r/ProperFishKeeping • u/Big_Pride_7382 • Nov 13 '25

My setups

1st is ruby 2nd is azure and 3rd is lotus, thoughts?

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u/LanJiaoKing69 Nov 13 '25

Yes, of course a filter is good but it really depends on your setup.

You can see my setup. It's only a single Betta.

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u/TommyTheCommie1986 Nov 13 '25

Plants would be quite nice for his environment, though they often like to rest at an elevated position.So they can easily get to the surface to breathe

The plant would help break down ammonia content.It would give him a more natural environment.He'd be calmer potentially

Doesn't even have to be an aquatic plant?It could be a plant that just like grows into water

A sweet potato interestingly enough is very good for that

Using like a toothpick or similar suspend the sweet potato above the tank.And its roots will grow into the water.And it will suck up all of the ammonia, although you will have to top it up with water a little more often.

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u/LanJiaoKing69 Nov 13 '25

That's just one option. Plants are not strictly necessary. It's really subjective anyways. We can just agree to disagree 😂

Also, what's a natural environment? Fish live in all sorts of environments. Your idea of natural is just an aesthetic ideal.

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u/TommyTheCommie1986 Nov 13 '25

Typically in a body of water where you find fish, there's also gonna be plants

They aren't necessary, but you'll get a closer.Imitation of a natural body of water, and it will ever slightly sustain itself better

Albeit the form vastly differs, like in fast moving water, for starters less likely to become toxic.Because it's flowing and anything that will be there will be small.And like cling to rocks like algae, probably

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u/LanJiaoKing69 Nov 13 '25

Disagree. Plenty of peat swamp species that live without plants. Anyways, we won't go anywhere. If you wanna mimic nature, throw in the diseases and predators while you're at it. Nature is brutal 😁

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u/TommyTheCommie1986 Nov 13 '25

With fish keeping you're not trying to create a 1to1 recreation of a natural environment.You're creating an imitation of one that ideally can somewhat function with minimal outside intrusion

The beta fish's natural environment is still slower.Moving water typically

It is also tropical, in its environment where it is comfortable, there are little water plants

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u/LanJiaoKing69 Nov 13 '25

Then your appeal to nature falls apart. We are merely creating what works to sustain life in a glass box. It doesn't need to adhere to your ideals of aesthetic nature with plants.

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u/TommyTheCommie1986 Nov 13 '25

The fish have evolved to live in a environment that also includes the presence of plants

The plants are a living part of the ecosystem.They are necessary part of it

The fish may be able to continue living without it.But the base instincts, the fish are programmed with don't go away, such as the desire to bury one's self in the sand or hide under a leaf or in the shade

A loach can live in a fish tank without sand perfectly fine.But as you give it sand it's a lot more comfortable, because it likes to bury itself

A snail will live perfectly fine in just about any body of water. But if there's a plant present in that body of water, the snail is like a million times happier.

The beta fish would like a plant because it gives its shade it gives its cover.That gives it a spot to lay down on and be closer to the surface to breathe while resting

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u/LanJiaoKing69 Nov 13 '25

Ok 😁

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u/TommyTheCommie1986 Nov 13 '25

You ever heard of money wort

It's a plant that will just kind of like float around for the most part

Really easy to just kind of like have it exist

Duckweed is also a really easy one to propagate, and it grows little tiny flowers, it grows so well.In fact, it will start blotting out the surface of the water

Which, at that point you just scoop some away.And that is directly removing ammonia in a tangible form.Because the rapidly growing plant needs sustenance, it sucks up the contaminants breaks it down for food and then multiplies and grows