Planted tank for Betta

[jlbfish]

I am debating a planted tank with my betta. He was very insecure in the last 10 gallon I put him in but I want him to have more room.

Is it possible to do a heavily planted tank using only low light plants (It will have an Marineland LED hood)

Thanks!

 

[Seahorse Lover 20]

You could use java moss and hang it from floating plants and have a carpet of it.
Theres all kinds of different live plants that should make him feel alot more secure.

 

[Seahorse Lover 20]

African ferns and java moss can be kept at low lighting levels.

 

[Seahorse Lover 20]

I keep some of my bettas in a vase. The bottom has colorful gravel and i put a lilly plany on the top and let the roots dangle down in the water a few inches. My bettas love it. They go up in and around the roots all the time.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I am debating a planted tank with my betta. He was very insecure in the last 10 gallon I put him in but I want him to have more room.

Is it possible to do a heavily planted tank using only low light plants (It will have an Marineland LED hood)

Thanks!

Possible. Definitely! All my tanks are low light and many are chock full of plants. Just off the top of my head there is: java moss, java fern, anubia, elodea, banana lilies, vals, hygro, crypts, duck weed, swords.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Planted betta tank

I have a heavily planted 5.5 gallon betta tank. What I did was use driftwood and tie anubias and Java moss to it with brown cotton thread. I also took flat rocks and tied java ferns and Java moss to them, before partially burying the rocks in the gravel to give it a semi-carpeted effect. Here's a pic.

 

[jlbfish]

Great thanks for all of the input! I have the 10 gallon ready to empty out and clean up. Do you guys use any special substrate with the lower light plants? I have blasting sand in there now and may keep it. Tempted to get it all planted out before i add the fish. I may have to cycle a new filter too I only have an Azoo Palm for him.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Great thanks for all of the input! I have the 10 gallon ready to empty out and clean up. Do you guys use any special substrate with the lower light plants? I have blasting sand in there now and may keep it. Tempted to get it all planted out before i add the fish. I may have to cycle a new filter too I only have an Azoo Palm for him.

Blasting sand is perfectly fine for plants. I used Eco Complete in mine but it's not necessary. If you get root feeding plants you can just add a few root tabs to give your blasting sand areas of high fertilization only where needed. I had to do the same for my 5.5 gallon tank even though I used plant substrate.

My only regret is I didn't paint the back of the tank when it was empty. If you like the look of a black or blue background I'd recommend painting it while you have the opportunity.

 

[jetajockey]

I'd get a good high cec substrate if you plan to plant heavily. Not mandatory but it's better for the plants.

 

[brennae]

Have you considered the Walstad method? you use soil as the bottom substrate layer and then cap with your blasting sand. My plants really like it and so do the shrimp in my Betta tank. The dirst that has migrated up gives them a lot to sift thru and they seem happy. Just an idea. My other Betta tank is regular sand and I use root tabs for the plants in there and they are growing very well and the light isn't too bright. I like Crypts and Anubias. I rubber band the Anubias to small rocks.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

The Walstad method is great for growing plants but I'm not sure it's the easiest option for anybody's first planted tank. It needs careful handling and a firm knowledge about what to expect and do right at the beginning. Most of the plants he mentioned won't even need to be planted in the substrate (anubias and java fern for example). It's not a bad suggestion but it may be easier to go with a more common approach if he's just starting out.

 

[jlbfish]

I think I will try to stick with blasting sand for now and root tabs. Unless EE is a better option. I will probably not do Walstad method at the moment but when I setup my 2 corner 55 gallons it's a possibility. I would love those heavily planted.

How strong filtration is needed for plants? If a tank is theoretically under filtered for 1 fish but the water parameters are fine will the plants thrive?

 

[CorallineAlgae]

I think I will try to stick with blasting sand for now and root tabs. Unless EE is a better option. I will probably not do Walstad method at the moment but when I setup my 2 corner 55 gallons it's a possibility. I would love those heavily planted.

How strong filtration is needed for plants? If a tank is theoretically under filtered for 1 fish but the water parameters are fine will the plants thrive?

Plants do better with flow throughout the tank. It doesn't need to be strong flow but you don't want dead areas of no flow. Filtration itself is more about not letting to much mulm build up so mechanical filtration is the most important thing for plants.

Of coarse fish need appropriate biological filtration. The plants, especially fast growing ones, help to keep the water safe for fish but I still wouldn't put any more than the filter can safely handle. There may be times when the plants stop growing from this or that nutrient deficiency. The filter will be there to pick up the slack if and when that happens, so long as it's up to the task.

I guess the short answer is, if your filter can only support one fish I'd only get one. If it doesn't provide mild flow throughout the tank I'd consider another filter. But this is for a betta, right? I'm sure it'll be fine. I have a small HOB filter on my betta tank and it's doing fine.