# Planted Ripariums for Bettas



## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

Planted Ripariums for Bettas

I am starting this thread for a general discussion on keeping bettas in planted ripariums. Ripariums are a fairly new kind of planted aquarium that feature marginal aquatic plants growing in the space above the aquarium water. There are a lot of really great plants that grow well in ripariums and they make great habitats for aquarium fish, with excellent biological filtration and natural cover. 

I am working on putting together a little riparium setup for one of my bettas, but still trying to decide on which tank to use. I might use the 11.4G rimless tank that I used for this other riparium planting...










However, in order to use that aquarium with a betta I might have to lower the water quite a bit to prevent a jump out of the tank. I have wondered how many inches of vertical a betta can clear(???).

Well this is just a start on this anyway. I have some pictures I can dig up to explain more about ripariums. I might also start a journal thread for the betta setup that I want to do.


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## Comet1993 (Jul 28, 2011)

That tank looks lovely! =] I'm sure a betta would find that to be a very happy home. I like the natural look to it. My concern about it would be the jumping out, too. I'm not sure how high a betta can "jump".. I'd be interested to know that, as well.


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## Snappyarcher (Aug 6, 2011)

Comet1993 said:


> That tank looks lovely! =] I'm sure a betta would find that to be a very happy home. I like the natural look to it. My concern about it would be the jumping out, too. I'm not sure how high a betta can "jump".. I'd be interested to know that, as well.


Rip tanks have been around since the 70s in Europe and have the major advantage of being a really spectacle of hydroponics! Beautiful tanks like the one posted are not easy to cultivate let alone maintain and I'm highly impressed! A betta is unlikely to jump for two reasons .... One they are not good jumpers with those long flowing fins but two.... Because they can see vegitation above the waterline which gives a feeling of security... However be warned ... If this is a species setup ... Ie bettas
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Snappyarcher (Aug 6, 2011)

Comet1993 said:


> That tank looks lovely! =] I'm sure a betta would find that to be a very happy home. I like the natural look to it. My concern about it would be the jumping out, too. I'm not sure how high a betta can "jump".. I'd be interested to know that, as well.


Rip tanks have been around since the 70s in Europe and have the major advantage of being a really spectacle of hydroponics! Beautiful tanks like the one posted are not easy to cultivate let alone maintain and I'm highly impressed! A betta is unlikely to jump for two reasons .... One they are not good jumpers with those long flowing fins but two.... Because they can see vegitation above the waterline which gives a feeling of security... However be warned ... If this is a species setup ... Ie bettas only .... The likelihood is that they will breed! Bettas are leaf nest builders and a rip tank is ideal for them!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I would say at least 3-5 inches below the lip of your tank if you're housing short-finned or wild type bettas as both can jump considerable heights and escape through the smallest gaps. 

If you're putting a long-tail male in, you could probably leave the water level a little bit higher, since the weight of their tail often dissuades them from jumping out. 

I always like the look of a riparium and was going to grow some emersed plants in my betta barracks to suck up some extra nutrients.


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## dragonflie (Aug 5, 2011)

LittleBettaFish said:


> I would say at least 3-5 inches below the lip of your tank if you're housing short-finned or wild type bettas as both can jump considerable heights and escape through the smallest gaps.
> 
> If you're putting a long-tail male in, you could probably leave the water level a little bit higher, since the weight of their tail often dissuades them from jumping out.
> 
> I always like the look of a riparium and was going to grow some emersed plants in my betta barracks to suck up some extra nutrients.


Agreed, I've owned 2 plakats, and they are strong little devils.


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

Comet1993 said:


> That tank looks lovely! =] I'm sure a betta would find that to be a very happy home. I like the natural look to it. My concern about it would be the jumping out, too. I'm not sure how high a betta can "jump".. I'd be interested to know that, as well.


Hey thanks so much. I had that tank set up in my office.

If I use that same tank I can lower the water 1/2-way and still have plenty of space for fish. That would be about 5.5" that the fish would have to jump to jump out.


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

Snappyarcher said:


> Rip tanks have been around since the 70s in Europe and have the major advantage of being a really spectacle of hydroponics! Beautiful tanks like the one posted are not easy to cultivate let alone maintain and I'm highly impressed! A betta is unlikely to jump for two reasons .... One they are not good jumpers with those long flowing fins but two.... Because they can see vegitation above the waterline which gives a feeling of security... However be warned ... If this is a species setup ... Ie bettas
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Actually ripariums are easy to put together. The plants are all planted in planters that atach to the rear pane of glass or on foam rafts, so they are easy to move around. You can have a really dens planting in a ripairum without having to add extra CO2 because the plans get al the carbon they need from the air. You also do not have to fight algae growing on the plants.

The only sort of tricky part about ripariums is that you have to leave room for the plans to grow up. It is pretty easy to just lower the water level and grow all the riparium plants inside the tank. You can also suspend a light up above if you want the plants to grow out of the tank. For that tank in my picture I used a $7 clamp light with a spiral compact fluorescent bulb and hung it from a chain.


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

LittleBettaFish said:


> I would say at least 3-5 inches below the lip of your tank if you're housing short-finned or wild type bettas as both can jump considerable heights and escape through the smallest gaps.
> 
> If you're putting a long-tail male in, you could probably leave the water level a little bit higher, since the weight of their tail often dissuades them from jumping out.
> 
> I always like the look of a riparium and was going to grow some emersed plants in my betta barracks to suck up some extra nutrients.


Thanks! I think that tank will look good--with nice proportions--with the water level at about 3" below the top rim.


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## lessandler (Jun 5, 2011)

OMG I love your tank hydrophyte!! I have always wanted to try something like this but didn't know the term or ease.

I truly wish I had space for another tank... but when I get sick of my edge (just set it up so it will be a while) I want to do this exact look. With a rimless.

Please, if you don't mind, put some other specs on here about it. I am so curious about filtration, substrate or any other details you care to share. I'm obsessed!!


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## Scrambles (Jan 21, 2011)

What kind of plants are those? Are they cuttings or did you start them yourself? Also, what spectrum & wattage CFL are you using? It looks very natural and beautiful. Good job!


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