A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 FYI: plants that live in water

plants that will live in water include Chinese Evergreen, Jade plant, Dieffenbachia, Dumbcane, English Ivy, Hemigraphis, Wax plant, Satin Pellionia, Philodendron, Wandering Jew, Black pepper, Celebes pepper, Stephanotis, Tradescantia & Arrowhead. (Reference: AZ Master Gardener Manual )

Although it isn't included on this list, I've had several stems of Pothos growing in a water vase for about a year & they seem to be perfectly happy there!

I notice Stephanotis on the list & was wondering where I could get some, cuz I LOVE Stephanotis!
AHA!

I am curious as to why you would want to grow plants in water instead of soil? Do you have a hydroponics set up?

Although I have not tried all the plants your source lists as those that grow in water, my experience is the handful I have tried root easily in water, live for awhile, sometimes a long time, then rapidly deteriorate.

Cricket, Because it looks nice! (When I get around to taking a photo of it, you'll see how nice it looks!) It's just a break from having potted plants sitting around everywhere. Some people put Beta fish in their water plant vase, & my daughter has those under-water frogs in hers. (No, I don't have a hydroponics set-up... I don't even know anything about that sort of thing!)

If the water starts looking murky or the roots get to looking either brown or sort of mossy, I wash them off, thin out whatever looks dead, scrub the vase & change the water. (And sometimes cut everything off & restart them.) That's never more often than every 2 or 3 months, though.

I actually know so little about plants, that I think my success with some things is due to dumb luck... & when I find out what the rules are, none of this stuff will work for me anymore! (I used to be great at catching fish, until Hubby showed me how to do it right... & they stopped biting!!)

While there are many plants that root better in water than they do in soil, I understand that not all of them can survive that way permanently.

What more reason do you need!

I'd add spider plants.
I have several of these in assorted glass vases and they keep going and going...

this is an interesting thread - thanks for starting it, Patty!

I also have had pothos in water for many years now. Even have some very healthy ones in 2 betta fish vases. When I clean the vases, I trim the roots and it seems to help keep the plants healthy.

Well golly Lynne, Do you have a digital camera? We need to see a pic of the water vase GARDEN you've got going! (Especially the "healthy ones" with the Betas.)

You're right, Spider plants do fit into that category... I just haven't done that in a while. (Maybe we can get Cricket hooked on water plants!)

Hey Patty

I've gotta run out now, but will try and post some pics when I get back.

Oh, and another good one for water is lucky bamboo!

COOL. I'm so excited. I HAVE to do this. I have a spider plant that sprouted babies not long ago, I think I'll take one, stick it in a jar with water and get a fish!! I'm SO happy I rad this. Fish and plants...why didn't I think of that? FUN FUN

OK - as promised - my plants living in water,
these both have pothos in them:

One of my betta vases - the fishy is new -
just got him 2 days ago, and haven't named him yet:


This was a birthday gift from a girlfriend a few years ago.
She got it because I collect hummingbird items,
and the turquoise glass (my favorite color) has a hummer on it!


I'll post the next 2 in the next post
so it will be easier to load the pictures...

Here are some lucky bamboo in more turquoise vases -
I just can't get enough of plants or turquoise!
This is on a baker's rack in the kitchen:


and... a hanging rooting jar on a door in the kitchen with spider plant
and turquoise glass beads in the jar, of course :

That is pretty and a good idea. I think I will "idea borrow" this one. Would'nt this look great with colues all winter when we need color. and purple passion vine and and..LOL!!!!

Amber, Spider plants & Pothos are OK plants for Betas, but please take a close look back at Lynn's photo & notice the water level in her vase, & do yours the same way. Betas go to the top of their container & BREATHE AIR, so if the vase is too full of water your poor little guy will be swimming upside-down in no time! I'm glad my batteries were dead so I couldn't post a photo of my Pothos vase, cuz after seeing yours I think mine is SICK! ha ha!

Some of your containers have inspired me, so I'm going to: some of these myself! (Time to go shopping!)

Hey, doesn't that root jar fall off when you open & shut the door? (Hmmm... doesn't look like it, I guess!)

Hi Patty ~

What an extremely informative post you've made, and I agree with EVERYTHING you've said!!!

No need to do this at all, though she is certainly welcome to - it's just that you have completely said everything/anything I would about this subject , and I am in total agreement with you about those who post with animosity about the betta vases. So long as there is adequate air, as you've stated, and you clean them out frequently enough, and feed the fish (I use TetraMin granules) they should live for at least a few years in these vases.I've had one for almost 2 years in one, and have given many as gifts that are still going strong!

Well, I am definately glad you posted all that! Bunch of help. Now that I'm thinking about it, I think I will use a pothos myself, I think cos it's more of a vine, it wouldn't fill the vase as much and leave more breathing room for my fish, Maybe the spiderplant would take up too much room being leafer? I'm not sure but I def. don't want to kill the bata. (I had batas as a kid, and yes, they will kill each other...) But I have a ton of pothos that I could easily take a few peices off of.
(First time trying to quote...hope it works) Can I get these vases at any store...and what do they look like? I don't think I've seen one.
Thanks again for all the information. (I've printed it all to take home for reference) I really excited to get this thing going.

Have you ever seen vase's like this?????

Collaspable Vase\'s

Collapsible Wonder Vase

I found a link on how to make a beta vase.
web page

Sorry, I dunno if that worked. I'll try again.
http://scsc.essortment.com/betafishvase_rhpv.htm

Amber - all the crafting stores sell these vases.
I usually get mine at A.C.Moore, just because it's convenient and I can use my weekly coupon for it, if it's not on sale - I find the coupon makes it cheaper than when it IS on sale.

Amber, I got my vase (like the 1 in Lynn's 1st photo) at Walmart. Craft stores (such as Michaels) might have them as well. I think they're pretty common. Good luck with it... let us know how it goes!

Aha! This is something I haven't done except when trying to root something, but y'all are right, they are pretty. I've got this vase... Just plain tap water? Any fertilizer at any time?

if you put the fish in it, you have to declorinate the water, and you don't need fertilizer because the fish "fertilizes" the water for you. but you have to change the water regularly.

if you want to make a betta vase, make sure you research the proper care of bettas first. remember, its a living animal, and while i know we're focused on the plants here, i have owned bettas for about 15 years and i've heard of some horrible stories regarding those vases.

make sure the vase holds at LEAST a gallon of water. i have one that holds a gallon and a half. do not fill it up with rocks or glass pebbles, about an inch in the bottom is plenty.

it should go in a warm area, as bettas are TROPICAL fish and like it warm. they are also CARNIVORES and need to be fed on a daily basis. they love frozen brine shrimp, freeze-dried blood worms, and many will eat betta pellets. feed them a small amount, about 5-8 pellets, or a chunk of frozen brine shrimp the size of a half of a pea. feed them once a day, 6 days per week. do not feed on the 7th day, as it gives their digestive systems a chance to clear out.

the water has to be completely changed at least once a week. set out a large bowl or pot (cooking pot) and fill it with tap water. add a water dechlorinator and let it sit open overnight to come to room temp and let the chlorine evaporate.

the next day, fill a small bowl with the old dirty water, scoop the betta out with a net, and put him in the temporary "holding" bowl. pour the old dirty water out of the vase and scrub it well with a clean wash cloth. swish the gravel around and rinse the whole thing several times. refill with the new water, and add the betta back.

the reason this must be done is that if you don't clean the water completely once a week, the bowl will start to go through a cycle. the ammonia from the fish waste and uneaten food will start to accumulate and will cause the fish undue stress. though bettas can and often do survive this, its VERY hard on them and they LOOK very sick, they lose their color, they get thin, refuse food, and just act sick and pathetic.

all of this also applies to African Dwarf Frogs. ADF's are social, and you should have more than one, but they need about a gallon and a half PER FROG, so while they do prefer still water thats heavily planted, a small vase is not a good home for them. try a 5 gallon fish tank with lots of plants.

other than that, the feeding and cleaning is the same for ADF's.

please keep this in mind before you put one of these vases together. its not just a plant, there's a live animal in there too that needs its own care.

Margaret, you don't have to dechlorinate your tap water. Chlorine dissipates naturally when exposed to air. Since you also want the new water to be the same temperature that the Beta lives in, letting the water sit overnight accomplishes both goals.

Fish food made for Betas have all the nutrition they need, but the brine shrimp & blood meal can be a special treat that I'm sure they're happy to get, just as you like a candy bar or an ice cream cone once in a while! (Why spend money on things that aren't necessary, especially if you're on a tight budget?)

I'm sure that our systems would clear out nicely if we abstained from eating for one day out of the week too, & I'm sure we wouldn't die of starvation in a single day... but, I don't think I'd be very happy with such a regimen! (If the over-all chemical balance of all living things didn't rely on a continuous cycling of nutrients, digestive systems wouldn't be designed the way they are!)

I hope you'll enjoy your Beta vase setup!

hi!
nice catch on the carniverous and oxygen!

i actually found this site because i originally was/am a bit of a fish fanatic ...and so, here's some ignorant two cents:

-lots of these plants will root in water, but not last longer than a year?
-some of these plants will survive floating but not provide anything beneficial for a fish?
-from the fish perspective, the golden pothos is nearly the best plant, as it will eat the nitrate result of the ammonia cycle (not to say it will consume all of it, but!) and will thrive well in aquarium/fish water provided only the roots are in the water, whereas a plant such as the bamboo, etc,..are eventually looking for substrate to last more than two years (or at least to not "pollute" the water for fish?)

sorry to ramble, i know the longevity isnt important to many....thanks for the great site..im off to look around...

oops, sorry!
im too nosy..

if a city or region uses chlorine in the water, than "letting it sit" will make it safe for fish.

however, many/most larger municipalities use chloramine rather than chlorine in the water. chloramine will remain even after "sitting" and so fish concerns would include a good dechlorinator like "amquel" or "prime" or such?