Planting a 2.5 gallon Betta Tank

[PetBettaFish]

Hello everyone! I have a an unfiltered, un-cycled 2.5 gallon tank for my pet betta fish, Victor. It's heated to about 80 degrees F and I change 90-95% of the water every 2-3 days.

I would really like to add some plants so that way I won't have to worry about ammonia getting out of hand (I'm very paranoid about ammonia, hence the large amount of water changes) and maybe I could switch to doing 50-75% water changes instead.

What are some good aquarium plants for my set up? I live in a college dorm and I have a lamp with an automatic timer over my tank for lighting. My tank has gravel in it, I'm not sure if that matters for plants or not? I know nothing about plants, so any advice for plant care or what kinds of plants to get is greatly appreciated!! Thank you!

 

[zelilaa]

once it is cycled (about a couple months if you dont try to purposefully add extra ammonia, and continue the large water changes) and filtered (buy a filter! tetra whisper 3i is fab) and with live plants, you will only have to do 25- 35 % water changes each week.
now that i stated thus- (woah... i just noticed that fancy talk! XD )
Research Java Fern, Hornwort, Moneywort, & Marimo balls. I have been pretty succesful with those in my 2.5 gal betta tank.

 

[zelilaa]

oh ... sorry. I have not tried hornwort :3 ^^^

 

[PetBettaFish]

Does a tank have to be cycled to be planted??

 

[PetBettaFish]

I was hoping there would be some floating plants or plants I can temporarily take out of the tank that I can add in for a few bucks. I know everyone on this site really seems to like filtering and cycling, but as a college student I would rather go low-budget and just clean the water myself and skip on buying a water test kit and filter... My tank doesn't have a hood!

 

[PetBettaFish]

That, and I'm terrified of screwing up the nitrogen cycle

 

[JohnPaul]

90% water changes are quite extreme and can really stress out a fish. If it is just one lone betta in a 2.5g tank and you add some plants, then you could probably reduce that to 50% daily or even 50% every other day. I agree that having a filter would be ideal but if you don't, then some fast-growing live plants to help soak up the ammonia is a good idea.

No, a tank doesn't need to be cycled to add plants, but the reason people suggest this so much is that it keeps the fish healthier and makes tank maintenance so much less work for you.

As for specific plants, probably the best low-light ammonia sponge out there would be a fast-growing moss like java moss. For floating plants you could consider Pennywort (sometimes called Brazilian Pennywort), which can be grown rooted in substrate but is more commonly seen floating where it grows & branches out in a vine-like pattern. I've used it as a floating plant in betta tanks (larger ones) before and the bettas seem to like it. (It does, in general, need a bit more light than my other suggestions here so it may or may not grow well for you, depending upon what kind of bulb is in your light over your tank. Please let us know.) And in a betta tank I always recommend having at least one anubias; bettas will actually sometimes fall asleep at night resting on top of a big anubias leaf. Anubias are pretty slow-growing so they won't help with the ammonia situation as much as my other suggestions, but bettas really like them. Note that Anubias are not plants you plant in the substrate; you take the rhizome and tie it to a piece of driftwood or to a rock, and after a month or two it attaches itself to it. Also note there are lots of different species of anubias, some of which will grow way way too large for a 2.5g tank but others (like Anubias nana) will do great in a tank your size.

Any good aquarium shop that sells live plants should have all three of those, or at least 2 of the 3 as they are three of the most common plants found in the hobby. Or you could check Aquabid which is the "ebay of the aquarium hobby" (if you aren't already familiar with it).

 

[PetBettaFish]

Thank you, that's more of what I was lucking for! I did some research on the Dwarf Anubias last night, and I was really hoping to try it out. I haven't looked up Pennywort or Java moss, so I'll be sure to do that! Would Water Sprite also work in the tank? I also really liked the Marimo balls and Java Fern that zelilaa suggested

I don't mind to change the water myself, but I thought the plants would help keep it cleaner and allow me to do less drastic water changes.

As for the lighting above the tank, it's a desk lamp, I have no clue what kind of light bulb it has... I know it's an LED light and the tank is near a window, so it does get a little bit of natural light. So I thought maybe I should go with low-light plants to be on the safe side.

 

[PetBettaFish]

Thanks for all your help Zelilaa and John!

 

[JohnPaul]

Yeah I'm not sure how plant-helpful that LED will be but the natural sunlight will help some. It could also cause algae problems but if you have some fast-growing plants then things shouldn't be too bad, and you could always get something like one nerite snail to help with algae if it becomes an issue.

Water sprite, java fern, and marimo balls would all be great choices as well, yes. Note that java fern is much like anubias--it attaches itself to either driftwood or a piece of rock. Water sprite could be rooted or (perhaps, I'm not sure) floated. And marimo balls, well, they just sit on the bottom of the tank looking cool.

 

[PetBettaFish]

Awesome, thank you!! I'll look for all these at the pet store and hopefully it'll keep the water cleaner! And I'm hoping Victor will like them better than the silk plants he has

 

[PetBettaFish]

So today I bought a Java Fern and a Marimo Ball. My poor Marimo has some brown spots on him, will he recover? I've become quite attached to this little moss ball, my fish loves it and I've already given it a nickname Anything I can do to help with the brown spots? I really would like to see the little guy get better!

Oh, and I've named the little fluff-ball Tribble for laughs

 

[bluerose]

LEDs aren't in the light spectrum that plants can use; you'll need a different light if you want the plants to grow (and use ammonia). The other issue you'll have is a lack of nitrates, but you may be able to supplement for that.

Broken record here, but really consider a filter. Less stress for your fish, happier plants, LESS STRESS FOR YOU. You're doing more work than you'd need for a cycle already-- the nitrogen cycle happens by itself; you don't "screw it up" unless you scrub the thing out with soap or bleach! (which would probably also do significant damage to your Victor). The holidays are soon, ask for a PetSmart gift card and shop away.

 

[PetBettaFish]

Plants can't use LED lights?? Well, crud My tank doesn't have a hood for me to put a light bulb in, and my local pet stores don't carry any hoods for 2.5's either.

I do have a little under gravel filter I can put in, but the current is too strong even after a tried to baffle it, and it sprays water and is super noisy... It was pretty much a disaster the last time I tried to use it. My pet store doesn't carry decent filters for small tanks, that's what they gave me.

I can't order off the internet, so I honestly can't get a hold of some of this stuff even if I wanted to.

 

[bluerose]

No internet ordering? :/ seems odd. You can usually even use gift cards on the 'Net...

UG filters are really no good. A tiny HOB (hang over back) would be better, like the Whisper 3i mentioned. I believe those are adjustable flow.

Just a desk lamp would do it, provided it has the right bulb-- I'm not an expert, but with low light plants like you have you'd probably be fine with a regular ol' fluorescent lightbulb.

For what it's worth, anacharis is another good lowlight plant that grows like friggin crazy and is pretty hard to kill if it gets any light at all, but if it has the right conditions it will grow and grow and grow and grow and grow (and require trimming). Not a big deal, but a possibility. It's nice and frondy too, makes for a good background or a filter/heater screen

 

[PetBettaFish]

I'm a financially dependent college student with parents that don't allow me to order things off the internet

My local petstore is pretty cruddy, so it's between that and Walmart for me!

My light I'm using is a desk lamp, maybe I can try to find a different bulb?

 

[PetBettaFish]

Victor's a dorm room fish, if you haven't figured this out yet Couldn't stand to put him in a little bowl like most people do!!

 

[bluerose]

Weeelll... if you're 18, and it's your money... just sayin'.

I've yet to see a lamp that takes an LED (little tiny bulbs, usually) which will also take a regular bulb. Most desk lamps, though, will probably come with a fluorescent bulb. I'm not sure which light rating you'll need (I think it's between 6500k and 10000k?), but it's not a random one and there should be bulbs in with the regular lightbulbs I'd think. I could be wrong, though... one of the more techie members should pop in soon and correct me. My tank takes a specific aquarium bulb, that's all I know.

 

[bluerose]

My guys are dorm room fish too (or they will be, they're at home still for numerous frustrating reasons)... otherwise I'd have multiple tank syndrome, and badly

 

[PetBettaFish]

Hehe, I have no job or bank accounts, so yeah, no money or way to order. Broke college student here! Victor was a birthday gift to me from Mom and Dad

Thanks, I'll look for a different bulb then, surely I can get that at Walmart! Thanks a lot Bluerose

I always keep an eye out for better fish supplies, hopefully I'll be able to find a hood and filter around here! That's what I'll be saving all my Christmas money up for