Live Plants and Floaters
Betta Gillfriend care rules: one betta per tank. Mirror or flare practice: one 2-minute session a day, with at least 2 rest days a week. Train: up to 10 minutes a week.
Live plants are the closest thing to a betta's home turf. Wild bettas live in shallow, slow, thickly vegetated marshes, ditches and rice paddies (UF IFAS FA212), and a 2025 preference study found bettas chose natural plants (Elodea) over artificial ones when given the choice. Plants also soak up nitrogen waste, shade the surface and give your fish places to rest, patrol and build a bubble nest. In short: plants are un-be-leaf-ably good for bettas.
Tip: You don't need a green thumb. Start with 3–5 "unkillable" plants from the beginner list below and add more once they grow.
Why live plants help
- Cover and calm. Bettas in furnished tanks showed more natural behaviour than bettas in bare tanks, and barren tanks were linked to abnormal behaviour (PMC11704571).
- Waste control. Growing plants take up ammonia and nitrate. They're a helper, not a replacement for cycling, testing and water changes.
- Resting spots. Bettas like to lounge on leaves near the surface. A broad leaf close to the top is a "betta hammock".
- Soft surfaces. Live leaves don't snag long fins the way hard plastic can.
- Natural feel. Floating plants dim the light and break up the surface, much like the shaded marshes bettas come from.
Beginner plants that are hard to kill
| Plant | Light | How to plant | Why bettas like it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anubias (e.g. Anubias barteri, 'Nana') | Low | Tie or glue to rock or wood. Don't bury the rhizome (the thick horizontal stem) or it rots. | Wide, tough leaves = perfect resting shelf. Very slow-growing. |
| Java fern (Microsorum pteropus) | Low | Tie to wood or rock; don't bury the rhizome. | Tall, soft cover. Snails and most fish ignore it. |
| Java moss and other mosses | Low | Tie to decor or let it drift. | Soft carpet; great for baby brine shrimp hunts and fry. |
| Cryptocoryne (e.g. C. wendtii) | Low–medium | Plant roots in the substrate; root tabs help. | Bushy cover near the bottom. May "melt" after moving, then regrow. |
| Marimo moss ball | Low | Just drop it in; roll it now and then. | Fun to push around. Check new ones carefully (see the warning below). |
| Vallisneria | Medium | Plant the roots; keep the crown above the substrate. | Ribbon leaves that reach the surface. |
| Hornwort, Elodea / Egeria | Medium | Float or plant. | Fast growers that soak up waste. Can shed needles. |
| Pothos (a houseplant) | Room light | Roots in the water, leaves out of the water. | Big nitrate sponge; roots make a jungle gym. Keep leaves away from pets and kids who chew plants. |
Warning: In March 2021, Fisheries and Oceans Canada confirmed invasive zebra and quagga mussels hitchhiking on marimo moss balls sold in Canadian pet stores. Buy from reputable shops and inspect new moss balls. To get rid of one, DFO advised freezing it for at least 24 hours or boiling it for a minute, then sealing it in a bag for the garbage. Never flush or compost moss balls, plants or their water.
Floating plants
Floaters are the betta equivalent of a sun umbrella.
- Good choices: red root floater (Phyllanthus fluitans), Amazon frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum), water sprite floating, and small amounts of duckweed (warning: duckweed is very hard to get rid of once you have it).
- Leave open water. Bettas breathe air at the surface with their labyrinth organ. Keep at least a third to a half of the surface open. A floating ring or a loop of airline tubing makes a tidy "corral" for floaters.
- Roots and resting. Dangling roots are a favourite hangout and a common bubble-nest anchor.
- Light and lids. Floaters block light, so plants below may grow more slowly. They also like a lid to keep humidity in, which you need anyway for jumping.
Plants and Canada's waterways
Warning: Never release aquarium plants, snails, fish or tank water into lakes, rivers, ponds, drains or storm sewers. Under Canada's federal Aquatic Invasive Species Regulations it is illegal to introduce an aquatic species into a body of water where it isn't native. Fisheries and Oceans Canada's advice is simple: "Don't let it loose."
- Several common aquarium and pond plants are invasive in parts of Canada. Ontario lists European frog-bit as a restricted species (you can't buy, sell, keep or transport it there) and names Brazilian waterweed (Egeria densa), hydrilla, parrotfeather, salvinia, water hyacinth and water lettuce among invasive aquatic plants.
- European frog-bit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae) looks a lot like Amazon frogbit. Buy labelled plants from reputable sellers.
- Throwing out extra plants: DFO advises drying and freezing non-native plants in a sealed bag before putting them in the garbage, not the compost.
- Pour old tank water onto land (a garden or lawn), away from drains and water bodies.
Plants to skip
- "Lucky bamboo" with leaves fully underwater. It's a land plant (Dracaena) and rots if it's submerged.
- Many "aquarium" plants sold in tubes are actually land plants (e.g. mondo grass, some "Brazilian sword" or "purple waffle" plants). They slowly rot underwater and pollute the tank.
- Sharp or stiff fake plants. Do the pantyhose test: if it snags nylon, it can tear fins.
- Plants treated with pesticides. Some nursery plants are sprayed with products that harm shrimp and snails. Lab-grown "tissue culture" pots are the safest bet.
Planting and care basics
- Rinse new plants and remove rock wool from pots. Look for snail eggs and hitchhikers.
- Quarantine if you can. Plants can carry snails and, rarely, fish pathogens. Many keepers keep new plants in a separate container for 1–2 weeks.
- Lighting: 6–8 hours a day on a timer is plenty for low-light plants. More light without more plants = more algae.
- Fertiliser: root feeders (cryptocoryne, sword plants) like root tabs. Use liquid fertilisers sparingly and choose shrimp-safe ones if you keep invertebrates. Ask your shop or follow the label; more isn't better.
- Trim, don't toss into the wild. Remove dying leaves so they don't rot, and dispose of trimmings as above.
- Melting is normal. Many plants drop leaves after a move as they adjust from farm to tank. Give them a few weeks.
Tip: Indian almond (catappa) leaves aren't plants that grow, but they're a natural-style addition: they tint the water like tea and give bettas a cozy leaf-litter floor. See Leaf litter.
Quick plant quiz 🌱
- Q: What part of an anubias or java fern should never be buried? A: The rhizome.
- Q: How much of the surface should stay open? A: At least a third to a half, so your betta can gulp air.
- Q: What do you do with plants you don't want anymore? A: Dry or freeze them in a sealed bag and put them in the garbage. Never let them loose!
Sources
- https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/FA212 (wild habitat: shallow, densely vegetated water)
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40626325/ (bettas prefer natural Elodea over artificial plants)
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11704571/ (furnished vs barren tanks)
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10936361/
- https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/ais-eae/prevention/dlil-nlrp-eng.html (Don't let it loose)
- https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/sor-2015-121/FullText.html (Aquatic Invasive Species Regulations)
- https://www.ontarioinvasiveplants.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/OIPC_BMP_AquaticInvasives_March2025_FINAL_WEB.pdf
- https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/160354
- https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/publications/ais-eae/stop-be-aware/index-eng.html (British Columbia)
- https://www.canada.ca/en/fisheries-oceans/news/2021/03/invasive-mussels-found-in-moss-ball-products-in-canada.html (2021 moss-ball mussels)