Creating a mini rice paddy - landscaping tips?

[finley]

Apart from actually planting rice(?!), what are some good ways to re-create the look and feel of an actual rice paddy for our little Bettas?

What are the best...

- substrates?

- plants?

- tank mates?

:D

[Chuckie]

hmm, maybe that sacred bamboo?

:)

[fuzzy_dragonfly]

You need an aweful large shallow tank. Fine dark gravel/sand sustrate maybe some of that lucky bamboo, but I'd be more inclined to buy pond plants from the local garden centre.

Tank mates would be snails but not much else.

Maybe a stray guppy but definately not if you intend on breeding the bettas.

[Callatya]

In a tank or not so much? Do you want a tank to be aquascaped in that stepped rice paddy look or do you want a pond style arrangement?

[finley]

It's going to be a regular tank. I just want them to have an underwater view that resembles their underwater view in nature - or better . So it's not so much about terracing - which is the view that we have of rice fields from above the water - but more about how things would look if you were snorkelling(?!) in a rice field!

Mind you, rice paddies aren't really Bettas' natural habitat - just something man-made that they have adapted to. So come to think of it, what does their real natural habitat look like?

Fin.

[Callatya]

I believe they are swampy, low flow areas of streams, that sort of thing. There are pictures around from collecting trips that show shallow areas of water full of short reeds and grass.

So maybe some sort of mud/dirt look substrate, grass/reed-like plants (val? though not ideal, looks too discussy) around2 or 3 sides, some thin twisted driftwood pieces and possibly some dried leaf litter?

[Bettarazzi]

I dunno. I can't imagine a betta biotope looking particularly pretty. Val isn't really going to make anyone think rice paddy, I don't think. To get the effect I think you'd need to actually grow rice.

[Callatya]

Could you get away with those stick-like pond plants? You really need the plants to break the top of the water.

[fuzzy_dragonfly]

Too many obstacles could damage a long finned bettas tail, as most of us have experienced as some point they are very delicate and easily torn on sticks, rocks and plastic plants.

Keep in mind bettas are pretty much domesticated. The fish itself looks nothing like it's wild ancestors and are most likely just as content in a small planted aquarium as a rice paddly look alike bioscape. Even plakats are more showy than a wild spendens.

[axoloto]

Rice is very easy to grow, one can find instructions on the net using google. but I cant see any benefits for our delicate bettas.

Most instructions require the use of mud, and i think it is probably the same for reeds.

Maybe some sort of artificial lookalike would be more appropriate to achieve the results you want.

[Bettarazzi]

Rice is easy to grow? Hmm... might have to look into that. My mother is always asking me to keep something edible in my tanks. She wants me to swap the bettas for barramundi. But rice growing in the betta tanks could be the happy compromise. :)

[lambo]

Wouldn't a rice paddy be full of algae?

Rice is easy to grow? Hmm... might have to look into that. My mother is always asking me to keep something edible in my tanks. She wants me to swap the bettas for barramundi. But rice growing in the betta tanks could be the happy compromise.

Water sprite is edible.

[malicious_muz]

found a nice site for natural betta habitats in the wild

http://www.plakatthai.com/bettahabitat.html

hope this helps if your still adding to the tank :applaud:

[finley]

Thanks!

Right, so dense strappy weed with very little water it is then! Cool.

[Chuckie]

Maybe a tank packed with lots and lots of val? My angels and kribs live in such tanks. It's awesome to see the angels weaving through the plants And val is so easy, you start with a couple of bunches and given the right conditions it will overrun the whole tank! I am always pulling clumps out. Let me know if you need any.

[Lyarlla]

Hmmm, a close up...

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8KkXrFp2bZM/SCgU.../s400/rice1.jpg

I wonder if growing wheat would be similar? Youd have to grow it tall first out of the water but its so easy and fast to grow...

[Peter16]

I wonder if growing wheat would be similar?

I threw some wheat seeds in my coldwater tank, and within a couple of days thay had germinated with leaves and lots of roots developing.