Now that I have the lamp I mentioned in my post below, I want to try a few things before gutting the 10g. First, I want to extend my observations of cichlids by creating discreet safety spaces—caves. Second, I want to thin the existing environment so I can get my head around the space I have to work with.

Since this whole interior is going away—and I can creatively destroy it as I please—I simply bought small 39-cent terra-cotta pots, cracked them with hammer and screwdriver, filed down their sharp edges and corners, and tucked them in the pebble substrate. I removed one of the three pieces of driftwood to open up the space. One or two of the plants attached to that driftwood I pruned and attached to small rocks, tucking them around the caves to make them seem more natural—if terra cotta caves can be considered natural.

The top photo is the tank yesterday. The bottom photo is today. Not much difference, but you'll note more open space in the front of the tank and a mild quality of receding in the center, drawing the eye to the caves nestled in vegetation.





Soon, I'll be selecting rocks and plants for the new interior. First up—substrate selection. After that, a CO2 plan.