Plant Pots.

HI all;

I was thinking of adding life plants to my Betta tank, he’s torn his tail on something, there’s a very soft plastic plant in there (which I don’t think it was that but I want to be safe, I think it was was filter intake which he likes to swim under which I’ve now covered with a media bag so he can’t snag himself) which I’d like to replace with a live one.

My question is, can they be left in the pots they come in or do they need to be planted in the substrate or on something?

 

Personally, having had a male who was an expert at tearing up his tail, I always took them out of the pots.

A great alternative would be clay pots, with gravel fish substrate in them to plant the plants into. This lets your plants establish roots, but provides a safe hiding place for the Betta. It’s been my experience that they love to swim over, behind and around the clay pots.

Here’s an example of what I mean
this one is in my community tank and has Val’s in it- along with a single root tab to feed the plants.

 

I would definitely remove the plants from any pot it comes in from the store. The roots are usually surrounded with a type of foam filler that is recommended to be removed before planting it.
What kind of substrate do you have? I found planting much easier in sand than in gravel. My bettas do also love having clay pots to swim through. I suspended one at the top of my tank to grow some plants emerged and my bettas love using it as a hiding spot.

 

It’s only a 2.5g so I don’t have the space to put a huge pot in, looks really good though!

Does anyone recommend any silk plants instead?

 

For that size tank I would go with anubias! It's a slow grower and doesn't need to be planted in the substrate. Just tie it or glue it to a rock or a piece of decor in the tank and you're good to go! Plus bettas love the broad leaves

 

I second the Anubis. Plus it’s a water column feeder so you don’t have as much bother with ferts. A simple liquid at water changes does the trick. API leaf zone is great. And others can suggest the Seachem product that’s appropriate.

I keep Anubis secured to tunnels and caves, and the fish love it. The Bettas slept in the leaves while I ran the sorority....now my community fish swim through them

Java fern is another column feeder that’s not demanding and can be glued to decorations. It’s long darker leaves, and will be a nice contrast to the smaller, bright rounded leaves of the Anubis

 

Thank you everyone!

I’ll give the Anubis a go. I feel so bad for my poor Blue, so I’m slowly getting rid of all the fake stuff for real.

 

Here’s a shot of the two plants
the young java fern on the left is sitting on the floor(don’t bury the rhizomes) and the established Anubis is tied to wood. The established java compared to young Anubis looks like this

 

Clay pots come in all sizes.


I would definitely encourage you to go live plants instead of fake. The recommended Anubias and Java Fern are good candidates.

 

Thanks everyone. You’re all so helpful!

I’ll definitely be looking into it on the weekend when I get money.

 

Thank you everyone!

I’ll give the Anubis a go. I feel so bad for my poor Blue, so I’m slowly getting rid of all the fake stuff for real.

I always feel the same when re-scaping my tanks. Just keep telling Blue that its for his own good!

 

yeah, id second the anubias. I have a couple of anubias nana golden plants and my betta loves them, he lays on the leaves.