(Click or space for next!) Hi guys! My betta fish, Lapis, passed away a week or so ago (he lived to be 4 years old!) and right after that I was wondering what I’d even do with my tank. I didn’t really want another betta, even though Lapis was amazing, I just wanted to try something new, but there wasn’t a ton of options for a 5 gallon tank besides a betta. So I used all of my leftover birthday money ($150) and bought and set up a 10 gallon planted tank using pretty much everything from my 5 gallon and then bought the last few materials I needed and they’ll deliver soon, for now this is okay XD I’m going to make more update projects as I go! Next steps: Let the tank cycle for a week or two, it will be a sped up process since I transferred a lot of beneficial bacteria from my 5 gallon tank. Install sponge filter and new light when they arrive Add Fluval Bio Stratum when it arrives (I’m going to add it on top of the sand, and I’ll try to mix them a little, just bc I need more substrate plus this substrate is good for plants and I don’t mind if it mixes with the sand, it should look natural.) Add Amazon Sword when it arrives (ordered it along with more root tabs and community pellets, all from aquarium co-op since I’m out of root tabs and need food for my Gourami and Tetras when I get them.) Then just make sure the tank is all cycled and then I’ll add the Ember Tetras first, (they have the lowest bioload plus other reasons I don’t feel like typing XD) wait a week or two for them to settle, then I can get my Honey Gourami! I’ve done my research, my tank should be around 70-80% stocked, and I’m going to do weekly water changes plus I’m getting a sponge filter meant for slightly bigger tanks so the tank will be over filtered (I love over filtering my tanks, it makes me feel safer lol!) and I won’t have to worry about bioload or anything like that, from all the research I’ve done I think my fish will thrive and not feel cramped at all! Honey Gouramis are also known to be super peaceful, meaning they get along with all sorts of tank mates, they’re known to get along with Tetras/Ember Tetras too which will be perfect! :D If you actually read all this, kudos to you!
Photos taken by me obv, aquascape by me I guess? Not sure what else to credit XD Song is Chug Jug With You I was practicing with my hardscaping skills, I think it looks pretty nice! I have two pieces of driftwood and like three pieces of seiryu stone, along with a ton of java fern that multiplied and one anubias in the back XD other plants are a couple red wendtii crypts, water wisteria, vallisneria, and a little bit of Monte Carlo sprouting here and there. Like I said above, I have an Amazon Sword on the way and I also plan to get some floating plants like either Amazon Frogbit or Red Root Floaters.
