# Planted Betta Setup



## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

Hi everybody! I am a new member here and I have a start on a setup for the top of the fridge in our little bungalow.

I got one of these awesome little 2-ish-gallon solid glass tanks and I want to set it up for betta and some plants. This will be a very simple little tank.










*I know that two gallons is a bit too small for a betta*, but I got the fish already and he is only about 1/2 size. I will move him into a 2.5 or 5-gallon when he grows up bigger and I also do lots of water changes around here. There is always a jug of conditioned tap water here in the kitchen that I use for water changes.

I wish I knew where I could get more of those little solid glass tanks. They are are nice. 

I have some other pictures I am working on here I'll post more soon


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

Hey , your tanks are great seen a lot of them on The planted tank forum Will the tank have a heater as it must be cold of top of the fridge?


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## copperarabian (Apr 27, 2011)

Are you going to give him a heater? I know a lot of people seem to have happy and healthy bettas without one, but personally I would never have any tropical fish in a aquarium without a heater. I also think they are more active when they have a heater, as well as a better immune system.


That seems like a nice little aquarium  today I bought a 2.5 gallon aquarium for my computer desk for my half crown female. I have her in my step dads aquarium now, but where actually taking that one down (I wish I could keep her in that, it's 15 gallons, I keep my male half moon king in my 48 gallon with my cichlid and he seems so happy having all that room).


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

Hi yes I do have a heater in there, one of those Hydor 7.5W heaters.


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## Littlebittyfish (Jan 5, 2011)

Welcome to the forum! I look forward to pictures once it is all set up.Planted tanks are lovely! :-D
You might want to consider making a lid from plexiglass with air holes cut into it if the tank doesn't have a lid...Bettas love to jump!I had one betta jump up atleast 3 inches out of a 1x2 hole in the hood! Do you have any sort of lighting for your plants on top of the fridge?If not you might want to get a desk or clamp type light. :-D
Also, two gallons is fine as long as you keep up with water changes. In my 3 gallon planted,unfiltered I do 2 water changes a week...1 50% and then a 100%.


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## denaliwind (Feb 27, 2011)

Ooh I look forward to seeing what you do! That's a great looking tank! I want one!


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

weluvbettas said:


> Hey , your tanks are great seen a lot of them on The planted tank forum Will the tank have a heater as it must be cold of top of the fridge?


Hi thanks so much. Actually up on top of the fridge it is a bit warmer because warm air rises from the element on the back of the fridge, but yes I am using a heater, one of those Hydor 7.5W units.



copperarabian said:


> Are you going to give him a heater? I know a lot of people seem to have happy and healthy bettas without one, but personally I would never have any tropical fish in a aquarium without a heater. I also think they are more active when they have a heater, as well as a better immune system.
> 
> That seems like a nice little aquarium  today I bought a 2.5 gallon aquarium for my computer desk for my half crown female. I have her in my step dads aquarium now, but where actually taking that one down (I wish I could keep her in that, it's 15 gallons, I keep my male half moon king in my 48 gallon with my cichlid and he seems so happy having all that room).


Yeah this is a nice little tank. I wish that I could find more of them I do not know if they are still manufactured or not (???). I hope that I can keep this betta in there. If he grows much more I will have to move him to a larger enclosure.


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

Littlebittyfish said:


> Welcome to the forum! I look forward to pictures once it is all set up.Planted tanks are lovely! :-D
> You might want to consider making a lid from plexiglass with air holes cut into it if the tank doesn't have a lid...Bettas love to jump!I had one betta jump up atleast 3 inches out of a 1x2 hole in the hood! Do you have any sort of lighting for your plants on top of the fridge?If not you might want to get a desk or clamp type light. :-D
> Also, two gallons is fine as long as you keep up with water changes. In my 3 gallon planted,unfiltered I do 2 water changes a week...1 50% and then a 100%.


Thanks for the welcome! Yes I do have an acrylic top for it already. I do have lighting there too. I have a 13 watt spiral CF lamp hung up above the fridge. There are a number of houseplants there and I also have this 2.5G glass vase with plants set up there too.












denaliwind said:


> Ooh I look forward to seeing what you do! That's a great looking tank! I want one!


Thanks!


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## Littlebittyfish (Jan 5, 2011)

That is really pretty! I wish the top of my fridge looked so nice!:lol: :-D


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## Alex09 (Aug 9, 2010)

I think 2 gallons can be sufficient. I have a 2.5 with java ferns and a rooted pothos vine (leaves above water). I plan on adding anubias later on. I do a complete water change once a week and the plants don't seem to suffer from it.

Also, do you happen to be from ThePlantedTank.net? I recognize your username and I know you are really popular over there. I remember doing alot of research over there ever since I started using live plants and more recently setting up my riparium. I think I remember seeing that vase setup over there as well.


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

Littlebittyfish said:


> That is really pretty! I wish the top of my fridge looked so nice!:lol: :-D


Thanks! You should have seen it before I put the plants there it was a real mess.


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## denaliwind (Feb 27, 2011)

So where is that tank from anyway? Is it actually a fish tank or was it meant for something else? I want! 

Ooh such nice plants on your fridge. XD


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

denaliwind said:


> So where is that tank from anyway? Is it actually a fish tank or was it meant for something else? I want!
> 
> Ooh such nice plants on your fridge. XD


I rescued this particular tank from the curb, but I remember seeing them a few years ago offered by Carolina Biological Supply. I have looked again but they apparently don't carry them anymore and only have some cheap plastic and glass aquariums.

I wish I could figure out who manufactured it and whether or not they still make them(????).


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

Here's a quick picture of fish that I got.


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## PewPewPew (Nov 26, 2010)

Yeah, are you from tpt.net? I kinda looked at your username for a bit and wondered if Id seen it before...

I like that site, but feel Im not into plants enough for anything but sufficient gawking


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

Hi yes I do have an account at TPT.


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

Alex09 said:


> I think 2 gallons can be sufficient. I have a 2.5 with java ferns and a rooted pothos vine (leaves above water). I plan on adding anubias later on. I do a complete water change once a week and the plants don't seem to suffer from it.
> 
> Also, do you happen to be from ThePlantedTank.net? I recognize your username and I know you are really popular over there. I remember doing alot of research over there ever since I started using live plants and more recently setting up my riparium. I think I remember seeing that vase setup over there as well.


Yeah I think that this little tank should be sufficient. The fish that I got is on the small side and it might not grow a whole lot larger. I will also do frequent water changes with conditioned water.

Is there are such thing as dwarf betta varieties??

Yes I post quite a bit over there at PlantedTank.net/forums

There are lot os other plants that can grow well as emergents above the water in a fish tank. A lot of them could be good choices for betta setups.


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## copperarabian (Apr 27, 2011)

hydrophyte said:


> Hi yes I do have a heater in there, one of those Hydor 7.5W heaters.



Yay! That's awesome  I can't wait to see it when everything is set up and what betta you put in it.


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

I'll have more pictures on the way soon.


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## PewPewPew (Nov 26, 2010)

No, not really..And the smaller ones (usually the shorter finned fish) need more space to zip around in. :c


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Pics please!


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

Here you go. Here is a quick shot that I got with the whole setup. I love the way the light transmits through that glass.


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Awesome! Wheres the Heater?


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

There is a heater. I moved the setup for about 20 minutes to take the picture.


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## denaliwind (Feb 27, 2011)

That turned out so nice!


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

Thanks denaliwind!

Here is a quick _in situ_ shot.


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

What kind of heater do u have? BTW, love the tank!!!!


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

It is one of those Hydor 7.5 watt heaters. The water is currently at about 75F.


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## Alex09 (Aug 9, 2010)

Looks great  what plants did you use? I think I recognize a _Cryptocoryne_ and some Java moss.


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

Yep there are a couple of different crypts and a swordplant and some Taiwan moss.


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

While taking these pictures I had fun playing with different lighting effects. Here is another view.


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

Looks very pretty! I bet your etta loves it in there.


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

Thanks Jupiter!


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

Hi this is not betta-related but I am writing a series of blog articles with more detail about my mangrove riparium setup for the AquaBotanic.com blog. Follow this link to read the first entry...

*Mangrove Riparium Journal - Article #1 of 4*


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## PewPewPew (Nov 26, 2010)

The link doesnt work right, or I cant see the article, just numbers and letters.

Btw- Id put mesh over the tank, bettas jump! And they jump HIGH!


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

I just tried that link and it did work, but the page took more than a minute load. I will email the site admin to let him know.

I do have an acrylic top for that tank I just removed it for the picture.


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## Alex09 (Aug 9, 2010)

I too get an error when trying to access the site. (Using google chrome on Ubuntu linux OS). I would be very much interested to read that blog :-D


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Hehe, I saw the title of this page, and I started laughing. I don't know why, it was just funny, and it wasn't my first time seeing/posting on this thread.lol

Okay, continue with topic....


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

Thanks everybody. It looks like the site was hacked or something. I am trying to recover that article with all of the Wordpress formatting. I hope that I can retrieve it.


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

I just recovered that formatted article. That was a relief. Hopefully the site will be up and running again.


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Good luck! Wait, something was wrong with WordPress? I have a word press blog!


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

No there is not anything wrong with Wordpress in general. It was a just a hosting issue for one single site.


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Oh, okay, thx!


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

Oh I haven't been back to this thread in a while. I still have my betta setup going, but I lost the first fish and now have a blue + purple replacement.

I have a few other projects going on too. I might start a thread for this new setup that I have for goldfish...


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

I'm assuming you have a 80g tank?


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

Does a single fancy goldfish really require 80 gallons? We are putting it into a 30G but it is going to get 100% water changes every week. If the fish grows up big it will take a while and we will get it into a bigger setup.


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## zelilaa (Jul 31, 2010)

You do not need an 80 gallon tank for one fancy goldfish... 
They grow to about 6 inches max. The 30 gallon should be fine. 
It is common goldfish that are the real whoppers, ranking in at about 1 foot, and should only be kept in ponds.


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Oh I thought it was a common, sorry, couldn't see the tail. Lol yeah 30g is fine. 80g is baseline for comets.


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

This is an oranda. They can also get pretty big if they get good care, but it will take a while and I'll pull together something else for it if it does.


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

Here's a quick picture of the setup for that goldfish. It's a vintage 30G Metaframe tank with riparium plants...










I have plastic plants and a few other decorations in the underwater area.


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

O.O so cool!


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

Thanks Neil. This setup actually came together pretty quick. I had most everything on-hand.


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Want


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## newf (May 10, 2009)

Amazing


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## hydrophyte (Apr 30, 2011)

Hey thanks you guys I have a few more pictures to post up here soon.


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Looking forward...


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## keepsmiling (May 19, 2013)

Hey, I know you! {Carole from TPT} Is this vintage tank still set up?


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