Paludarium + Betta = ???

[TianTian]

So I've seen a few pictures of Paludariums floating around the web and a few of them have fish in them! Here's an example:



Personally I think the idea is really neat(I'd love to give one a shot over the summer, actually), but what are y'all's opinions on them? Would a Betta be able to live in one?

[Nataku]

I don't see why a betta wouldn't be okay in one, so long as you made sure they had the appropriatte temperature, space and food requirements met. They should actually be quite good in them, considering compared to some fish, they don't require huge amounts of space.
I would say, if you were going to theme one with a betta though, to leave out the waterfall, or make sure that there is enough space away from it that the betta can safely swim without being pulled into the current... or build a buffer in to disperse the waterfall's impact. A paludarium themed after the tropical lowlands of southeast Asia (the native home of bettas) would probably be really cool looking, and definitely sounds like a fun project. If you do decide to try this project, I'd love to see pictures of it.

[dramaqueen]

The picture of it looks pretty cool.

[TianTian]

I really want to do it... actually, did I ever tell y'all about my dream hobby with Tian-Tian's tank? I wanted to start making a line of fish-safe aquarium themes, starting with the Paludarium setup. I've always been a fan of the natural look.

Southeast Asia, Nataku? Awesome idea! :D I was actually looking for an excuse to do an oriental-themed tank. Perfect combo of both!
Let's just hope Tian-Tian pulls through his recovery from his current case of ich... flippin' fish... :P

[Cody]

It is fine. You need to keep the water VERY clean, and make sure than any possibly amphibians will not try to eat the betta.

[TianTian]

Of course! I don't think I'd get any amphibians, actually. How about some nice, freshwater crab, instead? :3 Or maybe a freshwater hermit crab, built up on a bank.

I'll have to do some extra research on exactly what I want.

[dramaqueen]

I think doing research would be a good idea.

[TianTian]

Too true! I have until summer to get everything sorted out. Even though that's not too far away I don't want to rush into anything headlong and wind up with an expensive mistake on my hands.

Besides, I think it just might be the perfect mini-project to spend more time with my busy father. It's either a paludarium or re-installing the koi pond out in the backyard... paludarium just might be cheaper. ;)

[dramaqueen]

Yeah, it definitely would be cheaper.

[TianTian]

Yeah... though I DO miss having koi and giant goldfish out in the back (and my albino catfish, Tuna! I miss her! I raised her from a fry!).

We still have three giant goldfish that we kept for ourselves (they're about a foot long, each, just cruising in a temporary tank). I know my dad still wants to put the pond out back again (especially since he bought a duckling around Easter for my sister!). I've gone over a few designs with him about it...

But back to business. Paludarium (which is really hard to spell, haha). I think the southeast Asian theme would work best. What I might do is set up a sort of platform towards the back of the tank for land, or simply slope it down towards the water. Depends.