BettaBotanicals

11/27/2024

Pumilio Gold Dust Bastimentos arrived this morning and are exploring their Peruvian Blackwater Leaf Litter and Seed Pods! Their leaf litter bed is largely composed of Cashew Leaves, but a selection of Cacao and Guava are also present - in their wild habitats a more diverse leaf litter bed fosters a more diverse microfaunal population - so mix it up!

https://bettabotanicals.com/collections/peruvian-blackwater-botanicals-south-america

11/25/2024

Thank you for building something bigger with us! 🍂🥃Starting now, everything is 20% off until 11:59 PM on Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024. Whether you’ve been eyeing our beginner variety packs, leaf litter, manzanita wood, or our new eco-inspired merch, TINT24 is already applied at checkout—no extra steps needed!
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🚀 USA + Global Shipping 🚀
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11/14/2024

So many ecosystems! Some are new, sold are old, and some are about to get freshly planted 👁️🌿👁️ All of these ecosystems are what I’m coining as the gallery side of the Ecosystem Garage. More established and serving a different purpose than the grow out tanks for the Sp. Jade, Hendra, Bimac Fry, and Macrostoma. Lots of projects underway! 🍂
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Ready To Build Your Ecosystem? Check out BettaBotanicals.com for sustainable leaf litter and seed pods to use with your critters. 🦎🐸🐟
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11/03/2024

The elder Hendra got a little ecosystem revamp today. I went a smidge overboard on the amount of new materials that went in so I moved the filter closer to the surface to get some more agitation. I said goodbye to the frogbit as the roots infiltrating the substrate caused issues when pruning. Added in some manzanita as if a tree had fallen in, along with melastoma which add to that “eroded riverbank” feel. The leaf litter is Texas Live Oak, Climbing Swamp Fern, and Pygmy Guava leaves (not yet available, but soon!)

I found a few fry in the tank which I got out into a grow out tank. The addition of Melastoma will make baby catching a nightmare 😵‍💫

10/30/2024

Few topics in the aquarium world ignite debate quite like the definition of a Biotope Aquarium. How authentic should an ecosystem be, and where do we draw the line on habitat accuracy? After speaking with fellow hobbyists, it’s clear that sourcing fish and plants is straightforward—but when it comes to botanicals, wood, and that true detritus-laden Amazon substrate? Let’s just say, not everything is easy to find!

This is where Inspired Biotopes come into play. In my latest blog, I dive into what’s realistic and achievable for home aquarists, bringing clarity to the definitions we use and the ecosystems we create.

Clearing the muddy waters around the heated debate of biotope aquariums. Let's go beneath the leaves on the four kinds and how to make them.

10/28/2024

Our latest YouTube video explains Alex's order in-depth and introduces you to the three kinds of tinted ecosystems we keep in this botanical aquarium hobby.

is one of our latest Ambassadors to join the ranks of Blackwater, Biotope, and Botanical Method aquarium creators here at Betta Bo...

07/26/2024

🌱 1 month of growth on the plants added to the vivarium!
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My AC unit for the garage arrived yesterday so I’m looking forward to getting that set up, with the exhaust tube needing a hole drilled into a wall 😈. From there I’m going to test the temperature and humidity in the viv to make sure we are back on track for acceptable conditions for the dart frogs.
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…eventually Betta Botanicals won’t be in the garage…I just gotta plan the layout for the space we will move it into. I’ve got more fruit fly cultures going than ever before using NEHERP’s premade media, and for now I’ve just been feeding the excess to the fish. But it’s good practice and routine keeping 9 cultures alive!
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Ready To Build Your Ecosystem? Check out BettaBotanicals.com for sustainable leaf litter and seed pods to use with your critters. 🦎🐸🐟
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07/13/2024

I am having so much FUN building this dart frog enclosure 🤪🥳 I have a few more hurdles to jump through like adding in more clean up crew ……and a not so small task of insulating the attic space above the garage to help mitigate the space getting 90+ degrees during the next heat wave 🥵
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Current stats I’m seeing is 95-99% humidity and temps from 70-84. Kind of a big temp swing? I have the reservoir for my mist king on a concrete floor so the short frequent mists each day help drop the temp in the vivarium.
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Plants from & & are all growing in amazing and we have definitely entered the mold and biofilm phase.
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Ready To Build Your Ecosystem? Check out BettaBotanicals.com for sustainable leaf litter and seed pods to use with your critters. 🦎🐸🐟
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06/16/2024

The evolution of this Foresta ecosystem has been a real treat to watch 🍂🌱 The blending of the terrestrial and aquatic environments, just like in nature, helps me to further understand the inputs of the forest canopy above to the botanical rich substrate below. I do go in and manipulate the environment…making sure certain plants aren’t being overshadowed by the ferns and moss. Placing a few of the decaying materials into the water column below.
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Ready to build an ecosystem? Check out BettaBotanicals.com for premium leaf litter and botanical solutions for your creatures.
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05/06/2024

After only showing sneak peaks of this tank via stories, it’s time to post! No deep dive yet - you’ll have to wait for the YouTube video to come out. This will be a South East Asian Biotope Inspired aquarium for Albimarginata, Chocolate Gourami, Brilliant Rasbora (rasbora einthovenii), and then I’m sure I won’t be able to help throwing in a fish here or there from the general region.
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I’ve added three Albi males as of this weekend and seeing such a small fish in a big tank is something I’m quite excited to showcase here 🍂 lots of plants from will be added and we’ll do an equipment deep dive on the gear from and how I curate it for a Biotope habitat (again you gotta wait for the YouTube video on that!)
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Ready to build an ecosystem? Check out BettaBotanicals.com for premium leaf litter and botanical solutions for your creatures.
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01/20/2024

I am in love with the moss that’s been encrusting the botanicals and wood in the vivarium. Watching this ecosystem evolve over the past couple of months has been a real treat - the springtails, plants, frogs, and biofilms are all growing in nicely. So much of my day to day is consumed with helping hobbyists build aquatic ecosystems (which I LOVE) but it’s been nice to be on the flip side of this and ask for help from experts in bioactive enclosures and reignite my wonderment.
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Ready to build an ecosystem? Check out BettaBotanicals.com for premium leaf litter and botanical solutions for your creatures.
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01/14/2024

Betta Hendra are a prime candidate for the botanical aquarium as their natural habitat is full of leaf litter, detritus, dark tannin stained water, and a low pH. We use macaranga leaves, jambolan leaves, catappa bark, and sterculia pods with these fish.
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Ready to build an ecosystem? Check out BettaBotanicals.com for premium leaf litter and botanical solutions for your creatures.
•
🚀 Free USA Shipping on orders $50+ 🚀
•
📩 Sub to Newsletter for Discount 📩
•
🌱

12/18/2023

From the bottom of my leaf litter layer, thank you for building your ecosystems with me! Bringing the final rounds of boxes to the post office tomorrow, and then hunkering down to implement old plans for this fish room that I just haven’t gotten around to!
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I am really excited to start recording a build series for you all and really get back to the educational content that this page was founded on. I’ll be revamping some themes on the website, releasing new merch and designs, and begin testing some cool new products for 2024. I couldn’t do this without you, and I’m excited for the cool ecosystem we will build next year together!
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Ready to build an ecosystem? Check out BettaBotanicals.com for premium leaf litter and botanical solutions for your creatures.
•
🚀 Free USA Shipping on orders $50+ 🚀
•
📩 Sub to Newsletter for Discount 📩
•
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