Betta fish questions

[HappyClucker7]

This is what happens when I'm home sick all day and I have nothing left to do Hopefully it can be replaced with a real tank at some point.

Oh no! Sorry to hear that you're sick. Hope you fell better soon!

 

[black_cat]

Oh no! Sorry to hear that you're sick. Hope you fell better soon!

Thnaks! I'm feeling better today and hopefully will be back to normal tomorrow.

 

[black_cat]

GUYS- I have a GREAT idea- I've been really into plants lately, and I'm constantly trying to get more. I can make a tank to grow underwater plants, then be like, hey! this is so great! a tank! all perfectly set up! with plants! and a filter! Gee, maybe I could, I don't know......put a fish in it?

 

[Jabebee13]

@cluckmecoop7 , you keep bettas, right?

I had no success with any brand filter. I have bettas.

 

[NatJ]

GUYS- I have a GREAT idea- I've been really into plants lately, and I'm constantly trying to get more. I can make a tank to grow underwater plants, then be like, hey! this is so great! a tank! all perfectly set up! with plants! and a filter! Gee, maybe I could, I don't know......put a fish in it?

I agree, growing underwater plants is a fun thing, even with no fish.

I've got a 20 gallon long tank right now, with a collection of plants and no fish. Right now, it takes even less care than my other plants in pots, because I don't have to water it regularly. The lights are on a timer, there is no filter or heater, and I am not fertilizing it. Every few months I notice that the water level is low (evaporation), so I add more. Over time, this makes the water harder, so once or twice a year I take some water out before topping it up. Every few years I decide to re-arrange things or add some new kinds of plants, but in between it just sits for months looking wet and green, with no care at all. I've got slow-growing plants, so they don't need pruning, but are gradually looking bigger and nicer with time.

You can also grow plants in jars of water. I did that before I set up my current tank--bought a few small plants that would have looked pitiful in the tank, and grew them in jars until the jars looked crowded. Then I got the tank and moved the plants into it. A few of my plants in jars died. I did not buy more of those kinds, because they obviously did not like the conditions that were easy for me to provide, and I was not willing to try to change conditions to suit them.

I've probably said it before, but I really like java fern. It's readily available, easy to grow, and doesn't need dirt or gravel because it doesn't grow proper roots. It grows slowly, so you don't have to be pruning it frequently, but can eventually get really large and look quite nice. Small ones are fairly cheap (but large ones cost quite a lot of money because of how long it takes them to get big.)

As for filter-- enough plants can sometimes take the place of a filter. Not always, and the rest of the conditions need to be right, but sometimes. So a tank full of plants might be able to handle one fish or a few fish without a separate filter.

 

[black_cat]

I agree, growing underwater plants is a fun thing, even with no fish.

I've got a 20 gallon long tank right now, with a collection of plants and no fish. Right now, it takes even less care than my other plants in pots, because I don't have to water it regularly. The lights are on a timer, there is no filter or heater, and I am not fertilizing it. Every few months I notice that the water level is low (evaporation), so I add more. Over time, this makes the water harder, so once or twice a year I take some water out before topping it up. Every few years I decide to re-arrange things or add some new kinds of plants, but in between it just sits for months looking wet and green, with no care at all. I've got slow-growing plants, so they don't need pruning, but are gradually looking bigger and nicer with time.

You can also grow plants in jars of water. I did that before I set up my current tank--bought a few small plants that would have looked pitiful in the tank, and grew them in jars until the jars looked crowded. Then I got the tank and moved the plants into it. A few of my plants in jars died. I did not buy more of those kinds, because they obviously did not like the conditions that were easy for me to provide, and I was not willing to try to change conditions to suit them.

I've probably said it before, but I really like java fern. It's readily available, easy to grow, and doesn't need dirt or gravel because it doesn't grow proper roots. It grows slowly, so you don't have to be pruning it frequently, but can eventually get really large and look quite nice. Small ones are fairly cheap (but large ones cost quite a lot of money because of how long it takes them to get big.)

As for filter-- enough plants can sometimes take the place of a filter. Not always, and the rest of the conditions need to be right, but sometimes. So a tank full of plants might be able to handle one fish or a few fish without a separate filter.

I might start out with plants in jars, then upgrade to plants in a tank, then upgrade to fish in a tank. Seems like a good, gradual process.
Your tank sounds so cool! Pics?

 

[NatJ]

Your tank sounds so cool! Pics?

Sorry, no pics.

Just visualize a green rectangle, and you'll be pretty close at present. It's been quite a while since I wiped the algae off the front glass, and I know from experience that a camera always picks up the algae more than the other plants behind it.

(Algae is a great plant, really easy to care for. The only problem is that it sometimes doesn't look so good )

Also, I have never gotten around to figuring out how to post pictures, and I'm not yet motivated enough to learn Especially since I know the pictures would not look very nice anyway.

 

[HappyClucker7]

GUYS- I have a GREAT idea- I've been really into plants lately, and I'm constantly trying to get more. I can make a tank to grow underwater plants, then be like, hey! this is so great! a tank! all perfectly set up! with plants! and a filter! Gee, maybe I could, I don't know......put a fish in it?

Seems like a good plan to me!

 

[black_cat]

Seems like a good plan to me!

I'll discreetly bring like $10 when going to the pet store. I do that when going to home depot and the grocery store because there's always plants there.

 

[Chickstarrs]

Anubias are great tank plants to grow as well as the java fern. It is another slow grower, low light requirements and no soil needed plant. It will also flower under water when happy.