# 10Gal Planted Tank



## Nalgene (May 15, 2016)

So, I've set up a small 10 gallon planted tank about a month ago. 
It was cycled, sparsely planted, and ready for fish in just over a week (I used old filter media to cycle it). Everything is going well so far, aside from the Dwarf Hairgrass (I'll talk about that in a minute). I had put in the Dwarf Hairgrass, Dwarf Sagittaria, and Hottonia palustris, gave them a week to establish their roots, and then added a pair of Pygmy Gourami's and Cherry Shrimp (both from Shrimp Fever).
The Gourami's were a bit skittish for a while, so I added some Money Wart, Red Ludwigia, and last night I added a Sword, along with a pair of female Betta's (a little experiment, so see how they get along with the Gourami's).

The Betta's and Gourami's are being watched very closely to ensure there is no fin nipping, or fighting. So far the Betta's have only swam up to the little guys, looked at them, and swam away. The Gourami's chase each other around and sneak around between the plants, looking at the Betta's.





































The tank is messy at the moment, I've been vacuuming it every other day, and that has helped a bit with the dead plant matter and other little pieces of stuff that have found their way into it. The tank is also a tiny bit cloudy at the moment because I was messing around with the plants and arrangement of the tank last night.

The Hairgrass is acting very strange. It was growing well, bright green, then suddenly the longer pieces began to die off (algae also began growing on it). However, it is still sending out runners, I'm seeing new ones every day or so. So, I don't know what's up with that. Could it have been grown emersed and just be adjusting to submerged life? If anyone could chime in, that'd be great.

As it stands, it is a work in progress. I've got some sponge filters in the mail, and one of them will be going in here. Some almond leaves are on their way as well. I'm thinking about getting a few more Cherry Shrimp as well, since the two in the tank right now are never seen except at night. I've kept Betta's and Fan Shrimp together in the past with great success, but Cherries are much smaller, and may get eaten, so I'm on the fence about that.


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## Scotmando (Jul 10, 2011)

Love the little pygmy gouramis.


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## Nalgene (May 15, 2016)

There was an incident with the tank everything was originally in; it sprung a leak. So, I moved everything into another 10gal. 

I have received the almond leaves, made some tea with them, and have added a bit of it to the tank along with a leaf itself (if anyone is looking for some Indian Almond leaves, shoot me a PM. I'll send some your way). The betta's and the gourami's get along really well. They just sort of stare at each other. The betta's have been chasing the cherry shrimp around a bit, but the shrimp are too quick for them, and have been hiding under the almond leaf. 

I would really recommend some pygmy gourami's to anyone who is looking to set up a little nano tank. They're really curious and will start interacting with you at the glass once they settle into the tank. They love playing tag, and are beautiful to look at. 

In addition to the almond leaves, I added about another inch of substrate (regular gravel underneath the sand) when moving into the new tank and another piece of driftwood. I've removed almost all of the hairgrass, a couple of runners remain. 
I have picked up one of those Fluval CO2 kits, but I will have to replace the diffuser they provide. 

The betta's are too active to take any decent photos of, but the gourami's stay still just long enough in between darts.


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