A fishy for my Grandma

[LadyVictorian]

As you guys recall it was thanks to my grandma that I got Copernicus and thanks to her I am allowed to breed and have more fish because she told my parents straight up that if it makes me happy it will help me through my bad days with depression. She also pointed out to my mother that when she wanted to breed horses she didn't stop her and said if you enjoy doing it no matter how much money you throw at it every penny was worth it.

Well since grandma had been coming over to see my fish a lot lately she always comments on how nice it is to see them swimming around in their beautiful plants and how peaceful they are. Recently while getting new plants she came with me to buy them because she enjoys plants being a gardener herself and I think during the winter she misses plant shopping and has been learning about aquatic plants just because. Well I saw a glass 5 gallon tank and said "You know I want to get Cappy a glass tank kit because I don't like the acrylic one anymore." The main reason being the rounded corners which make it too easy for my to lose my fish and freaks me out a lot. My grandma answered with this "Well what are you going to do with the one you have now?" "Maybe throw it out or give it away." "Well could you give it to me i would like a betta."

I just about jumped for joy, I knew my grandma got bitten by the betta bug when we went to The Betta Shop and she told me she had no idea fish were so beautiful. Then when she started looking at aquarium plants because she wanted some as her underwater garden she could take care of during the winter. She had also been asking me a LOT of questions about my setups like what the filters are for, how to cycle the tank, how often I have to clean them, how high are my heaters set to, what I feed them, everything.

So now I want to get a little setup going for her and wondered what sort of plants will do good in natural sunlight? Also should I do a snail and betta combo in her five gallon?

[ZubinBetta]

Hi LadyVictorian, it sounds as though your grandma is hooked! You are lucky to have MNBettaShop so close. What a joy it must be to visit there when it is white and frigid (and cold!) outdoors. How much "natural sunlight" would her tank be getting? I have heard that natural sunlight might be good for plants but that it isn't so good for the bettas. Just a thought. Keep us posted with pictures when your grandma has her tank all set up.

[LadyVictorian]

Her house is pretty much a small greenhouse, all the windows get sunlight directly through them during the day. I figure we could either put it in her living room on her side table near her chair where she sits, in her kitchen in the corner where she spends a lot of her day since she cooks traditional Hungarian food (She's from Hungary) for our family, or in her bedroom though she is only in there at night so unlikely in her bedroom. Plus i worry the sound of the filter wouldn't be good for her weak bladder.

The living room wouldn't get a whole lot of direct sunlight which is why I worry about it as far as live plants go. In the kitchen it would get sunlight from her sliding glass door which is a healthy distance but it's enough that I have seen plants do well there before. Also from the window above it though about half the light would be blocked by the trees so it's seldom blinding.

[ZubinBetta]

I keep my betta tank in my kitchen, because it has the most traffic, and I know bettas enjoy as much interaction as they can handle. For your grandma, a betta tank might be nice in her living room, with a second tank--with the majority of the plants (but no betta)--in one of the more brightly lit rooms. A fishless plant tank would need far less maintenance than a betta tank and would be a lovely green spot throughout the year. Or she could have a tank with a hood/light on top, to provide illumination for plants in a betta tank. You'll want to research just how much light is optimal for the plants, while not being overwhelming for the fish. But such projects are fun to contemplate!

[LadyVictorian]

I currently have a fully planted 10 gallon tank of my own and all my plants have been doing great as have my betta not cared about the brighter lights for the plants so long as it's heavily planted. Though my plants are under a hood light and not in the sun so I am not sure which of my plants I can take clippings of and grow new plants for her. Also not sure if all my plants are low maintenance either since I tend to fert and add CO2 to my tank to keep my plants growing fast and staying healthy.

[sandybottom]

i put anacharis, marimo and java fern in a one gallon east facing window with the white opaque privacy film and everything is pearling. and my marimo has a regular habit of floating mid afternoon until just after it gets dark.there are no fish in this tank unless you include glass ones.you could maybe put some cool privacy film on the back of the tank. and do the east facing window thing. they have some cool rice paper looking ones at home depot. gonna try it on my 40 gallon, as it will also be in front of a east facing window. african water ferns are beautiful, same care as java fern. you could really get her going and introduce her to emerged plants

[LadyVictorian]

Oooooh i just might get some african fern for my tank too, that looks very nice though I don't think there is much room left in my tank O.o

[sandybottom]

i have seen it at petco. the dreaded tube plants that i ( knock on wood)have had really good luck with. minus the acclimation issues. a couple of leaves die, a couple turn funky colors, and then they snap out of it. i've been waiting for their new plant shipment for a week. totally gonna pick some up.

[GoodMorning]

You are so lucky to have such a wonderful grandma :) ....I miss mine :(