Betta in an aquarium with sand?

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wackorash84

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Nov 3, 2010
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Hi,

I'm in the midst of cycling a 7.5 UK gallon aquarium in preparation for a betta sometime early January next year. I'm using aquarium sand that I bought from the LFS over the weekend.

I've been reading around about the suitability of using aquarium sand for an aquarium housing a Betta and there seems to be a pretty mix message out.

Interested to gauge your response and experience? Might need to tear down my setup if I cannot use aquarium sand.....
 
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BettaFishMommy

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Mar 17, 2008
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Sherry N.
sand is just fine for bettas. i have my mr betta in a lil 2.5 planted tank with play sand and he has had no issues whatsoever since i set the tank up this spring.
 
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wackorash84

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Nov 3, 2010
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sand is just fine for bettas. i have my mr betta in a lil 2.5 planted tank with play sand and he has had no issues whatsoever since i set the tank up this spring.
so what's the scaremongering stories about Betta scavenging and disturbing the sand causing them to also eat the sand and causing constipation? I feed my fishes peas once a week, so concerned that the should I get a Betta with my current aquarium setup, it might be a bit fatal since they might need to scavenge around for the peas.

I initially thought that with the Betta coming from the paddy fields of Thailand would be used to the thick sandy/muddy conditions.
 

BettaFishMommy

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Mar 17, 2008
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have you ever watched your betta pick food off the bottom of the tank (gravel or bare bottom)? they are very precise! 'i see food, i snatch food!', lol.

the fearmongering may be due to people not being aware of what actually causes constipation in bettas and blaming the sand when they weren't feeding properly to begin with.

even before i planted mr betta's lil tank i had the sand in there and there was a lot of open floor space for him to pick food up off of. not once did i even see more than three or four grains of sand get kicked up when he 'hunted' for his food.

many many people keep their bettas over a sand substrate with no problems whatsoever.
 

wackorash84

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Nov 3, 2010
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UK
have you ever watched your betta pick food off the bottom of the tank (gravel or bare bottom)? they are very precise! 'i see food, i snatch food!', lol.

the fearmongering may be due to people not being aware of what actually causes constipation in bettas and blaming the sand when they weren't feeding properly to begin with.

even before i planted mr betta's lil tank i had the sand in there and there was a lot of open floor space for him to pick food up off of. not once did i even see more than three or four grains of sand get kicked up when he 'hunted' for his food.

many many people keep their bettas over a sand substrate with no problems whatsoever.
I feel so much more assured already. :thumbsup:

After reading various websites during the past few days, I thought that I may need to tear my new 35 litres aquarium down and set it up all over again with gravel.

How many inches of sand is considered ideal? I've added around 1.25 inches on average. Sort of thinking I might need to remove some and make it an inch on average?
 

BettaFishMommy

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Mar 17, 2008
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Sherry N.
your sand depth sounds fine. if your tank isn't planted then just use a chopstick when you do water changes to stir the sand up a bit to keep anerobic gas pockets from forming. but with that shallow a sand depth i don't think you'll have any gas pockets.

my betta's tank has between 1.5 and 2 inches of sand in it (depending on plant placement in the tank) and i don't worry about gas pockets at all, and can't stir the substrate due to the heavy planting.

see: (the tank has a lot more vals and is literally a jungle since this pic was taken, lol)

2 (6).jpg

2 (6).jpg
 

wackorash84

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Nov 3, 2010
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Nice pic! Your aquarium looks brilliant, healthy and lively.

I've not really dwelt in the realms of planting but looks to add some plants to a corner of the new aquarium for the Betta. That was also the other reason why I chose to go for sand substrate this time.

My current 90 litres has all fake plants and decor as I was a little concerns that I wouldn't be able to manage the plants. But this 35 litres for the Betta is much smaller so thought I might as well give myself the challenge with some plants.

Attached a picture of day 3 of setup. It's a little cloudy as I just did a 70% water change as the water hasn't been clear since the setup eventhough I rinsed the sand like 10 times and left it overnight in a bucket before adding to the aquarium. So thought I'd remove all the dust/toxins/crap that's floating about in the aquarium today. Plan to do another 70% water change tomorrow again and this time I would be able to add 30 litres of my aquarium water from the 90 litres and should be able to kick start the cycling to a little more advanced stage.

IMAG0194.jpg
 

BettaFishMommy

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Mar 17, 2008
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i would definitely add some plants to that setup! a couple of anubias, some crypts, maybe a few vals along the back...... all easy care plants.

what is the wattage on your light? on the lil tank i showed you i'm running a 13 watt spiral cfl bulb.
 

wackorash84

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Nov 3, 2010
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UK
i would definitely add some plants to that setup! a couple of anubias, some crypts, maybe a few vals along the back...... all easy care plants.

what is the wattage on your light? on the lil tank i showed you i'm running a 13 watt spiral cfl bulb.
cool, will keep in mind the anubias and some crypts.

It's like a fluorescent tube. It's a product of HAGEN called Sun-Glo. It's 15w.

I've got a plant that I had quarantined for the past few days in my quarantine aquarium. It's got like a terracotta rubber tube keeping it together with a bare bottom.

Would you remove this rubber tube before planting it in the sand or to just plant it as it is since it'll keep it all together?
 
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