To Plant, or Not to Plant?

[Phoxly]

I have a 10 gallon tank in its cycle right now, I want to make it into a 2-3 way split tank for 2-3 bettas but I am having a hard time deciding if plants are going to be more of a hassle than simple fake ones. I bought 3 plants from Petsmart but quickly realized the ones I was given were totally trashed and decaying after seeing healthy ones at another store.

I'd like to go low maintenance, low tech, as this is my first tank, and really don't want to have another confusing chemical to test for.. (Kh? Co2? What?). I have seen some amazing fully planted betta tanks that are low tech, but it seems really hard to pull off to me...

I wish it were as easy as:

1) Moneywort
2) Java Fern
3) Green Stuff
4) ???????
5) ???????
6) PROFIT?

All the plant guides I read talk about co2 tablets and stuff, the filter I have has a black carbon bag but I dunno if thats what its for...

 

[Crepe]

The green stuff you see is probably java moss. I know for sure java fern and java moss will take off in a low tech tank.

 

[BigJim]

CO2 tablets are junk. The black carbon bag is for removing stuff from the water. The carbon is only active for a short while before the pores get plugged up. I only run it when I'm trying to remove chemical from the water.

There are several low tech plants that will work for you. Java moss is good, but it tends to get everywhere. Java ferns and anubias are good for attaching to things like driftwood. I use superglue to attach ferns to driftwood. Anacharis is a great low-light plant. Start with a few strands and you'll be able to plant the entire tank with cuttings fairly quickly. Vals and crypts are supposed to be low-light plants also.

 

[Phoxly]

Atm I'm treating each divide in my betta tank like its own 3 gallon tank, so I don't want to over plant each 3 gallon section. I'm thinking one java fern per section and some Java Moss?

 

[happygirl65]

Crypts are great in low light low tech, some get bushy...depends on what you are looking for 2-3 partitions in a 10 gal is not a lot of room. You could also use hygro. I wouldn't worry about CO2 at all, you could dose excel for CO2 once in a while.
If it were me I would use one crypt in each section...use any regular gravel and a root tab fertilizer and they will do great!
Good luck! Would love to see pics.

 

[Phoxly]

I definitely take some pics and showcase it when its finally finished, it only has a few floating amazon leafs right now since I am taking back the nasty ones I got from petsmart and getting the healthy ones from the other petsmart. I should know better than to buy from a store that has 2-3 dying fish in each tank

 

[Phoxly]

My biggest dilema I guess is if the pros of planted will outweigh the customization and low maintenance of fake plants. I can get some small pieces of driftwood and some plants and make it look just as 'pretty' as a normal fake tank with small decors?

 

[happygirl65]

Well to be honest the set up you are looking at is pretty low maintenance even for planted...you can always change your mind later on too...if you are looking at liking the fake better than go for it...you could also do a combination. There are some really great looking fake plants out there too. You could for instance get some taller fake ones in the back and skip the stems which can be a pain to keep planted....then just plant a live crypt for some fullness and natural flowing leaves. It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

 

[Phoxly]

I like how some of the biOrb fake plants look, they feel smooth and look natural like they are made out of a rubbery silicone. Will cleaning up after the fish be easier with real plants? I wouldn't mind a few shrimp or snails but I don't know if snails are good for fake plants lol.

There is this cool grassy like stuff I found at petsmart I thought of putting between the dividers for shelter, its a real plant too.

 

[Crepe]

Actually snails are better for fake plants than real plants. Snails will clean the algae off the fake plants and there's no risk of them eating the plastic plants. However, you should still consider real plants and not all snails are bad snails.

 

[Phoxly]

I'll have to figure out what those neat thick 6-8" straight grass plants are called at petsmart, I really like them and think they'd be easy to keep on the divider so my bettas aren't flaring all the time and can keep some shelter, then decide if I want java ferns/moneywarts in each divide or fake plants. The moneywarts at this other petsmart are really good looking, but I heard can cause bloating?