# Bettas and Duckweed



## rpadgett37 (Jan 1, 2014)

The answer to this question may be obvious, but I am wondering if a Betta will stick his head through the duckweed to get air or if it will block him from the water's surface. 

Never kept a Betta with Duckweed before and the water is covered in the stuff. I've been pulling it out by the handful a couple of times a day, but it is very happy and grows back in nearly as fast as I can remove it. I love floating plants, but if he can't get to the surface, I will need to take some drastic action to reduce the duckweed significantly before adding him to the tank.


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## givemethatfish (Feb 10, 2014)

I've never heard of a betta having trouble getting through the duckweed to get air.

That being said, if you're truly nervous about it, I know some people create rings out of a piece of aquarium tubing connected to itself or even cheap plastic shower curtain rings from the dollar store to kind of corral floaters to leave some water surface open. It actually looks pretty cool - big circles of plants bumping around the tank.


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## freeflow246 (Jul 24, 2011)

I've seen bettas nudge it aside. They don't need much space for their little mouths to get to the surface.


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## TheAnimaLover (Jun 8, 2014)

it's fine duckweed is too small to preform any major threats


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## MameJenny (Jun 11, 2012)

Yep, they'll just nudge it to the side. The duckweed is easy for them to move around, and they don't need a very big hole to breathe. I like to clear it out when it starts covering the tanks, though, because it's hard to feed them if you have a really thick layer. Also, make sure you clear out any fuzz/hair algae that forms on the roots - it makes it harder for the bettas to reach the surface.


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