Saturday, March 19, 2011

Hydroponic Peace Plant with Beta Fish

When I was outside yesterday, my neighbor called me over to see what she made.  It was a Hydroponic Peace Plant.  Have you seen those?  I made one years ago, but had forgotten about them.  Hers was beautiful! I wanted one again.

I had a repair man here fixing my washing machine, and as soon as he left I went shopping to get the materials I needed to make one.  I already had the clear vase and rocks, but needed the male Beta fish and a Peace Plant. I had trouble finding a good plant, but finally found a gorgeous one at Home Depot.  I got the fish at WalMart.  They had quite a selection, most had beautiful colors.  The males are the most vibrant, females are more bland in their coloring.

Pretty with a turquoise ribbon 

 Isn't he gorgeous?

This would make a nice gift
I put a blue ribbon around the vase, but it should have a wide, wired ribbon with a big, pretty bow.  It's off to Michael's today.  They have tons of ribbon, and should have a good color that will match my new fish.

If you haven't seen these, there are a few plants that will thrive in water only, and don't need dirt.  (Although they are in pots with dirt when you buy them.) The fish gets what it needs from the roots of the plant, and the plant gets fertilizer from the fish droppings.   Betas are perfect for this, I don't know if other fish would work, but I know only one Beta should be in the water, because they will kill other fish and other Betas.  They are so beautiful and graceful. 

I think this would make a nice gift, but I would give a smaller one.  Minimal care - occasionally add water, once a day add Beta food.  I think after a while the fish gets all he needs from the roots and you can stop feeding.  That will become apparent if/when he doesn't touch his food.

If you are interested in making one of these, you can use a smaller vase and smaller plant.  If I ever do this again, I'll make a smaller one.   Mine is 38 inches tall, from the bottom of the vase to the top of the tallest flower.  Too tall for my dining room table.  It almost hits the chandelier.  

The only hard part - be prepared for this! - is getting all the dirt off the roots.  It took me forever, and I had to take the plant apart, break intertwining roots, used my kitchen faucet sprayer, pulled little dirt-embedded baby roots off, and finally got tweezers to reach spots my fingers couldn't reach.  What a pain!  A smaller plant would have fewer roots, and they wouldn't be so entwined.

This photo is from the link I found with materials/directions on the web.  I was going to add the link, but now I can't find it.  It had great directions, so if you're interested, you'll have to Google for it yourself.  I'm usually a good researcher, but this one stumped me when trying to find it again.


 Hydroponic Peace Plant with Beta Fish

I've heard during my lifetime how there is nothing new.  When I saw my neighbor's plant, I thought of that.  Once you get to be my age, there is little that's new.  Things just recycle - you enjoy them, you forget about them, then they come back.  Sometimes they are a little different, but you remember them, and they feel familiar.  This one was exactly like the one I made long ago, and it brought back some great memories of people and places.  I guess that's why I immediately wanted to put another one together.

From Me and My Dog, Katie, have a great weekend, everyone! : )

12 comments:

  1. I used to love chia pets. Thought they were a great idea! Got one for christmas years ago. loved that little thing. it broke and this post reminded me of how much I really liked it!

    I think this is a good idea too. I kill plants and fish so probably not so good for me. But a good idea nonetheless.

    Cheers!

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  2. Most plants improve the quality of the air in your house.

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  3. I Love it!! I think I will work on getting one for our place as well. Love the bow...its perfect!!

    Thanks for sharing!!

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  4. That is so cool! I had never seen anything like that before. I probably should try that. I usually never water my peace lily's enough :)

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  5. That is a very beautiful arrangement. I love the peace plant anyway, and the striking color of the fish is perfect for the overall effect.

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  6. Very pretty, and I think Katie likes it too! Love the color of the fish.

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  7. It is beautiful to look at, and I am sure good for the air, but I wonder how the fish likes it. Of course, you said they kill their own kind so how do they make baby fish? Just sayin... :)

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  8. The fish would not like it, because you need to feed betta fish (a floating food like bloodworms) and provide it with access to the surface of the water. They have evolved a special organ that allows them to breathe air, which is why they can survive in a small amount of water. In addition, keeping the fish from the surface of the water means you don't get to see the cutest thing male bettas do: build bubble nests for any young they might father.

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  9. Hydroponic along with proper grow room ventilation really does wonders to plants. Lovely ones you got there. Good job!

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  10. Growing crops hydroponically gives us better yields. However we as proud pet owners and hydroponic growers too make a big mistake by bringing our pets into our grow room. We should at any cost protect our grow room by keeping our pet dogs away from hydroponic crops. Pet dogs can create problems for hydroponic plants in our hydroponic garden.

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  11. NO NO NO! Please don't do this people! Please do some research on the proper care for betta fish. They "can" survive in a crap vase setup such as this but they are not happy at all and they do not thrive. You should keep them in a 2.5 gallon (at the least!) aquarium that is heated and filtered with lots of hiding places such as silk plants, caves and rocks. Please don't do this! Honestly, these vases are ugly anyway. A proper aquarium looks a billion times better anyway.

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  12. How often do you change the water i just bought one over a week ago and are worried about changing the water killing the plant and the fish??? Help

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