Setting up a new tank, any tips for live plants and doing uncycled for the first time?

[CarnivorousPlant]

So about two weeks ago my betta that I've had for three years died . I am planning to get a new betta (ironically i was already planning to get a second betta some time in the next few months, but now that I've lost gerard i guess i dont have to buy a second tank to have another fish.) and I thought I'd take this opportunity to redo my tank setup.

I've always wanted to have live plants, but as I mainly keep goldfish which eat everything that's never been an option. When I set up the tank for the first betta I just used stuff I already had which wasn't in my main goldfish tank - fake plants - but they've gotten kind of old and crusty by now, and also the one plastic plant that my old betta used to sit in was like her favourite special plant, so it feels disrespectful to her fishy memory to immediately give it to another fish. Also it's kinda spikey, which was fine for my original betta as she was a female with shorter fins, but if I get a more typical long finned male betta I think it could be a hazard. TLDR: I want new plants, real ones.

This is my first time properly growing plants (not counting some disasterous attempts in my early days, at least the goldfish got a good snack), and I want something pretty low maintenance so I was thinking of just getting some anubias to start with as I hear they're really easy. The tank is next to a north facing window which I leave uncovered so it gets a lot of sunlight during the day. As anubias are hardy low light plants would I be correct in assuming this will be enough without needing to install any lights? are there any other kinds of plants that would also do well under these conditions? If I'm not trying to grow the plants really huge how regularly do I need to fertilise them? Is it even nessasary to fertilise them at all or will they be ok with just picking up some nutrients from fish waste, assuming there are not a huge amount of plants?

Other info: The tank is 25 litres, heated to ~26°C. With the old betta it was cycled and I had a filter in it and changed the water about 50% every week. Obviously I'm going to clean everything before putting a new fish in just in case (the old one had a tumor which was definitely what killed her, so I'm not hugely concerned about infectious diseases or poor water quality being what killed the old betta and then also killing the new one, but better safe than sorry.). The filter is super old and the plastic is starting to crack so I'm thinking instead of replacing it I will try doing the tank uncycled with 100% weekly water changes as that seems to be the reccomended betta keeping method on this site. Am I correct in saying that 100% weekly can be achieved by doing 50% twice a week? If anyone has any tips for doing uncycled for the first time that would also be really helpful. I'm used to doing stuff with goldfish - cycled tank, massive filter, regular partial water changes - so this will be new territory.

thank you

 

[GaryE]

Bettas are equipped by nature to handle the rougher edges of the cycle more easily. They're air breathers, with their inner ear evolved into a breathing apparatus. It's an adaptation to low oxygen in their original warm, often swampy home habitats, and it allowed them to thrive in the era when the cycle wasn't known about and filtration wasn't invented.

It doesn't mean we should ignore the basics, as a cycled tank is always better, but they have been maintained via water changes alone for a very long time. We tend to date the start of the hobby to the 1600s, but that's just the west. Goldfish, Paradise fish and Betta splendens go back farther than that.

So you have room to work. You have to bear in mind the large fins aren't natural, and as they fold, they trap fungus spores and general dirt. So the water should be kept clean. 100% weekly is reasonable, but the fresh water should be the same temperature as that which is being replaced, and treated to remove chloramines or chlorine, depending on what's used where you are.

Anubias can be a good choice. If you get a long finned male, he will probably have been raised with or exposed to antibiotics in his water. The farms do that for growth and to protect the marketable fins, but it gives us fish with minimal gut flora. It takes a few weeks to recover, and since the fish hasn't been permitted to swim (that would also damage the fins, which you can expect to see splitting a bit at first, with use) you'll have an out of shape fish pulling immense fins with terrible drag. Anubias leaves are good resting points for long fins, as they are rubbery/rigid.

If you have gravel, Cryptocorynes are good. That'll give you time to look around and see what stem plants do well in your region (if you add a light with a timer). Crypts are shade plants like Anubias. Beware with the sunlight though, as algae could be a problem. Shade plants grow slowly and don't take a lot of nutrients from the water, so a good front glass scraper will probably be called for.

 

[CarnivorousPlant]

as a cycled tank is always better,

so would you reccomend it would be better to go with a cycled tank after all? This is what I have done with my previous betta and my goldfish so I know how to do it and it would in some ways be easier. I have cycled tanks currently running that I could take seeded filter media from to have it up and running pretty quickly, I just thought uncycled seemed to be what was reccomended in the betta care info post on here so it might be better to do that than buy a whole new filter have that running all the time if it isn't nessasary.

Beware with the sunlight though, as algae could be a problem

I've never had a problem with algae in this tank before in the position that it's in, but would that become a concern if I had plants and was fertilising them?

 

[CarnivorousPlant]

If you have gravel, Cryptocorynes are good.

I do have gravel!! these seem like a great idea, thank you

 

[CarnivorousPlant]

also on the topic of fins - I think it's unlikely I'll get one with the super huge/long fins as I'm not really a fan of the look and a lot of the time I think those fish seem overbred and miserable (which is hypocritical of me as someone who is into fancy goldfish but oh well.). That said, my plan for aquiring a betta is just to go down to my local aquarium store some time this week, look at their fish, and see which one I like best. Most of the bettas available tend to be the long finned males, so I imagine that's what I'll end up getting.