BettaBotanicals

04/01/2025

03/22/2025

Busy Week in the Ecosystem Garage! Photographing and testing new products, admiring the broms in the gold dust viv, and welcoming into the family! Peep the last two slides for some habitat inspiration 👀
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We had new life in the Botanical Method Paludarium with our clown killis, but it was matched with the mysterious death of Enzo. He ate dinner like everyone else and then the next day he was 💀. I think a break from Domestic bettas is in store and after a reset on the tank I’ll introduce some new life.
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03/01/2025

Trust The Process 🍂🥃🌿 The sediments will settle as the biofilms establish, helping to lock them into the substrate and other surfaces. The plants will take hold. The wood will sink to its final resting spot. The currents from the filter outflow will position the leaf litter and detritus beds. Just give it time! The botanical method aquarium establishes itself in layers.
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02/22/2025

A botanical method aquarium is an ecological microcosm where natural materials—leaves, bark, seed pods, and wood—fuel biological processes that can influence water chemistry, govern microbial colonization, and nutrient cycling. It closely mimics wild aquatic habitats, where allochthonous inputs (materials from terrestrial environments) shape the underwater world.
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Unlike traditional aquarium approaches, which focus on pristine clear-water aesthetics and mechanical filtration, the botanical method leans into the natural processes of decomposition, detritus accumulation, and microbial proliferation. The aquarium becomes the largest filter. We do our best to foster this ecology within the bounds of a closed system, the aquarium.
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Bonus dart frog photo of the Ranitomeya imitator veradero because I’m obsession with them rn.
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02/20/2025

Every aquarist experiences ich (ichthyophthirius multifiliis) at some point. When it appears in the botanical method aquarium, we treat it no different. Temp to 85°F and dose medications. The use of botanicals does not replace medications. Do botanicals provide proventative properties? The science says yes. But, once a bacterial/fungal/parasite takes hold, grab medications.
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02/18/2025

An assortment of natural aquatic & vivarium botanicals are en route to to help their fans
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Alder Cones
Bael Tree Pods
Betta Botanicals Packs
Cinnamon Bark
Climbing Swamp Fern
Cacao Pods
Fern Fronds
Catappa Leaves
Magnolia Pods
Palm Pots
Ramshorn Pods
Sappanwood Pods
Texas Live Oak
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If you own a brick and mortar pet shop and want to carry Betta Botanicals then send me an email: [email protected]
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02/14/2025

You hit my breeding triggers 🫦🍂
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02/11/2025

Unlike traditional aquarium husbandry, which heavily focuses on mechanical filtration, the botanical method aquarium leans into the natural processes of decomposition, detritus accumulation, and microbial proliferation. The aquarium becomes the largest filter.
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01/19/2025

Elusive and I always get excited to see them

01/18/2025

Episode Two is Live on the Betta Botanicals YouTube Channel! We had a little scare with the Oophaga Pumilio Bastimentos Gold Dust, as the heat pack failed in shipping. There's also some great time-lapse footage of the clean-up crew on the leaf litter. The understory is ALIVE!

We had a little shipping accident with the Oophaga pumilio bastimentos gold dust (but they pulled through!) and I'm lucky if I see one Ranitomeya fantastica ...

01/11/2025

This week in the Ecosystem Garage 🥵
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1) Enzo from is thriving!
2) Lots of BIOACTIVE growth in all the frog tanks!
3) Testing some new products for later this year 👀
4) New Ecosystem Materials headed to Aquarium Zen!
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2025 is fast and furious! Next week on deck is Episode 2 of my dart frog builds and a little surprise on Thursday - ecosystem building got even better at Betta Botanicals!
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12/15/2024

Currently obsessed with Dart Frogs - Episode 2 will release soon, and then we can hop back underwater and look at my WORST aquarium and the strategies I used for 'cleaning' it up.

Above the tinted waters of the blackwater ecosystems we recreate is a terrestrial world full of life - dart frogs being my current obsession. Specifically Oo...

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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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.