Greetings All, I have a betta fish on my desk at work in a n...

Greetings All,

I have a betta fish on my desk at work in a non-filtered tank(regulary pwc's though). He has some gravel and a few small stones on the bottom and a fake plastic tree that came with it. I have some hornwort in my aquariums at home and wondered if I could break off a small piece and put it in his tank. I've read that hornwort is very hardy and very good at filtering some of the waste out of the water, so I'm hoping this would be a good thing to do. However, I am very fond of this fish so I don't want to do anything that might harm him. Thanks.

The hornwort will benefit water quality. However, make sure the Betta has a clear path to gulp air at the surface. Bettas have gills as well as an organ that lets them get oxygen from the air. He needs to do both, so water quality is important. You may want to consider adding a small, under gravel filter to help clean and oxygenate the water. A sponge filter will also work and will not require you to remove the gravel. If you do decide on a small under gravel filter, be sure to keep the gravel wet, and don't rinse it. The beneficial bacteria live there.