sword
Mosses (Java, Xmas etc)
Egeria
Java Fern
Moss Balls


i have these in all my tanks and they grow well with nothing added

 

[Dieses Madchen]

a lot of people think you can keep them together, most stores will tell them this

Plant wise, some great easy grow plants that require little attention (eg no CO2, just a trim now and then) are:

Cabomba
Amazon Sword
Mosses (Java, Xmas etc)
Egeria
Java Fern
Moss Balls


i have these in all my tanks and they grow well with nothing added

I'm def. gonna need to look into mosses online as my LFS never have them. Do you know any good online sites that ship to the US for plants?

 

[LilyRose Tank]

also elodea is brilliant for Bettas...it grows very quickly even when used as a surface plant....bettas like to hide in them, and they grow very very quickly...will have a tank full in a month.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

also elodea is brilliant for Bettas...it grows very quickly even when used as a surface plant....bettas like to hide in them, and they grow very very quickly...will have a tank full in a month.

I will keep that in mind.


Another question. Being is that for one, I do water changes everyday on my small tanks, and two, bettas do no produce alot of waste, should i do a fishless cycle on the tank prior to moving him in? or should I just maintain my water changes like I do in the the filterless tanks. I am really trying to get him out of his half gallon home, as he is in one of the smaller tanks. Or how much media can I remove from my established tank to get the 10 gallon going? The established tank is a 40 gallon tank with a bioload that is handling 6 adults platy/swordtails and 8 inch long fry

 

[lilfishie]

tank should be fine if planted, he can go straight in

 

[Dieses Madchen]

tank should be fine if planted, he can go straight in

So I bought some sand today, as I had a good idea. I was going to use a coconut turn it into a cave. I'm going to push gravel onto all sides and on top of it. Then cover all but the opening with sand. Of course I am going to run the substrate across the entire bottom of the tank, but this will make it look like there is a cave in the bottom of the tank. Any thoughts?

 

[lilfishie]

i think thats a great idea

 

[LilyRose Tank]

really great idea...that'll be interesting for him. You might find the gravel and sand will fall off though. Is there a way you can sheer the coconut hairs off, and use a fish friendly glue ( if there is such a thing, failing that would aquarium sealant work) to glue sand to it...it will give the same effect i think

 

[Dieses Madchen]

really great idea...that'll be interesting for him. You might find the gravel and sand will fall off though. Is there a way you can sheer the coconut hairs off, and use a fish friendly glue ( if there is such a thing, failing that would aquarium sealant work) to glue sand to it...it will give the same effect i think

it would take alot of gravel to do it. The entire level on that side of the tank would have to be raised for it to work. the side of the tank where the "cave" would be would be about 3-4 inches higher than the rest of the tank. it would be like a cave in the side of an underwater hill

 

[Dieses Madchen]

So I got to thinking, and researching, and around here, it would cost alot for all the plants that I want for my ideas. I am going to puch forward though, and use fake plants to give my betta the home he deserves. Plenty of hiding places, and I am still going to go with my cave idea, as I think it would look really neat. I am also going to do a fish-in cycle with media from my established tank, so that I can hopefully move him in once i get the tank setup. I will take pictures of the completed tank.