# Enough Hiding Places?



## banisher (Feb 10, 2010)

Hey, I've had bettas in the past, but none in a while(I mostly do marine tanks now). I just set-up this tank because I missed having a tank in my room. I wanted something fairly low maintenance. After looking at an empty tank for about 2 weeks I got bored and bought a betta on a whim.

The goal is to keep the tank clean and simple looking, I hate visual noise. Although I also want to make sure there is enough hiding as well. Opinions?









In the tank now is:
-Black sand substrate (a real pain i have to vacuum it daily cuz the poos stick out like sore thumbs)
-Elite stingray 5
-bubble stone (only on during the day)
-Tetra 50W submersible heater(pre-set to 78 )
-fake stone and plants, all soft to the touch
-tiny Coralife light i had kicking around from an old pico-reef i had set-up at one point


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## Noko (Jan 10, 2010)

Bettas don't need a bubbler, so if you really wanted to, you could bet rid of that.

I personally don't think there are enough hiding spots. There's nothing a betta could really hide in/ under. I got a bridge thing from Petsmart that is pretty small, but my bettas both enjoyed hiding inside of it. 

What's with everyone having plants sticking to the side? I have never seen anything like that before I came onto this site.

Oh, you will probably need to take some panty hose (I heard some people use toilet paper) and run them along the plants. Both of them look sharp. If the panty hose rips, then it's too sharp for bettas.


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## banisher (Feb 10, 2010)

The bubbler is more for me, but the betta does seem to enjoy playing in the bubbles.

I like the idea of the bridge, one of my previous bettas died because it got stuck in the tinny hole in a clay flower pot, so i don't want that again.

As to why the plant it on the side, I really don't have a good answer. It came with a suction cup, so i just assumed, plus it helps to break up the bubbles, and hide some equipment.

I was concerned about the plants when i first saw them, but they are made from a soft rubber not plastic.I will however pull one out and test it like you said, although i will have to use tp cuz i don't own panty hose


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## Noko (Jan 10, 2010)

The bridge was just big enough for my bettas to go inside and turn around.

I have seen a few people with plants on the side like that. None of my plants have ever come with suction cups, nor have I seen any plants with suctions cups in the store.


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## banisher (Feb 10, 2010)

Maybe I don't understand what you mean by bridge, How did they go "inside" it?


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## Noko (Jan 10, 2010)

The bridge is the one from petsmart, and it's 'hollow' inside. Here, I will post a link.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3202482
There is another one that is almost like it. I have a few of the decorations from petsmart. I mainly have caves from petsmart though. The caves work well too.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I have the same bridge.. Damon loves it and so does my snail.. the snail sleeps in there during the day.. damon sleeps in there at night.

I'd say you need a lot more plants.. bettas love lots of plants. A general rule of thumb I use is if you can't see through the back wall of the tank.. you have enough plants


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

I think your tank looks fine!! I like the black sand.  

The only thing you should worry about is the plant that is attached to the side of the tank. It looks a little sharp, but your the best judge of that. As for caves, you can get a terra cotta pot, then maybe put a little piece of sponge in the whole to keep your betta from getting stuck, or just put it upright, I did that for a few of mine and they love it! 
Or, I think this little decoration would look great in your tank: 








I couldn't find it on petsmart's website, but I KNOW they sell it there.  It is the little lantern thing on the right side of the tank.


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## Noko (Jan 10, 2010)

I have seen that decoration on their website! Now that I look at it in an actual tank, I might have to buy it. It would look good with some java fern all around it. I might have to go to petsmart again so I can get some more plants.

Freckles loved the little bridge. One day I couldn't find her, so I sat there starring at my tank, and all of a sudden she poped out from under the bridge..

I think all you need is another decoration. Maybe a plant.


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## banisher (Feb 10, 2010)

I really would like to add some plants, but i don't like the look of the plastic ones. The two in my tank are just something i picked up when i grabbed the betta.

I Like the idea of trying to keep a "natural" theme for this tank. So, although that bridge looks amazing, i might try to find something else for this particular tank.

As for the plants, I would love to try real plants, but I haven't read up on them much. What sort of lights would be good, and what type of plants would stay small enough in my little 2.5?

As for the black sand, I love the look, and as such i have used it in a lot of my tanks. Seriously though i have to siphon off the poop daily or have these really ugly bright poops on it.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

What is your WPG? (watts per gallon).. divide the wattage of your light by the number of gallons. Low light easy plants that would do well in a 2.5 are java moss, java fern, petite anubias, possibly even a small amazon sword.

The java moss grows fast but all you have to do is cut it back periodically.. no ferts or anything required. You can even sell the extra on ebay or aquabid.. or just throw it out LOL


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## banisher (Feb 10, 2010)

Right now I'm using a marine light 9w actinic, 9w 10000k, total is 7.2 wpg. I have no idea if a fresh water plant would do well under actinic light, but it does make my betta pop.

I like the java fern most i think, but what sort of substrate do i need, and how deep? is the sand ok or would i have to switch.

Are there any non-green FW plants?


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

wow.. 7.2 is really high.. I might even recommend getting a lower watt bulb.. I would think that much light would hurt your fish.

You can have any plant with that much wattage.. do a search for freshwater plants and see what catches your eye.


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## banisher (Feb 10, 2010)

This particular light help keep lots of coral doing well. However, if the actinic isn't contributing to the growing spectrum of the FW plants, the wpg is only 3.6 . 

Where do you recommend to start my freshwater plant research?


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

plantedtank.net

GREAT site!! They'll tell you everything you need to know.


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## banisher (Feb 10, 2010)

Thanx, I'll head over and take a look


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Here is part one of a series of stickies in the plant section of TropicalFishKeeping. http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/...approach-natural-planted-aquarium-part-34861/


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## banisher (Feb 10, 2010)

Well, I decided to jump in with both feet. I went to my lfs and picked up some plants. Not quite sure what they are, but i like the color(an ID on the plant would be nice too) I still would like to get some java moss after reading up on it, but apparently it is like impossible to find 









and now i pose the same question that i did at the start, enough hiding places?


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

I think your tank looks great! One of my boys had that bridge as well, but he compeletely ignores it! it depends on your betta.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

The LFS didn't know what kind of plants they were selling?

You need to watch the plant very carefully.. sometimes you can buy a plant that isn't meant to be submerged and it will rot and possibly kill your fish. If you see the leaves starting to melt take it out.

You can get java moss of ebay and aquabid very cheaply.


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## banisher (Feb 10, 2010)

they knew, but somewhere between the fish store and the 2 hour drive home i forgot the name, now i'm stuck trying to id it. I'm fairly certain they are water plants the person working the fish said she kept them with her bettas and they love them.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

LOL.. you sound like me. I'm not familiar with that type of plant but I'm sure if you did a google image search for aquarium plants you could find it.


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## LisaC144 (Oct 22, 2009)

I also found mine at PetSmart. It's a piece of fake driftwood that looks realistic.I'm gonna say it was $9.99. My betta loves swimming through it and resting inside the hole. PetSmart doesn't have it on thier website, so here is a picture of my tank.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Nice tank! Your betta looks like he's enjoying the driftwood.


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## LisaC144 (Oct 22, 2009)

Thanks, Dramaqueen!

Banisher, basically anything your betta can swim through or into is good. Make sure you can stick your thumb through whatever you get, with a little wiggle room to spare. That's how I test it to make sure my little man won't get stuck.


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## banisher (Feb 10, 2010)

I love that tank, It's amazing. Given a few days my betta loves the new plants. Only problem is they are so dense i have trouble finding him.

Thanx for the tip about the thumb, I always was unsure when i was looking at stuff if it would be any good.

I came to the conclusion that i'm not sure who is watching who anymore. I woke up with my betta watching me sleep, I did some math and figured his tank is considerable bigger then my room compared to body size. Go figure, lol


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## SoulSong (Jan 28, 2010)

I got this one from Petsmart for my guy. http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752216 It took him all of 30 minutes to decide it was a perfect addition to his home. He swims through it and hides inside it, plus it looks great in the tank.


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## banisher (Feb 10, 2010)

looks kewl, and has lots of great reviews, not quite the feel i was going for with this tank. I'm trying to stick with a natural theme on this tank. 

On that note, I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with putting slate in an aquarium. I kinda wanted to buy some chunks (though i have no idea where) and stack them so as to make a cave. Has anybody tried this?


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## LisaC144 (Oct 22, 2009)

You can do that with no problem and it won't change water chemisty. The only issue with slate and betta's is you need to make sure there are no sharp edges on the slate that the betta can snag his fins on. Slate can sometimes have sharp edges. If you're going for a natural ook, I got my driftwood (which is fake by the way) at PetSmart. I was going for the natural look as well.l


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## banisher (Feb 10, 2010)

hmmm, drift wood would look nice too, and might be easier to come by then slate.

If i did go the slate route i suppose i could sand the rough edges and use the panty hose trick someone mentioned to make sure it's safe.


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## LisaC144 (Oct 22, 2009)

Yes I suppose you could if you really like the look of slate. Just be sure all sharp edges are smooth.


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## banisher (Feb 10, 2010)

ok, I went to a gravel and decorative stone place, they didn't have any slate, but i found something else plately and decided to go with it.

This is most likely going to be the last tank re-arrange. It took me forever to split up the rocks and sand all the edges smooth. But i was rewarded with my betta immediately going into the cave (there are actually two, but one is not visible from the front).









what do you guys think, do i finally have enough hiding spots?


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## Noko (Jan 10, 2010)

Gorgeous tank! PERFECT! You betta has something to hide under, and something to hide in. I might have to copy you with the rocks. They look great with the plants.


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## banisher (Feb 10, 2010)

thanx, i was quite happy with the end result.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

It looks very nice!!


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## LisaC144 (Oct 22, 2009)

Very nice! Great pick in stone. Looks very natural.


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

Awesome job!


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