Freshwater Aquarium - What Your Freshwater Plants Need To Thrive

How to Choose Plants Compatible With Betta Fish

Betta fish are a species of hardy, elegant and easy to care for freshwater fish. They have a labyrinth organ that acts as a set of lungs allowing the fish to breathe air at the surface, as well as a set of gills for filtering air through water. The aggressive males can only be kept alone; gill displays shown by them are beautiful but they are also a warning of their hostility to other males. Most betta lovers keep the male betta, whose long flowing fins and bright colors are much prettier than the short finned, mutely colored female. Females flare their fins as well, but they lack the flowing elegance of the male. Because of the solitary nature of the male betta, a great deal of creativity can go into decorating his tank. Some people will place a clear plastic divider in the middle of a tank and put a betta on each side of it. The resulting displays between the two males is quite beautiful behind the safety of the divider.

Bettas in the wild are not as beautiful as those loved by the betta collector. They resemble the females moreso than the well known males who are bred for their beautiful fins and markings. Betta fish are found in the rice paddies of Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia and do not require much room; they do not roam as other fish do. Because of this, they do can do quite well in smaller bowls in a warm room of the house.

One popular betta fish display involves an aquatic plant placed on top of the water in a display called a betta vase. This isn't without its problems because the plant could die and poison the water. Because of this, be sure the plant you are using is truly aquatic; some pet stores will try to sell terrestrial plants for the vases. When the leaves of these plants remain submerged in water, they will die and become toxic. The betta will not eat the roots of the plant as some believe, so he still must be fed, and the roots will not clean the water so the bowl still must be cleaned. Popular plants for a betta vase are the chinese evergreen, peace lilly, ludwigia, annubias nani and various types of philodendron. Great care must be excercised that the plant does not become large enough to keep the betta from being able to grab a bit of air at the surface or keep him from getting to his food; the upturned mouth of a betta makes him a surface feeder. It has been suggested that putting some straws through the plant can help the betta receive a good supply of air. Male bettas form bubble nests at the surface of the water, and will attach these nests to the floating plants. A betta vase is a beautiful display, and can be maintained with a sharp eye on the health and size of the plant, removing any dead or dying leaves promptly.

Live rooted plants are another option, but they do require a substrate at the bottom of the tank. Live plants provide oxygenation and filtration for the tank. Bettas do not require heat while some tropical aquatic plants do, so be sure to check the compatibility of your plants with your tank set up. Eelgrass is a good selection for the betta tank, as are cripts, water sprites, hygro and java ferns. Vallis, hornwort, foxtail and the amazon sword are also popular for betta tanks. These plants generally do not need excessive lighting, do well at room temperature and do not require circulated water to thrive.

While bettas can be kept at room temperature, their ideal water temperature is 75 to 85 degrees farenheit. It is at these temperatures that the true beauty of the betta can really shine. Adding a heater and mild lighting can expand your choices of plant life for the betta. Be very careful choosing a heater if you are housing a betta in a small tank, as too large a heater can overheat the water very quickly. Creeping jennies, java moss red leaf ludwigia, riccia fluitans, and banana plants are choices popular for betta tanks. Shy by nature, the betta seeks vegetation that it can hide in, around and under, so consider broad leafed plants in his tank. Multiple plants in the tank can be beneficial and creative, but always keep in mind the betta will need room to swim and get to the surface for air.

Artificial plants are a popular choice for the betta fish tank. Obviously these need no heat or light, but maintenance is required to keep algae off of them. Simply rinsing them off when you change the water is sufficient. Artificial plants are usually plastic or silk and come in an endless assortment of colors and styles. There are websites that give instructions on making artificial plants to save money and personalize the tank.Finding a plant that shows off a betta's color is a great way to add impact to his tank, and when added to a colored background and substrate, the effect can be stunning. While artificial plants cannot die and cause toxicity, they don't provide oxygen as a living plant does. Choosing a small, low powered aerator stone is a good way to ensure the betta is getting enough oxygen in his water. An artificial plant should still be chosen with the reticent nature of the betta in mind, and broad leafed plants are preferable.

You can house your betta fish with other tropical fish such a gouramis and mollies. He will do well with peaceful community fish, but keep an eye out for any bullying. Some fish species cannot resist nibbling on the betta's long fins, so plants are very important if he is in a community tank.

Plants in the tank or bowl provide many benefits to the long term health of your betta. With so many plant options, betta tanks can be created to suit any liking.

Having had fish tanks for over ten years, enjoying freshwater tropical fish, I now decided to write about my experiences on FreshwaterTropicalFish.org.

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LED Aquarium Lighting For Pets and Plants In Your Fish Tank

Your aquarium can house fish, coral, plants and even turtles among other living things. Each one of these creatures requires a different type of light in the form of intensity, warmth and temperature to survive. If you have fish another differential would be if they are saltwater or freshwater.

Light emitting diodes (LED) use the diodes to work together in tandem to produce the light we see. There are a host of benefits that can be put to use with LED aquarium lighting. With variegated wavelengths produced by the diodes the human eye discerns this action, as color variance while other colors will be beyond the human scale. It's simple in most cases: red diodes give us red light and blue diodes give us blue light and so on. With different colors, a variety of effects are possible with LEDs as opposed to florescent and phosphorous bulbs only have a singular purpose. You will find that LEDs for fish tanks and plants come in the form of rods that are placed either over the top of the tank or behind it. You will find no mercury in LED aquarium lighting so they are safer than other types. If another kind of light falls into the water with mercury in the lighting it can kill what is inside.

When using LED lights for your fish tank, nothing is harmed within the tank because there is a low heat output from the lights and each one makes very efficient use of energy which in turn makes all products quite affordable. For example, if you run two LED lights each using 8 watts of energy in a 55 gallon tank all year long for twelve hours every day you would only use 78 KW the entire year and that can cost around eight bucks or so. Now, when you take a look at just one 250w HID light and keep it lit for the same amount of time as the LED you'll see the annual kW usage at around 1100 and the cost is over $100 for the year on just the one light.

If you have only one outlet near your aquarium, don't worry about it because you can find light bars that connect together. You can also find them with built-in reflectors so that you'll be able to light specific areas as needed. If you are raising plants within the aquarium or studies on marine life you have the opportunity of holding complete control over the lighting situation. LED aquarium lights last for up to ten years so they don't need to be replaced as often as other types. Not only that but they add no heat to the tank often giving off less that 15ºF. Another benefit is the fact that LEDs are safe to dispose of and can even be recyclable.

With so much control in the use of LED lights for fish tanks you will find that you can grow almost anything and whatever you have inside will thrive. As an example, if only one portion of life within the tank needs a bit more help in the growth and health area, you can zero in on that area specifically. LED aquarium lighting gives you healthy and quite colorful plants as well as enhances growth. Coral will grow differently with different types of lighting and when you use LEDs the coral will grow quickly and some species will grown compact and spread out along the flat area rather than grow upright.

LED aquarium lighting offers many benefits and features to make your tank a healthy and profitable one whether it is saltwater or freshwater.

JK Bell writes for LEDGrowLightsOnline.com an online store specializing in LED Grow Lights for researchers, the home grower or commercial businesses. They also specialize in LED Aquarium Lighting. Visit the store today.

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