Trouble With Betta's Plant (again)

[Discovery86]

Ok, so I just moved my betta back to his 2.5 Gallon tank after getting his fin rot cured. It's been 4 days and he's already torn his tail on the plant. The plant is now gone. What do I do now? He loved the plant, but I can't let him keep tearing his tail on it! I may be getting some java moss in about a week, but if I don't I'll have to find another plant.

Can anyone suggest a place (preferably online) to get nice, soft plants for bettas?
If I end up with the java moss, what can I attach it to? I'd like something big enough to hide the sponge filter and heater. Would a bamboo skewer work?

And about my heater, I'd taken it out for the summer since the water was plenty warm without it, and now I can't get the suction cups to stick to the tank. This is the heater I'm using: Betta Heater

My Betta and I would be glad for any advice anyone can give!

Edit: If anyone's curious, this is the plant he had before: Plant
I liked it because I didn't have to bury it, just stuck it on the side of the tank with one of the suction cups that came with it.

 

[Imber]

I like craftstore silk plants for my bettas. Just be sure that they're dyed and not painted. I usually soak them for a while too to make sure that they don't bleed. One of my favorite types to get was from wally world for around $1 and it is like a bunch of small flowers on a long stem but I pull the stem off. Here's a picture of it in one of my tanks.

Hope this helps.

 

[Discovery86]

I was just at the craft store this afternoon!! Oh well. Have you ever had trouble with the stems rusting, or is the wire stem the part you remove? Also, do you attach it to anything or just let it sit wherever it wants to?

 

[Imber]

I take the metal stem part off of the ones in my betta tanks. The plastic stem part is heavier than the top so it stays anchored pretty well. I think if you got one with a metal stem you could probably seal it up with aquarium silicone sealant to keep it from rusting.

 

[Discovery86]

Ok, thanks, I'll be giving it a try!