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Lily Vase Series 7. Live Plant,
Rotting Risk The idea of putting a plant and fish together is an idealistic one. Not only do the instructions of the lily vase setup ignore the care of the betta, they also ignore the care you must give to the plant. Bettas, like all aquatic life, can only undergo so much stress. All fish have a "stress layer" that helps fight infections, bacterial growth and other problems that can occur. When put in the vase, due to the lack of oxygen, food and other general care issues, the stress layer breaks down making your betta suseptable to many other conditions like bacterial and fungal growth. This might not present a problem at first but due to the lack of care to the plant, you have now created quite the can of worms. Every time a leaf turns brown on top, a root dies. Because the cluster of roots is so thick you might not see this and because the instructions tell you not to clean the vase, the rotting root goes into the water and begins to grow bacteria and fungus. These new growths then begin to attack your betta. Having a weak stress layer, the betta now can get ick, fin rot and many other problems that will kill him. Not a pleasant thought, is it? Removing the plant and clipping roots will not solve
this problem as the bacteria is already present in the water. By removing
the plant and cleaning the vase regularly, you will help your betta
build his stress layer again and help fight against any infection he
might contract. Read the Next Article
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