# Planted 2g for betta?



## redfox (Feb 18, 2014)

Hiya guys. I just joined today and I have LOADS of questions.

First let me explain my situation:

I have a 2 gallon glass cube for my betta (he's kinda smaller than most bettas). Five marimo balls. Heater. No filter. I've had him for about five months and he seems healthy (beautiful color, huge appetite, very active) except that when I do his weekly (complete) water change he gets stressed and nips at his tail fin until it's all torn. I've added rock salt to his water and it helps heal his tail back but when the next water change comes around he ends up tearing up his tail fin again.  I still live in my parents house and I'm not allowed to get a bigger tank with a filter :angryfire (I desperately wanted to get the 6g fluval edge). So I'm trying to go the planted tank route. I've done a lot of research and I have seen people doing the walstad method in less than a 2g. 

So here's my game plan........

Plants:

Dwarf hairgrass as a carpet.
Driftwood with java moss growing on it
duckweed floating
5 marimo balls

Substrate:

3/4" of organic miracle grow and fluorite mixed 50/50
1/4" of black sand to cap the soil

Questions...........

Animals:

Shrimp?
Snails?
Do I need these? 

Should I plant dry vs. planting submerged until the plants mature a bit (I have another 2g container I can keep my betta in if I need to) I heard that If you plant dry and keep them moist with aquarium water until they grow for a few weeks that once you submerge them they're able to handle cycling the water better. 

And

If I plant my tank how long do I wait before adding my fish and how often do I need to do partial water changes until it's done cycling. 

thanks so much for reading this. I know it was a freakin essay. 

Any tips, suggestions, experiences, concerns, ect. are greatly appreciated

Also, if you're just going to tell me to get a bigger tank don't bother commenting. I will as soon as I can. It's not a possibility right now. I'm looking for feedback on how to make what I have now work best for my fish. He's a lot happier in a 2g than in a cup at the pet store. 

Thanks again! <3 ~redfox


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Adding plants is a good idea, but if your fish is so stressed over a full water change I'd do 2-3x partial water changes over the week instead of a single 100%. 
Do you de-chlorinate your water? Do you prepare water a day/many hours before use or try to put in new water that is simular temp to what your aquarium heater keeps it at the rest of the week? What temp _does _your aquarium sit at?


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## JellOh (Apr 5, 2013)

Have you tried doing frequent partial water changes with your betta? Moving and such might be stressing him out to the point of chewing on his tail. I'd try 50-75% changes 2 or 3 times a week. Also, would your parents be opposed to a sponge filter and air pump? They're great and only cost about $15, it that, for both. Without CO2 it will be too hard to get a carpeting plant, but you could still add in a few patches if you'd like. I wouldn't add in any snails or shrimp in such a small tank. They aren't essential and would just add to the bioload. The only reason you might want to move your betta is if the tank is cloudy after adding your sub strait, but, once you are finished planting you can move him right back.


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## redfox (Feb 18, 2014)

I do not dechlorinate the water. We own a private well. I do let it sit for up to a week. The temp is 78-80 with the heater. I only use it in winter cause I live In florida. I have done the partial changes before but then the water never really looks clean :/ but I will do that if its the only way. And I might be able to get by with an air pump and the sponge filter. It's a bummer about the co2 though  I love how the carpet looks. Thanks guys


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## Octantis (Jan 9, 2014)

You might want to try a Betta tank like this. http://www.nocleanaquariums.com/

Or perhaps use a piece of air tube and siphon water out as you siphon water in.


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Octantis said:


> You might want to try a Betta tank like this. http://www.nocleanaquariums.com/
> 
> Or perhaps use a piece of air tube and siphon water out as you siphon water in.


If you want to get nit-picky over betta comfort/happyness the tall narrow tanks are the worse for them. They don't really get any swim room (would you like running in a supper tight circle? no not really) and they have to swim up higher to get air. I've heard several owners of that product say its full of bull ...doesn't clean as well as it brags, but I have no personal experience with it so just passing on what I heard.


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## redfox (Feb 18, 2014)

That looks way smaller than what I have now though.


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## GrantUresh (Nov 11, 2013)

You say that you have issues with a 2 gallon tank. For one.. having 5 marimo moss balls takes up a lot of volume space alone.. I would advise getting a 10 gallon tank and giving the betta some more space to run around. Just move all of your same setup into a 10 gallon tank. They only cost $13 at Walmart
__________________
my fish tanks - Four 75 gallon tanks


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## prighello (Aug 19, 2007)

GrantUresh said:


> You say that you have issues with a 2 gallon tank. For one.. having 5 marimo moss balls takes up a lot of volume space alone.. I would advise getting a 10 gallon tank and giving the betta some more space to run around. Just move all of your same setup into a 10 gallon tank. They only cost $13 at Walmart
> __________________
> my fish tanks - Four 75 gallon tanks


+1. 

Redfox, smaller tanks are harder to keep stable. The bigger you can go the better.


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## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

What's the dimensions of your cube? Add a nano filter to your cube and add more fast growing plants. A 50% water change each week will suffice. Also, unless the marimo balls are the size of softballs, five of them shouldn't take up so much space.


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## redfox (Feb 18, 2014)

There is absolutely no way I can get a bigger tank right now. I have no where to put it. I live in my parents house in my room. There is NO WHERE to put it. I'm going to get one when I can. Only two of the Marimo balls are big the others are tiny. (He loves them) The dimensions are 8"x8"x8". It's not huge but he has plenty of room to zip around. Do you have suggestions on best plants/ nano filter, monsterfish?


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

Two gallons is fine for a betta. They like to move, but they're not schooling fish that need to sprint, so they're fine wending their way around plants in a smaller tank. I'd ditch a few of those Marimo balls (why so many needed?) and get some. Easy care plants like java ferns and Anubias instead.

I agree you're not going to be able to get a carpet without co2. 

If the issue is space, have you considered the Fluval Spec 2gal or Spec III 2.5 gal?

See my tank journal here for a look:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=540873


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## Jason K (Jan 3, 2009)

Get a Red Sea Deco Art Nano Filter, chop off a good chunk of the impeller blades down with a pair of scissors, and you can get a real low flow your betta will be comfortable with while providing some biological filtration and turnover. You can grow carpet with DHG or e. tellenus if dose some ferts and excel. 50% weekly water change, and you should have a sustainable set up.


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## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

redfox said:


> There is absolutely no way I can get a bigger tank right now. I have no where to put it. I live in my parents house in my room. There is NO WHERE to put it. I'm going to get one when I can. Only two of the Marimo balls are big the others are tiny. (He loves them) The dimensions are 8"x8"x8". It's not huge but he has plenty of room to zip around. Do you have suggestions on best plants/ nano filter, monsterfish?


An Aquaclear 20 with the intake chopped in half will suffice. Stick a black fluval pre-filter on it and that will dampen the flow. There's a few low tech plants that will carpet just fine with Excel and a dirt substrate. _Marsilea minuta_ or _M. quadrifolia_, _Lilaeopsis chinensis_, Hydrocotyle tripartita, and Cryptocoryne x willisii 'lucens' make good low-tech, low light carpets. Easy stems like _Ludwigia arcuata_ and guppy grass do alright in low tech. Here's a list of more easy plants:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=56042


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## redfox (Feb 18, 2014)

Thanks so much! !!!!


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## redfox (Feb 18, 2014)

Does anyone know if eco complete is a good substrate? I'm reading reviews and they sound too good to be true


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

redfox said:


> Does anyone know if eco complete is a good substrate? I'm reading reviews and they sound too good to be true


Yes, it's good. It's not perfect, but it's good. How good it is for YOU depends on the particulars: What your personal visual aesthetic is (their "black" is NOT), what kind of plants you want to grow (stems love it, glosso hates it), what you plan to stock the tank with, etc.


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## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

redfox said:


> Does anyone know if eco complete is a good substrate? I'm reading reviews and they sound too good to be true


It works. You'll need root tabs or dirt underneath it though. Though a finer grained substrate would look better in your small cube.


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## redfox (Feb 18, 2014)

Okay. Geez. There's so much I dont know. I think my head might explode. XD


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## prighello (Aug 19, 2007)

EcoComplete, flourite, activflora, are all good substrates that are inert (they don't change the water chemistry). Check them all out and decide what looks best to you for your vision of the tank.


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