aquascaping questions

[Meagan.Marie]

Okay so I am looking at pieces of driftwood and also looking at fake plants. I would love to do real plants but i just dont have the time for the matanice. my bettas already take a lot of attention. (my roommate thinks I am insane.) but what can I say, since I cant have more than one fish in my tiny tanks I want to make sure they are as happy as possible. I recently lost my betta harry potter and so while the tank is missing a fish I am looking at doing new decor. I was thinking I wanted to do fake plants that look like real plants but they also have to be betta safe. are there betta safe plants, like silk ones I had some spiky plants but it just tore his fins apart so now since he is in fishy heaven I am looking for something new.

Betta safe plants and driftwood. Any ideas or sites?

 

[BigJim]

Low-light plants don't really require any maintenance. My bettas love to sleep on the leaves of my java fern and anubias nana. Both low-light plants attach to driftwood and require very little maintenance.

 

[tyspot1000]

Yeah, as for Fake plants, silk is your best option with bettas. There are some plastic that can work though, but you have to test if they are 'betta safe' (by getting some pantyhose, and rubbing it against the plastic plant. If the pantyhose gets snagged or ripped, the same will happen to your bettas fins).

If you do decide to get driftwood, make sure to soak in a tub of water for a few months (Leaches out tannins that make the aquarium water yellow). While in the process, make sure to replace the water every now and then. Once done soaking, boil it to get any remaining tannins out, then you can put it in the aquarium (this is optional though, the 'yellow' coloring that the tannins produce will go away.

Anubias nana and java fern are great low-light plants that my betta loves

I really think your set-up will look great really. Maybe some slate too (I like it when algae grows on it, makes it look almost natural).

You can find some Driftwood and fake plants at a local petsmart or petco, maybe even at a LFS.

 

[Meagan.Marie]

Any advice on getting live aquarium plants? Websites? my lfs doesn't sell them. as for driftwood. I might just get a fake piece haha i really rather not wait three months lol

 

[BigJim]

Many people here have had good experience with this site: AquariumPlants.com Largest online sales / service site for the live aquarium plants & aquarium products community.

eBay is a good place to find driftwood.

Petsmart or Petco sometimes carry anubias in those little tubes with the gel. They're not the cheapest, but you might be able to find them locally.

 

[Meagan.Marie]

I will start my search. I am suddenly unsure about driftwood. soaking it for three months in my dorm would be hard. toured an apartment today i can have up to 55gallons so I may get like a 29 gallon and start playing with the bigger stuff haha then I will really need driftwood. I might try small rocks and some java moss and some java fern for a background.