# My setup



## rafa2k (Dec 3, 2012)

I set up the 10g tank and started the cycle roughly two weeks ago. This is going to be a sorority for my 5yo daughter. So tonight I went and bought 5 females at Petsmart, put them all in QT. 

What do you guys think? Any suggestions?

I would have like to put the pictures inline, but don't know how


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## sandybottom (Nov 29, 2012)

nice diy filter. you been watchin youtube? lol. i made one out of a small tums bottle. i think more hiding spots and some more plants and you're there. i always wanted to start a sorority, and see if they would take to small cichlid rocks.


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## rafa2k (Dec 3, 2012)

Thanks, do you have suggestions for hiding spots? 

Yes that filter is straight from Joey's DIY on YouTube  It looks really cool in motion


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## Nothingness (Oct 11, 2012)

Small terracotta pots work well...maybe some rocks and def more plants which provide cover incase a chase or 2 ensues in the tank. And also a tank takes upward of 2 months to cycle...Just be aware that you will be doing an fish in cycle once you add those ladies in there. Be sure to research this method properly while its cycling to keep a bunch of happy ladies.


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

Nice choice of fishlets, very pretty!


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## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

Your going to want more cover in there. What I have in my 26g sorority is a ton of plants and a piece of driftwood with some java moss and java fern attached to it. It works perfectly. My suggestion is to cover about 70% of the substrate and have floating plants for cover while they are at the top and you will be just fine! Plus the live plants help with cycling and keeps water quality pretty good without the tank being cycled, which I assume yours will not be when you add the girls.
Just a suggestion, good luck!


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## rafa2k (Dec 3, 2012)

Thanks so much for the suggestions everyone. I like the terracotta pots idea. I am definitely planning to get more plants. I got all the plants petsmart had at the moment. I wanted to get some pvc pipe and build a obstacle course type pattern in the middle and cover the pvc with Java Fern. Not finding any JF anywhere though.

Does anyone have any suggestions for ordering plants online?


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## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

Aquabid from mikeswetpets. That's where I got most of mine he's great and plants always look good!


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## babystarz (Aug 3, 2012)

Yeah mikeswetpets is great. I also have ordered from these people and had a great experience: http://www.aquariumplants.com/

Some frogbit for surface cover would be fantastic. Anacharis can also float or be planted (or both at the same time when it gets really long!) and it's a good oxygenator so it'll suck up ammonia very efficiently. My fish love terra cotta pots and driftwood caves with the entrances planted (see my avatar lol).


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## Silverfang (Mar 25, 2011)

I see a pair of CT girls! Extra jealous!

But you've been given good advice, more plants, and some hide outs. Driftwood, terracotta pots, PVC pipe pieces work well too! Some people will use mugs or glasses turned on their side.


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## rafa2k (Dec 3, 2012)

Ok, so I have a total of 5 Anacharis plants in the tank right now. The smallest terracotta potters I found were 4 1/2" which turned out to be way to big to have more than 1. So I'm hunting down some 2 1/2" that I saw on dollartree.com. I also ordered 4 Java plants and 3 Java Moss to add. Should be here some time this week. 

More pictures to come


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## OrangeAugust (Jul 23, 2012)

Get some Fanwort as a floating plant (also known as "Frill Plant" at Petsmart). I'm a huge fan of fanwort. hehe. It's similar to hornwort but I think it looks a lot nicer. It's very pretty and delicate-looking. Bright green. My female loves weaving over and under the stems. You could also tie it to a rock or weigh it down some other way and it looks nice. Unlike hornwort, you can plant it in the substrate, but mine didn't start growing roots until I had really good lighting, so I find weighing it down or letting it float is best. It tends to shed a lot, though, but it's easy enough to vacuum it up with a gravel vac.


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## rafa2k (Dec 3, 2012)

Thanks OrangeAugust, I'll check it out. Lately though the plants at my petsmart have looked horrible. They look like they're dead already and the Anacharis looks like black mold. I really don't like the Petco plants either, they never look good. 

I will check a couple of other Petsmart stores in the area.


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## rafa2k (Dec 3, 2012)

Quick update:

The girls are looking really good. They are still in QT in their little mason jars but they are swimming about nicely and seem pretty active. They are eating their pellets just fine and I can't wait to see them in their new tank. I have to keep forcing myself to let them be, they need more time in QT and their not mine, they're my daughters. Have to keep saying that over and over


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