Creating a Beautiful Betta Fish Vase

It doesn't take a lot of work to come up with a great vase that has a plant and a beautiful Betta fish in it. Maintaining this set up is easy! It makes a great center piece for the dinning room table or for special occassions (including weddings and showers). Or you can put it on a shelf and add to the decor of your home.

Other Betta containers can look wonderful as well, but there is something about the fish, the plant, and the easy care that makes this set up unique. After all, with just a little work you can have a fish and a plant that you don't have to remember to water!

You really have a great deal of choices when picking out this set. But a few helpful hints will make it easy to figure out what you want.

The Vase-Check out the fish section and the craft section. Often times there will only be a few choices in the fish section, however you can find great vases in the craft section. You will want a vase with a neck, unless you choose not to have a plant. If you look for the "Create-A-Floral Arrangement/Create-A-Fish-Vase" 11 inch vase it will have a plastic plant tray and directions right inside.

Glass Pebbles-These little rounded, glass stones are sometimes called gemstones, glass pebbles, glass stones, or decorative stones. They can be found in the fish section, but you have more color choices in the craft section. Pick out a color that pleases you or accents your fish (either by going with your fishes colors or contrasting with your fishes colors).

Water-While you can leave your water out letting the chlorine evaporate, and you can buy bottled water, it is easiest to buy water conditioner or water prep. This is makes it so you can get water from your tap, add a little of the gel like fluid, wait a few minutes and then add your fish.

Betta Fish-It is easiest to buy male betta fish. They are usually prettier, larger, with more decorative fins. Sometimes you can find a female, and every now and again you can find a fancy female. Either one will work. Just note that you should only put one fish in a betta bowl or jar. You can add females to community tanks, but they are often beaten up. Males can be added to community tanks if you are careful. You shouldn't have fish that will pick on his fins, and you shouldn't have large finned fish in with him or he may start a fight. Bettas should never be put together (even a male and female) unless you know what you are doing for breeding them.

The Plant-You can only use a Peace Lily (spathiphyllum), a dieffenbachia, or a philodendron. Other plants have a hard time living in just water or can be deadly to your fish. The Peace Lily is fairly easy to find. It has long, somewhat slender leaves and gets a white flower with a large conelike center, and a single flower petal. The philodendron is very easy to find and it has heart shaped leaves and grows in vines. It comes in green and verigated coloring. The dieffenbachia is harder to find. It grows tall with long leaves and is white and green. Usually you can find fairly small versions for a few dollars.

The Ribbon-You can choose to add decoration to your vase by wrapping a ribbon around its neck. It adds a finishing touch. I recommend a color that goes with your arrangement (fish and pebbles) and having it a wide ribbon of 3/4" or more. You can choose how you want to tie it or wrap it around the neck several times and tuck your ends in.

*The whole set up, including fish and fish supplies, will cost you about $20.

Set up is the hardest part of having this fish/plant combo and it isn't that hard, so anyone can do it.

1. Rinse the glass vase and the glass pebbles (or gemstones). This gets rid of any glass particles, dirt, or dust present and makes for a cleaner environment for you new fish.

2. Soak your plant roots. It isn't easy to get them clean, but if you soak them while getting the rest of the set up ready you will have an easier time getting the dirt out of them.

3. Add the stones or pebbles to the bottom of the dish. These are there to help trap leftover food, dirt, and waste. They help keep the bowl clean and are important for maintaining a good environment. They can also add beauty to your piece.

4. Fill the vase with water. The water either needs to be bottled water, have set out for 24-48 hours, or be conditioned. Water conditioner can be bought in any fish store. It will either call itself water conditioner or water prep. The purpose of this is to remove chlorine, which is harmful to the fish, from the water.

5. Add the fish. This can be a little tricky. It is best to scoop him gently from his little cup with a fish net. This is usually easier said then done, but what that does is keeps his old dirty water out of the new and clean water.

6. Cut a whole in your plastic plant tray, or plastic cup. This should be an 1.5-2.5" depending on how big your plant is. You will be sticking the plants roots through the whole.

7. Fishish rinsing the plants roots. Gently press them through the whole on your cup or plant tray. Place the plant in the water. Note: if the roots are long you can trim them. Don't take up your whole jar with the plant. You want lots of room for your fish.

8. Add glass pebbles to the tray or cup if you wish for a more decorative look. You can also add ribbon or lace around the neck of the vase for a completed look.

Caring for your new fish and his or her plant isn't hard, however there are a few things you need to do.

Daily-Each day you should gently lift up the plant and place 4-8 pellets of food (depending on food size) on the surface of the water. You want to do this gently because the pellets will sink and then not get eaten. Also, paying attention to whether the fish eats all the food or not is important. If he or she doesn't eat all the food then you are over feeding them and this can make the water very dirty, very quickly.

Weekly-Each week lift the plant and set it aside. Stir up the stones on the bottom of the bowl (without beating the fish up). This will get the gunkies in the water. Then dump about half the water out and add fresh (that is chlorine free). This is an easy way to keep your water clean, and put the least amount of stress on your fish as possible.

Monthly-Once a month, do a complete water change instead of a partial water change. To do this, lift the plant out and set it aside. Pour some of the dirty water into a bowl (or the cup the betta originally came in). Then gently scoop the betta up and place him or her in the cup. Dump the vase. Rinse out the stones and gently wipe the walls of the vase. Fill with fresh water (that is chlorine free). Replace the betta and the plant.

*Note-If you are one who likes to give treats then fresh, frozen, or freeze dried blood worms or baby brine shrimp can be given. It is best to do this right before a complete water change so as not to have left overs floating around and dirtying up the water.

That's all it takes to have a beautiful set up. It can grace your table, decorate your events, or set lovely on a shelf or the top of a table, bookcase, or dresser. Maintaining it is easy, plus you don't have to remember to water it. A betta fish can go without eating for about a week, in case you forget you don't have to feel bad. They nibble on the roots of the plant! Now you can have all this beauty any place you desire. It also makes a great addition to your desk!