Peace Lily in Water With Betta Fish Updated

Peace Lily in Water With Betta Fish

The Popular Peace Lily Vase

The gear up generally consists of a clear glass vase stuffed with a Peace Lily and a Betta fish. The lily'south roots hang down into the water below where the Betta is kept. Sometimes the vase will contain marbles or gravel on the bottom. Oft the organisation contains instructions stating that the fish can live past chewing on the roots of the establish and only requires weekly water changes with dechlorinated water.

I wasn't going to write an commodity about the dangers associated with keeping a Betta in a Peace Lily vase because I felt it was already so well documented. In that location are websites, magazine publications and fifty-fifty petitions circulating to stop the selling of these vases. I myself haven't even seen a Betta vase sold since 2001. I thought by now everyone knew better… Well at least everyone with some experience in Betta keeping.

Then this morning I stumbled onto one of the many online aquarium forums I frequent and discovered someone had posted a website selling Bettas in vases. That alone didn't surprise me. I've seen people selling a lot worse online including Bettas kept in acrylic (v x 7) pic frames and Bettas dropped into clear vinyl bubbles sewn into the front of a pocketbook as a live fashion accessory. What surprised me was that experienced Betta keepers and fifty-fifty breeders were endorsing this set-up as a legitimate fish habitat. Sure, the majority involved with the discussion were renouncing the utilize of the vases just still at that place remains folks out there who are not only misinformed just defending and encouraging the organization. The danger of this is not to the experienced Betta keeper who knows improve but to the new hobbyist who takes a breeder'due south word as gospel. Worse withal, it sends a message to retailers that there is still demand for these vases. As long as there is a public desire to own them, there volition exist some shop that will provide them.

A basic understanding of environmental scientific discipline and Betta splendens biology will quickly make apparent the dangers of using a Peace Lily vase (or equivalent) as a Betta home.

First and foremost, the labyrinth organ is essential to survival of all Bettas and is i of the defining characteristics that make them unique and interesting to breed. The labyrinth organ allows Bettas and other Anabantoids to gulp air from the h2o'south surface. This is essential to their survival and a product of development. In the wild they frequently inhabit shallow rice paddies where dissolved oxygen levels are low. Gills alone wouldn't allow them to get the oxygen they demand and so they surface to take it directly from the temper. Bettas always use their labyrinth organ fifty-fifty when the water they inhabit is rich with oxygen. To deny a Betta directly admission to the atmosphere is certain death and will be quickly hastened in a vase situation where there is no aeration in place. Substantially, the lily blocking the h2o's surface will drown the fish. This reason alone is enough to condemn the use of Betta vases but if you need more than reasons; I've got them.

Allow'due south talk near water quality and proper tank size. Generally, a Betta's dwelling should incorporate no less and so one gallon of water only three gallons or greater is preferred. Small volumes of water quickly build concentrations of toxic ammonia caused by fish defecation, normal gill function and rotting establish matter. Fifty-fifty at low concentrations of .25 ppm or less, irreversible damage to Bettas' gills and fin tissue tin occur. Some may argue that plants can remove these harmful byproducts only information technology'south important to understand that aquatic plants primarily remove nitrate (the final byproduct of nitrifying bacteria) and may not be every bit effective against ammonia. Additionally, it should be mentioned that Peace Lilies are terrestrial plants and cannot survive well when their roots are fully submerged. Over a period of time these roots will breakup in the water and increase the rate ammonia is produced.

Occasionally, yous'll hear a pocket-sized basin or lily vase compared to the rice paddies where wild Bettas are naturally institute. There's no doubt many of us have been told stories of the dreadfully shallow and muddy puddles where wild Bettas endure their tortured being. Those poor wild ones could only exist so lucky every bit to exist housed in such lavish conditions every bit lily vase, right? Deplorable, this is but some other story steeped deep in misconceptions. It'due south true that the rice paddies of Southeast Asia tin become quite shallow and yeah, even dirty but it's important to understand that this environment consists of a complete ecosystem. During parts of the year rice paddies contain a small quantity of water simply is fed from a much larger body. It is teaming with nitrifying leaner and is constantly being refreshed and replaced. Aquarists strive to recreate these conditions in their home aquariums but are never able to fully reproduce what nature has supplied. Vases and other small bowls are nigh impossible to maintain. They frequently experience fluctuations in temperature and pH and may contain toxins like ammonia, nitrite and nitrates that in nature would otherwise be stable.

Betta Vase Photo by Zara

Photo by Zara

Temperature is some other gene contributing to the dangers of keeping your Betta in a Peace Lily vase. Bettas are fully tropical and require water heated between 76˚F – 80˚F [24.4˚C – 26.6˚C]. These temperatures must be kept stable at all times and shouldn't fluctuate more then 2˚F or one˚C in a 24-hour flow. These restrictions are virtually impossible, non to mention impractical, to maintain in a vase. Few people keep their homes heated to nearly 80˚F solar day and night so usually an aquarium heater is necessary unless at that place is a place in your domicile that meets the temperature requirements.

What virtually feeding on the Peace Lily roots?

Suggesting a Betta can survive on plant roots is ridiculous.

Bettas are carnivores and they require a diet high in poly peptide complete with a multifariousness of vitamins and minerals. They cannot survive on constitute roots nor tin they survive on microbial bacteria living on the roots of these plants; not even if the little pamphlet that came with the vase says they can. Bettas require a varied diet the best of which include insects, insect larvae, worms and small-scale crustaceans like alkali shrimp and mysis shrimp.

I know this has been a lot of data to digest at one time merely I know information technology more then disproves the myth that a Peace Lily vase is a suitable home for a Betta. Heck, it's not even a suitable home for the lily. Put your lily in soil and your Betta in an aquarium and enjoy them both. They volition both be healthier for it.

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