Betta fish are very territorial creatures. Whether you have a male betta all by themselves or a five-female betta sorority, they will all want their own space.
Live plants are good for betta fish because they provide hiding places or territory boundaries, help clean and oxygenate the water and provide male betta fish somewhere to build a bubble nest for mating. Live plants also take all of the nutrients that algae feed on, thus reducing algae growth in your betta tank!
So what are you waiting for? Not so easily convinced? Let’s see if we can show you how good live plants are for your betta fish.
Advantages Of Live Plants In A Betta Fish Tank
Add Oxygen To Your Water
Plants remove carbon dioxide and add oxygen to your water. Live plants need to do this to grow. With more oxygen in your water, your betta fish will be healthier.
Inhibit Algae From Growing
Live plants and algae feed off the same nutrients, so when you have live plants in your betta tank, the live plants will consume all of the nutrients that algae feed off, thus keeping algae from growing in your tank.
Better Filter System
With live plants in your tank, you won’t have to stress as much about your filtration system. Live plants help remove toxins and nitrate from your water because they use it to grow just like in their natural wild habitat.
Natural Appearance
Live plants help make your aquarium look like a natural habitat in the wild that your betta would live in. You can make your aquarium look like a miniature underwater jungle.
Hiding Places
Betta fish like to have their own territory and places to hide if they feel threatened. Having a lot of live plants will give the additional benefit of these hiding places. You could just use decorations or fake plants but then you wouldn’t get the other added benefits described above.
Resting Places
Betta fish like to rest on something solid like a plant near the water’s surface. So if you have some tall plants or even floating plants, you might find your betta sometimes lying on the leaves of their plants.
Place For A Bubble Nest
If you have a lot of live plants in your betta tank, the male betta will build a bubble nest that attaches to one of the live plants. Male betta fish build a bubble nest when they are ready to mate. The bubble nest is where the eggs are stored until they hatch.
Are There Any Disadvantages To Keeping Live Plants In A Betta Tank?
The disadvantages would be the expense of purchasing an aquarium light and caring for the plants.
Caring For The Plants
Live plants are going to need to be trimmed, sometimes cleaned, special lighting and some plants will need extra vitamin supplements. Also, like fish, plants will need the right water parameters to survive.
Plants Need Extra Light
Plants need proper lighting to perform photosynthesis, which is the process of converting all of the yucky stuff and algae-compatible nutrients into fuel for the plants to grow. Without the proper lighting, plants will not survive.
What Type Of Light Do Live Plants Need?
There are many different live plants you can grow in your betta tank. Some require higher lighting like fluorescent, while some require lower LED lighting.
The higher lighting the plant needs, the harder it will be to take care of and the greater chance for algae to grow. It is better to start with lower-level lighting plants because they are much easier to take care of.
What Live Plants Are Safe For Betta Fish?
Amazon Sword
| Scientific Name | Echinodorous |
| Synonym | E. Paniculatus, E. Rengeri |
| Common Name | Broadleaved Amazon Swordplant |
| Origin | South America |
| Maximum Height | 20 Inches |
| Growth Rate | Moderate |
| Area | Background or Main |
| Light | Bright |
| Temperature | 75-82°F |
| Propagation | Plantlets |
| Difficulty | Easy – Beginner |
Anubias Nana
| Scientific Name | Anubias Barteri Nana |
| Synonym | Anubias Nana |
| Common Name | Dwarf Anubias |
| Origin | West Africa |
| Maximum Height | 4.7 Inches |
| Growth Rate | Slow |
| Area | Foreground or Main |
| Light | Non Essential |
| Temperature | 72-82°F |
| Propagation | Side Shoots |
| Difficulty | Easy |
Marimo Moss Balls
| Scientific Name | Aegagropila linnaei” |
| Common Name | Moss Balls |
| Origin | Japan and Northern Europe |
| Maximum Height | 8-12 inches |
| Growth Rate | Slow |
| Area | 5 inches in diameter – ball shape |
| Light | Low |
| Temperature | 72-78°F |
| Propagation | Budding |
| Difficulty | Easy |
Java Fern
| Scientific Name | Microsorium Pteropus |
| Common Name | Java Fern |
| Origin | Southeast Asia |
| Maximum Height | 10 inches |
| Growth Rate | Slow-Medium |
| Area | Anywhere |
| Light | None |
| Temperature | 64-82°F |
| Propagation | Plantlets |
| Difficulty | Easy |
Water Sprite
| Scientific Name | Ceratopteris thalictroides |
| Common Name | Water Sprite, Water Fern, Indian Fern and Indian Water Fern |
| Origin | Tropical Asia |
| Maximum Height | 13.5 inches |
| Growth Rate | Low – Moderate |
| Light | Moderate-High |
| Temperature | 68-80°F |
| Propagation | Spreads |
| Difficulty | Easy-Moderate |
Java Moss
| Scientific Name | Vesicularia dubyana |
| Common Name | Java Moss |
| Origin | Asia, India |
| Growth Rate | Medium-Fast |
| Area | Foreground-Main |
| Light | Non-Essential |
| Temperature | 64-86°F |
| Propagation | Shoots |
| Difficulty | Easy |
Anacharis
| Scientific Name | Egeria densa |
| Synonym | Elodea Densa |
| Common Name | Elodea, Pondweed |
| Origin | USA |
| Maximum Height | 20 inches |
| Growth Rate | Fast |
| Area | Background, Midground |
| Light | Moderate |
| Temperature | 64-79°F |
| Propagation | Cuttings |
| Difficulty | Easy |
Pennywort
| Scientific Name | Hydrocotyle Leucocephala |
| Common Name | Brazilian Pennywort |
| Origin | Brazil |
| Maximum Height | 20-24 inches |
| Growth Rate | Fast |
| Area | Any |
| Light | Bright |
| Temperature | 68-82°F |
| Propagation | Cuttings |
| Difficulty | Easy |
Duckweed
| Scientific Name | Lemna minor |
| Common Name | Duckweed |
| Origin | Worldwide |
| Growth Rate | Fast |
| Area | Floating |
| Light | Non-Essential |
| Temperature | 50-86°F |
| Propagation | Side Shoots |
| Difficulty | Hardy – More Light for Some Species |
Hygrophila
| Scientific Name | Hygrophila Corymbosa |
| Synonym | Nomaphila stricta |
| Common Name | Giant Hygrophila |
| Origin | India, Indonesia |
| Maximum Height | 20 inches |
| Growth Rate | Medium – Fast |
| Area | Background – Midground |
| Light | Moderate – Bright |
| Temperature | 68-82°F |
| Propagation | Cuttings – Side Shoots |
| Difficulty | Easy |
Hornwort
| Scientific Name | Ceratophyllum Demersum |
| Common Name | Hornwort |
| Origin | Worldwide |
| Maximum Height | 20 inches |
| Growth Rate | Fast |
| Area | Any |
| Light | Moderate |
| Temperature | 64-82°F |
| Propagation | Cuttings – Side Shoots |
| Difficulty | Easy |
Wisteria
| Scientific Name | Hygrophila difformis |
| Synonym | Synnema triflorum |
| Common Name | Water Wisteria |
| Origin | India, Thailand, Malaya |
| Maximum Height | 20 inches |
| Growth Rate | Medium |
| Area | Background |
| Light | Bright – Strong |
| Temperature | 75-82°F |
| Propagation | Cuttings Side Shoots |
| Difficulty | Needs more light |
Amazon Frogbit
| Scientific Name | Limnobium laevigatum |
| Synonym | L. stoloniferum, Hyntria stolonifera |
| Common Name | Amazon Frogbit |
| Origin | South America |
| Growth Rate | Medium – Fast |
| Area | Floating |
| Light | Bright |
| Temperature | 72-75°F |
| Propagation | Runners |
| Difficulty | Easy – Careful with light |
Anubias Barteri
| Scientific Name | Anubias barteri var. barteri |
| Common Name | Broadleaved Anibias |
| Origin | West Africa |
| Maximum Height | 12 inches |
| Growth Rate | Slow |
| Area | Any |
| Light | Any |
| Temperature | 72-82°F |
| Propagation | Side Shoots |
| Difficulty | Easy |
Banana Plant
| Scientific Name | Nymphoides aquatica |
| Common Name | Banana Plant |
| Origin | Southern United States |
| Maximum Height | 6-8 inches |
| Growth Rate | Slow – Medium |
| Area | Any |
| Light | Bright – Strong |
| Temperature | 68-86°F |
| Propagation | Plantlets |
| Difficulty | Moderate – Lighting |
Cryptocoryne Parva
| Scientific Name | Cryptocoryne parva |
| Common Name | Tiny Cryptocoryne |
| Origin | Sri Lanka |
| Maximum Height | 2 inches |
| Growth Rate | Slow – Medium |
| Area | Foreground |
| Light | Very Bright |
| Temperature | 77-82°F |
| Propagation | Runners |
| Difficulty | Challenging |
Christmas Moss
| Scientific Name | Vesicularia montagnei |
| Common Name | Christmas Moss |
| Origin | Brazil |
| Maximum Height | 3cm |
| Growth Rate | medium |
| Area | Accent Plant |
| Light | Medium |
| Temperature | 68-82°F |
| Propagation | Spreads along flat surface |
| Difficulty | Easy |
Pygmy Chain Sword Plant
| Scientific Name | Echinodorus tenellus |
| Common Name | Pygmy Chain Sword |
| Origin | North, Central, and South America |
| Maximum Height | 4 inches |
| Growth Rate | Moderate – High |
| Light | Moderate – High |
| Temperature | 72 to 80°F |
| Propagation | Runners |
| Difficulty | Easy |
Cryptocoryne Wendtii
| Scientific Name | Cryptocoryne wendtii |
| Common Name | Cryptocoryne wendtii |
| Origin | Sri Lanka |
| Maximum Height | 14 inches |
| Growth Rate | Medium – Fast |
| Area | Background – Midground |
| Light | Moderate – Bright |
| Temperature | 75-82°F |
| Propagation | Shoots – Runners |
| Difficulty | Moderate because of lighting |
Vallisneria
| Scientific Name | Vallisneria spiralis |
| Common Name | Straight Vallisneria |
| Origin | New Guinea |
| Maximum Height | 39 inches |
| Growth Rate | Medium |
| Area | Background |
| Light | Bright |
| Temperature | 64-82°F |
| Propagation | Runners |
| Difficulty | Moderate |
Are Live Plants Bad For Betta Fish?
The only way live plants are bad for betta fish is if you choose the wrong kind.
Betta fish are known to jump out of their aquarium so you want to keep a lid on your aquarium. This also means that you want to monitor any plants that you put in your tank and make sure they aren’t going to grow so tall that they push the lid of your aquarium open.
Other than that you just want to put plants that will survive with the same temperature and light levels as your betta fish.
Betta fish need their water to be between 75-80″°F so choose plants in that same temperature range.
Betta fish live in light during the day so you can choose plants that are fine in any light, moderate, or bright.
You should have one watt of light per gallon of water for your betta tank, a little less for LED lights, and a little more for fluorescent lights.
Conclusion
I hope we showed that live plants are good for betta fish as long as you do it right.
Just be honest with yourself. Are you going to take care of your live plants or are you going to be too busy during the week?
If you are going to be too busy then just get fake plants or decorations, as long as your betta has somewhere to hide. If you get fake plants make sure they are silk or don’t have sharp edges as this will hurt your betta fish’s fins.
