New Betta owner questions.

[roseann]

I am a new Betta owner and I have a couple of simple questions.

My Betta is in a fish bowl, the bowl holds about 1 gallon of water. I have purchased a floating thermometer to monitor the temperature of the water. He seems to like swimming around it and tends to "hang out" near it. I have been reading about "hiding places" and would like to place a small silk plant in the bowl. Can this be any silk plant (purchased from a craft store maybe? - no glitter, etc, of course)? Or should the plant be plastic?

Also, my Betta is blowing a lot of bubles. I understand that bubble nesting is appropriate behavior, but I was wondering if the amount of bubbles corresponds to the Betta's happiness (the more bubbles the happier the Betta). I have moved my Betta from a "Betta Tank" back into the fish bowl and he is blowing more bubbles in the fish bowl. I want to believe that this means he is happier in the fish bowl. (I think I would be).

[mickey85]

He's probably happier because there's more room to wander around in. And silk plants work fine. Never thougth about the craft-store type. that's a good idea! Most people on here don't want to use plastic plants because of the fear of the fish ripping their fins on the hard plastic. I use silks with weighted bases so they don't have to be "planted" in teh gravel at the bottom. makes for easier moving and cleaning.

[Emerson]

Hi!

Congrats on your new Betta! What is his name?

Here is a copy of the same question asked on the AquariumPros web site:

Q: Can silk plants in a craft store be used in a tank? Someone told me if the plant had a wire rod it could rust and affect the tank.

A: Someone told you correctly. If there is a metal wire in the plant, it will rust and that will have a negative impact on fish. If you can bend the stem of those silk plants and they stay bent, don't put them in an aquarium.

I only use aquatic silk plants in my tanks, and have always been paranoid about using plants (or any other decorations) that are not specifically designed for use in an aquarium. Since there are so many pretty ones out there, I figure why risk it?

sef

[Jenny]

You cannot use regular silk plants in an aquarium. The dye used on many of them is not waterproof and will leach out into the water, which could be harmful to bettas. I was told this by a salesperson who seemed pretty knowledgable in a silk plant section of a store.

[nene]

I have also found with silk plants in hard water you have to clean them periodically because the mineral deposits will cause them to start bending under the weight. This is especially true with the tall ones. I just take them out and soak them in vinegar and then rinse them real good and pop them back in the tank. Don't you just hate hard water!?

[Emerson]

nene said:

Don't you just hate hard water!?

YES!!! I'm constantly having to wipe off mineral deposits at the water line, too -- it leaves that nasty white line. Grrrrr!

[roseann]

Thank you for all the replies.

My Betta's name is Bubbles.

I never thought about the wire rusting or the dye running. I need to go and search for a small aquatic silk plant for his bowl. I don't want to put one in that is to big. I want Bubbles to continue to blow bubbles.


Yes, this is the same Bubbles from the Urgent questions "Help white fins and sleeps at bottom." His fins are slowly getting more color and he still sleeps at the bottom, but this is normal (I am just paranoid ;D).