What Live Plants For A Betta Tank?

[jasminekiddell]

On the weekend im going to my lfs which sells lots of live plants, im looking for easy plants that need only low light and that are easy to maintain, any ideas, let me know, thankyou

 

[lilacamy931]

hmmm I am not the best to help out here and quite new at plants. I know cambombia is a good one for bettas. Low light plants can be javas, swords and anuabias, but please check with the experts! Also may wish to post in the plant section of this forum, they helped me identify the plants I currently have

 

[ellena]

In the plant section, it says java ferns are the hardest plant to kill, so I went with those. I also have a crypt and amazon sword in one tank, but they need fertilising from the roots with tablets.
I have tried vallisneria and cabomba in my cycling tank, but I killed 5 plants and then gave up with them!

 

[Morphkid03]

My tank currently has:

Elodea
Ludwigia Repens
Aponogeton
Moneywort

All are doing well and flourish under about 2 WPG.

 

[Rainmaker]

Java ferns and Java moss - can't go wrong! They help keep the water clear and lower in ammonia than if you didn't have plants - and can extend the need for watcher changing by 100% in small jars (SOURCE). I've had mine almost totally dried out when I forget them between water changes, and they just come back to life like magic when resubmerged. Very easy to care for (just dump in the tank and forget them), they don't need any more light or heat than a plain jar would provide, and they grow well. Perfect

EDIT: I should probably be clear! I don't mean you can be lazy and wait twice as long between water changes if you have Java moss or ferns! I meant to say that (especially in smaller jars) nitrates and ammonia will creep up to dangerous levels even within 24 hours in some cases. With Java moss, your water won't be quite so fast to go 'bad', and will allow you and the fish some 'breathing space' without yo-yoing between great water and terrible water. Bettas like consistency

 

[jasminekiddell]

Ill definetley get a few java ferns and a amazon sword, thanks guys!

 

[Winterlily]

I am by NO means a plant expert - only just beginning with live plants myself! So I know precious little, really, but - having already chosen plants and then had to change a bunch of them, I thought I'd just warn you about one thing that I found. The feathery/hairy type plants, like for example, cabomba, tend to fall apart really easily and "shed." I got good and fed up with the little "hairs" all over the tank so often - but I thought it was because the plants were new and I didn't know what I was doing. When I went to a good LFS to get different plants, I asked what would be best for my tank and my lighting. The guy pointed out a couple (swords and vallis in addition to the standard java moss and java fern) and said that he himself didn't much like the feathery ones because they "had a tendency to come apart at the slightest thing" - and that was without me even saying anything to him about my dissatisfaction with the same! Maybe when they're perfectly kept it might not be too much an issue, but for me, just learning with live plants, they definitely weren't for me.

One cool one: Get yourself a Marimo Moss Ball. They really are cool and supposedly help ward off the algae we don't want (by outcompeting it, basically). I opened mine up (you can just put your thumbs in and gently "tear" it open) and laid it flat like a carpet and my betta loves to lie on it like a bed.

Good luck!

 

[jasminekiddell]

Wow, thankyou winterlily, ill have to see if i can get one at my lfs!
Your a great help, cheers!
i hate those plants that just break away so easily!

 

[Winterlily]

You're so welcome. I'm struggling a bit to learn how to care for them properly, but I'm glad I made the switch to live plants. My one betta, particularly, was just mangling his fins on the silk (with their hidden hard plastic - grrr). Good luck! Let me know how you do!