What Do You Have In Your Betta Tank's Set Up?

[mea_caroro]

I'm getting a 5/6 gallon tank from my grandma, with a silent filter, heating, lighting, hood, everything, and so I'm figuring out what plants and decor to put in the tank.

For one, I am only using silk or fabric plants. I do not want to risk ripping my beautiful fish's fins, so tell me (or show me) what your tank looks like or what you have in it. I have such an issue with deciding things, so i always need input when it comes to decorating a tank for a fish I have no familiar relations with, which includes my experience. (I have only kept Guppies and wild creek minnows all my life)

 

[lljdma06]

Live plants will not break fins and some of them are super easy to grow. I have two types of setups.

A. A filtered, planted tank with low-light plants (crypts, ferns, anubias, some stemplants, and marsilea (an aquatic clover). This tank is cycled and is essentially a planted tank that just happens to house a betta. I use small-grain gravel. It is really low-maintenance and pretty to look at. It is grown under a 13W CF desklamp I found at an office-supply store. It looks like this currently, though I am always changing the scape. Can't make up my mind.

B. A very large (2g+) unfiltered bowl under a T5 strip-light. I have multple bowls, so the strip-light comes in handy. These are bare-bottom, no gravel, and I grow Christmas moss, which simply float mid-water. These are changed out completely 2-3x a week. The moss can easily be removed and stored on a surface while you change out the water. I have clear plastic plates that I use for lids. I usually swap or sell the extra moss, which people often use in planted tanks. The bettas like the moss and the moss absorbs the nitrates and ammonia produced by the betta. Pretty easy setup. Christmas moss grows even under a Northern window very well. I don't really take pictures of this setup. It looks like a big, round, glass goldfish bowl with moss in it. Not gorgeous, but very practical and very clean. The bettas like resting among the moss.

Live plants are only one of many options, but I like them and they are not as intimidating as people think.

llj

 

[joycould]

I agree with lljdma live plants is the way to go and she has a nice selection of plants. I know my fish are a lot healthier since I got live plants even if it is only java fern in their bowl or tank right now. Java fern and anubias can be tied to drift wood or rocks for easy water changes. Hornwort is another plant that I have in mine floating and easy to care for. For a place to hide get one of those little clay pots from wal mart and cover that with moss, I tie mine with black sewing thread.

 

[Booboo puppy]

George is in a 6 gallon, unfiltered, unheated tank (temp stays at 72°). I do 95% water changes weekly (it's too stressful for both of us to move him into a different container for water changes). There's nothing on the bottom, but he has a large silk plant and a cave. He's lived there for two years. Unfortunately this photo does't show much of how the tank looks.

 

[catherine896]

I have live plants in my divided tank, and they have a plant pot each which they like resting in and some big pebbles.
In my 4G tank I have a plant pot and big pebbles.
And my 5G tank I have a fake plant and an ornament type thing that my female loves swimming in.
They all have gravel/sandy type stuff on the bottom, I think it makes it look prettier.

 

[Glod]

My Betta lives in a 5g cube with a sand substrate, 3 fist sized rocks, a bunch of plants and a few Amano Shrimp.

The tank is heated and filtered and gets weekly 50% water changes. The plants could do with a bit of tidynig up, I'll probably get round to that at the weekend when his water change is due.

Excuse the reflections of all the clutter that sits around the tank, lol.

Incredibly bad pic of the tank...

Slightly better pic with Kai nearly in focus

 

[mea_caroro]

Live plants will not break fins and some of them are super easy to grow. I have two types of setups.

A. A filtered, planted tank with low-light plants (crypts, ferns, anubias, some stemplants, and marsilea (an aquatic clover). This tank is cycled and is essentially a planted tank that just happens to house a betta. I use small-grain gravel. It is really low-maintenance and pretty to look at. It is grown under a 13W CF desklamp I found at an office-supply store. It looks like this currently, though I am always changing the scape. Can't make up my mind.

B. A very large (2g+) unfiltered bowl under a T5 strip-light. I have multple bowls, so the strip-light comes in handy. These are bare-bottom, no gravel, and I grow Christmas moss, which simply float mid-water. These are changed out completely 2-3x a week. The moss can easily be removed and stored on a surface while you change out the water. I have clear plastic plates that I use for lids. I usually swap or sell the extra moss, which people often use in planted tanks. The bettas like the moss and the moss absorbs the nitrates and ammonia produced by the betta. Pretty easy setup. Christmas moss grows even under a Northern window very well. I don't really take pictures of this setup. It looks like a big, round, glass goldfish bowl with moss in it. Not gorgeous, but very practical and very clean. The bettas like resting among the moss.

Live plants are only one of many options, but I like them and they are not as intimidating as people think.

llj

I had live plants before in my 10 gallon before. They were lilies and VERY messy. They dimmed out the light so i couldn't see inside, and they cause alot of ugly plant material everywhere. They grew too large and were out of control. it took months to get that tank back to its beautiful self, and if you insist on getting live plants i will NEVER get lilies again. They never even sprouted flowers! I should probably get plants that dont reach and cover the surface of the water.

I don't know about moss though, how much do these plants caust? the lily bulbs caust about $10, and they were a waste of my money.

 

[llamalord305]

Oh, if you just want to keep it simple with plants, they wont cost you more than $5.
The one in my pic cost me two.