# How much plants is good?



## UberLia (Jan 28, 2016)

I recently got a 2.5 minibow tank. My fish, Donny I believe is miserable with the filter being on even when its baffled and I lowered the water level.

I am tempted and thinking of just doing a live planted tank...

But i have NO idea how many plants should go in this tank.

I currently have ONE live plant in there. If I were to get rid of the filter I LOVE floating plants along with maybe planting one or two.

Any ideas? Thanks.


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

My belief is, if you can manage, get them plants until they hold up a sign asking for a machete to cut through the jungle.

Best thing to do is start slow and build up. Get some easy plants like Anubias, Java Ferns, Cabomba, Bacopa (ack, don't have my list of starter plants). I'd personally stayed away from the duckweed because of how invasive it is and got myself some red root floaters. Get a couple, get them established and add more.

I also don't think its a good idea to get rid of the filter, not only does it allow your tank to cycle (read, make the tank much safer for the fish) but it provides surface agitation and flow in the tank which all promotes a healthy tank. You may find that as you start adding more plants, your little guy will just start to love the tank regardless of the filter situation.

Also, getting him a place to hide if you don't have one would help out ... gratuitous fish shot


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## UberLia (Jan 28, 2016)

Veloran said:


> My belief is, if you can manage, get them plants until they hold up a sign asking for a machete to cut through the jungle.
> 
> Best thing to do is start slow and build up. Get some easy plants like Anubias, Java Ferns, Cabomba, Bacopa (ack, don't have my list of starter plants). I'd personally stayed away from the duckweed because of how invasive it is and got myself some red root floaters. Get a couple, get them established and add more.
> 
> ...


That fish looks cute!

Well later on today I will go and get some live plants and use them as floating plants. But I will see too if I can find any caves for the little guy.


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

UberLia said:


> That fish looks cute!
> 
> Well later on today I will go and get some live plants and use them as floating plants. But I will see too if I can find any caves for the little guy.


Great, we'll make you a plant lover for sure.
Remember, Anubias, hardy plant, you can weigh it down or you can let it float. It's leaves are broad so it also gives the fish a place to rest near the surface if you let it float.

Don't know how handy you are with tools, that cave was hand made (although I saw some pop up on Amazon). $0.81 for the coconut, $3.00 for some assorted sand paper, a dremel and some elbow grease. Plus you get to eat or bake the coconut flesh if you like.

If you check the marketplace here, someone is always selling plants, and they're also usually better quality and selection than what you'll get in a store.


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## UberLia (Jan 28, 2016)

Veloran said:


> Great, we'll make you a plant lover for sure.
> Remember, Anubias, hardy plant, you can weigh it down or you can let it float. It's leaves are broad so it also gives the fish a place to rest near the surface if you let it float.
> 
> Don't know how handy you are with tools, that cave was hand made (although I saw some pop up on Amazon). $0.81 for the coconut, $3.00 for some assorted sand paper, a dremel and some elbow grease. Plus you get to eat or bake the coconut flesh if you like.
> ...


Oh wow thats cool! But yea I will look into floating plants and I will look into seeing if I can find a cave for my little guy


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## UberLia (Jan 28, 2016)

So this is how the tank looks like now,

I bought and anubis plant and white ribbon.

But now I think the tank looks crowded...should I get rid of anything?

Or rearrange the tank?

Or should i take on of the plants out?

Any ideas?


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## UberLia (Jan 28, 2016)

I got rid of the anubis and stuck that plant in my other fishes tank.


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

UberLia said:


> I got rid of the anubis and stuck that plant in my other fishes tank.


Well, aesthetics are for us humans, they don't mind a tank being choc full of plants that they can hide and explore, as long as he can wriggle himself between the plants, he'd love it.

I rather like the "jungle" look as long as the plants get enough light to grow. Or even try attaching it to the submarine with some fishing line, just don't tie off the rhizome too tightly.


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## Gariana (Jul 22, 2015)

If that plant on the right (with white stripes) is real, then that's not an aquatic plant - it will rot and die underwater.


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## UberLia (Jan 28, 2016)

Gariana said:


> If that plant on the right (with white stripes) is real, then that's not an aquatic plant - it will rot and die underwater.


Oh thats a white ribbon aquatic plant.


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## UberLia (Jan 28, 2016)

Veloran said:


> Well, aesthetics are for us humans, they don't mind a tank being choc full of plants that they can hide and explore, as long as he can wriggle himself between the plants, he'd love it.
> 
> I rather like the "jungle" look as long as the plants get enough light to grow. Or even try attaching it to the submarine with some fishing line, just don't tie off the rhizome too tightly.


Hmm now im not sure anymore..hahaha. I have a feeling i might have to re assemble everything in the tank. But I got the little submarine thing as a cave, I thought it look cute. 

Are white ribbon plants good types of plants?


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## Gariana (Jul 22, 2015)

UberLia said:


> Oh thats a white ribbon aquatic plant.


That's actually dracaena, a non-aquatic plant that is often wrongly sold as an aquarium plant. It will eventually die underwater.


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## UberLia (Jan 28, 2016)

Gariana said:


> That's actually dracaena, a non-aquatic plant that is often wrongly sold as an aquarium plant. It will eventually die underwater.


OH

Well then..

I guess I will take that out...


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

Gariana said:


> If that plant on the right (with white stripes) is real, then that's not an aquatic plant - it will rot and die underwater.


Good call, I'm most assuredly not a plant expert so I looked it up and it's not aquatic. Roots can be in the water but leaves need to be in the air.

Unfortunately, you can't trust the tags in the pet stores when it comes to aquarium plants.


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

UberLia said:


> OH
> 
> Well then..
> 
> I guess I will take that out...


See if you can get your money back.

<oops, double post>


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## Gariana (Jul 22, 2015)

That anubias is a great plant for a betta tank though - beautiful and easy to care for. One of my favorite plants.


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## UberLia (Jan 28, 2016)

Gariana said:


> That anubias is a great plant for a betta tank though - beautiful and easy to care for. One of my favorite plants.



So this is now how the tank looks like. I left him be now. I now see him going through the plant spaces...so I think he is happy.

Not sure really, this is a new home from his 1.5 tetra cube.


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## UberLia (Jan 28, 2016)

Veloran said:


> See if you can get your money back.
> 
> <oops, double post>



Hmm ok, well I took it out and I will give them a call and ask if I can get my money back. I can make it look pretty again and make it look like it was never in a tank....hahaha.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

That's a beautiful Anubias. :3


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## UberLia (Jan 28, 2016)

See now this is his 2nd full day in the tank and he hasnt been eating at all. I guess thats normal for a betta in a new environment..?


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## UberLia (Jan 28, 2016)

ThatFishThough said:


> That's a beautiful Anubias. :3


Really?? Thanks!


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

UberLia said:


> See now this is his 2nd full day in the tank and he hasnt been eating at all. I guess thats normal for a betta in a new environment..?


Yep, quite normal, lots of hiding and little eating until they get comfortable.


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## UberLia (Jan 28, 2016)

Veloran said:


> Yep, quite normal, lots of hiding and little eating until they get comfortable.


Yea hes been hiding alot. I actually didnt see the fish for like 2 mins and I freaked out because I didnt know where he went. But then he appeared. 

He really enjoys that little submarine. When he swims in and out of the holes he looks so adorable.

I just fed him a blood worm..and ya, a dried ones..I only give them those once in a blue moon, eat gobbled that up quickly.

Hopefully he is good by tomorrow and himself once again..he hasnt made a bubble nest but on the right side of the tank, there are little bubbles there.


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## NickAu (Sep 28, 2015)

> Well, aesthetics are for us humans,


Yes they are, so are trinkets like bridges and castles and fake plants. I only use natural stuff in my tanks, Bog wood, Gravel and live plants.

I prefer low tech wild jungle tanks, I do not need to go give my Bettas a chainsaw when they tap on the glass, They went out and bought their own.

The trick is to find a balance between fish needs light and nutrients, For example I do not use fertilizer but I also do not vacuum the substrate in my tanks and I have Trumpet snails in my tanks, These guys are a must in planted tanks.

Floating plants are very important, For Floating plants get Water Sprite and Riccia.

My Bettas do not have caves because they dont use them, A cave is not a natural way for a Betta to sleep in.

This is the way Bettas prefer to sleep, That is my fish sleeping on crept up to the tank one night with a camera and flash, There is a big Indian almond leaf sitting on the plants right above the fish, and it provides great top cover. The fish feels more secure.


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## UberLia (Jan 28, 2016)

NickAu said:


> Yes they are, so are trinkets like bridges and castles and fake plants. I only use natural stuff in my tanks, Bog wood, Gravel and live plants.
> 
> I prefer low tech wild jungle tanks, I do not need to go give my Bettas a chainsaw when they tap on the glass, They went out and bought their own.
> 
> ...


Thank you for your info! And yes, my fishes, they sleep on the plants or on the leaf that you can attach to the tank. But my fish likes going in and out of the submarine, so im gonna keep that.


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## NickAu (Sep 28, 2015)

> But my fish likes going in and out of the submarine, so im gonna keep that.


 Every betta is different and if your guy likes it, Keep it for sure, I have one of those Betta hammocks ( Fake leaf with suction cup ) My fish wont go near them, I spoil my fish badly, and they respond to that.

After this game he always gets bloodworm.


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## UberLia (Jan 28, 2016)

NickAu said:


> Every betta is different and if your guy likes it, Keep it for sure, I have one of those Betta hammocks ( Fake leaf with suction cup ) My fish wont go near them, I spoil my fish badly, and they respond to that.
> 
> After this game he always gets bloodworm.


Yea those! Both of my bettas sleep on that or on the plants.

OMG your betta is adorable!! And such a dark color


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## NickAu (Sep 28, 2015)

Oh he is a character OK.

This is how I came by that betta
Saved from being flushed down toilet


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## UberLia (Jan 28, 2016)

NickAu said:


> Oh he is a character OK.
> 
> This is how I came by that betta
> Saved from being flushed down toilet


I saw that post! I read it long ago, good for you for saving it! Two months ago that was how I got Donny, I didnt really rescue him but I saw him in the petsmart i went to, and the other fish around him were all so aggressive and they didn't look happy...but I saw him, stared at him for awhile and he was so cute! So i grabbed him.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

On the topic of ornaments in tanks, my bettas have always preferred floating caves/tunnels. I use plastic film canisters to breed my wild bettas, but my fancy bettas would also make much more use of them than the terracotta hides I had on the bottom of the tank. You could also make a tunnel out of craft mesh, suction cap it to the side of the tank, and then cover the whole structure in java moss.


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## UberLia (Jan 28, 2016)

LittleBettaFish said:


> On the topic of ornaments in tanks, my bettas have always preferred floating caves/tunnels. I use plastic film canisters to breed my wild bettas, but my fancy bettas would also make much more use of them than the terracotta hides I had on the bottom of the tank. You could also make a tunnel out of craft mesh, suction cap it to the side of the tank, and then cover the whole structure in java moss.


As that mesh thing sounds super cool and interesting..I believe that I am not that hardcore in creating such a brilliant thing..

hahahahaha. But that sounds super cool!


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## NickAu (Sep 28, 2015)

> I saw that post! I read it long ago,


Cool, I love my planted tanks and so do my fish, 

My suggestion is keep it low tech low maintenance low light, Feed the fish, It will produce waste your plants live on that waste, Change the water, Use a filter ( yes bettas are fine with a bit of circulation ) and it should almost look after it self. 

And if you already don't, Interact with your fish more, teach them to come when called, To flare, to be cupped if needed, The more you interact with the fish the more confident they become. Its healthy for the fish and fun, Till you put your fingers in the tank and your Betta attacks them LOL.


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## UberLia (Jan 28, 2016)

NickAu said:


> Cool, I love my planted tanks and so do my fish,
> 
> My suggestion is keep it low tech low maintenance low light, Feed the fish, It will produce waste your plants live on that waste, Change the water, Use a filter ( yes bettas are fine with a bit of circulation ) and it should almost look after itself.
> 
> And if you already don't, Interact with your fish more, teach them to come when called, To flare, to be cupped if needed, The more you interact with the fish the more confident they become. Its healthy for the fish and fun, Till you put your fingers in the tank and your Betta attacks them LOL.


Yes I interact with my fishes, since Donny sits on my desk now because of how heavy his tank is, he was watching me earlier writing out my chemistry notes..what are some ways to interact/play with the fish?
What i do is sometimes ill place dolls in front of the tank and he will look to see what it is, or i hold the doll and go around the tank on the outside. What i have done to both of my fish is, that when they see a pen, and i place it up to their eye level they flare...so I have somewhat trained Donny at least...but any other interaction ideas I am up for! I would love to make the fishes life and their well being better than before.

Sometimes when I call Donny, and he comes he does a cute dance..and it make me happy. If he sees or hears(idk if they can hear) opening the pellet container he does another dance, like hes shaking his butt...haha. Hes my happy little guy and I want to make sure he is happy now but also healthy for when I go back to my university.


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## NickAu (Sep 28, 2015)

> Sometimes when I call Donny, and he comes he does a cute dance.


Give him a pellet as a reward do this twice a day soon he will associate you calling him with food and will come to the front of the tank every time he sees you and do the cute dance. 

Follow my finger, Point at a random spot on the surface of the tank, when the betta comes to investigate give him a a bit of blood worm, once they learn that the finger means blood worm or a tasty pellet they yes they the bettas have you in their spell, you are under their control and they are shameless beggars when it comes to food use food as a weapon lol.

This is how friendly they can be. 
Video is NOT of my fish


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## UberLia (Jan 28, 2016)

NickAu said:


> Give him a pellet as a reward do this twice a day soon he will associate you calling him with food and will come to the front of the tank every time he sees you and do the cute dance.
> 
> Follow my finger, Point at a random spot on the surface of the tank, when the betta comes to investigate give him a a bit of blood worm, once they learn that the finger means blood worm or a tasty pellet they yes they the bettas have you in their spell, you are under their control and they are shameless beggars when it comes to food use food as a weapon lol.
> 
> ...


Aha ok will do that. And OMG I am scared of touching fish, and Donny, whenever I would do a water change or rearrange the tank, he would always come by my hand or the turkey baster wand, and not give a care in the world, I know I would never hurt him when I do something in the tank, but he came super close to my finger once and I flipped **** and took out my hand immediatly. 
But yea! I guess I will attempt to train him, to do weird things. So far I just fed him now in the morning...and I havent seen him regueritate the pellets.


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

LittleBettaFish said:


> On the topic of ornaments in tanks, my bettas have always preferred floating caves/tunnels. I use plastic film canisters to breed my wild bettas, but my fancy bettas would also make much more use of them than the terracotta hides I had on the bottom of the tank. You could also make a tunnel out of craft mesh, suction cap it to the side of the tank, and then cover the whole structure in java moss.


Mishi has his coconut cave and a flower pot that I sank in his tank for him to hide. He's never slept in them and it took him months to even use them but now I find that he often will use them in the middle of the day to get away from it all. I have one of my cameras set infront his tank so I can stream to my phone when I'm not home to check up on him.

He's had a number of sleeping spots in the couple years, he used to drape his tail over the floating cabomba then hang his body like a bat and sleep. I lost the cabomba to an accident so then he used to sleep in his floating craft mesh tube (infact, he'd hang out in that all day). These days he sleeps on the suction cup to his betta hammock. Not the hammock itself but the suction cup. I don't like it in his tank, but I can't remove it. It had fallen a couple of times and he just goes and hangs out at the spot staring at the tank wall. Other short lived sleeping spots were tangled in the roots of the RRFs and tangled in the Bacopa. Have to remember this is the same little fish that would try to stuff himself into the uplift tube on my sponge filter.



UberLia said:


> Aha ok will do that. And OMG I am scared of touching fish, and Donny, whenever I would do a water change or rearrange the tank, he would always come by my hand or the turkey baster wand, and not give a care in the world, I know I would never hurt him when I do something in the tank, but he came super close to my finger once and I flipped **** and took out my hand immediatly.
> But yea! I guess I will attempt to train him, to do weird things. So far I just fed him now in the morning...and I havent seen him regueritate the pellets.


After hand feeding Mishi for a while, and him getting old and lazy, he will let me touch him now, unless I surprise him on his blind side. You don't want to be touching them often however as you don't want to strip off their slime coat. When he's being especially stubborn at feeding time, I can slowly push my finger up to his mouth and push him backwards, doesn't freak him out.

He has a view of my front door so he learned that when that opens, it's time to get excited because feeding him is one of the first things I do. We used to have a feeding ritual, he sees me and starts dancing infront the glass. I'd bring out the container and hold it up to the glass, then he'd start doing somersaults in the water around the container. Three somersaults and I'd start to open the container so he'd dash over to his feeding spot. Now he's older with a little less energy, it's pacing infront of his feeding spot when he sees me, and then he splashes the water when I open the lid.


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## UberLia (Jan 28, 2016)

Well i currently think my betta hates me and his new home...he wont eat, he will spit out the food and no bubble nest has been formed...he normally forms one immediately.


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

UberLia said:


> Well i currently think my betta hates me and his new home...he wont eat, he will spit out the food and no bubble nest has been formed...he normally forms one immediately.


Give it some time, some bettas get adjusted in hours, some in weeks.


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## UberLia (Jan 28, 2016)

Veloran said:


> Give it some time, some bettas get adjusted in hours, some in weeks.



I hope so, im just worried.


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