Newbie Here Looking For Some Much Needed Help.

[scogginsfamily06]

Hey all this is my first post here. I've been doing a lot of reading which has been helpful but slightly confusing to me. I adopted a betta from my mom who knew nothing about them and frankly didn't have much time for any pet including a fish. So she game me her 2 gallon tank no heater or anything some food and that's it. So I Googled betta info and here I am .

Anyway, so before my questions a little information on what I have so far.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Aquacultur...-Pets/10312734
The aquarium I purchased today.


The Heater
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Tetra-Heat...ndingMethod=rr

and a little sticker that tells the temperature.


After the reading I've done here are my questions.

I want to do a NPT I love the look and I think it would be cool to give my little dude something like what he would be living in naturally.

1. What do I use on the bottom? I've seen soil (if so what kind cause I've seen some people saying that they use Miracle Grow Organic). I've also seen sand and gravel. I personally love the look of sand on the top weather soil is under or not I don't care just want to do it right.

2. How many other creatures can I put in the tank? I saw people getting snails, Ghost Shrimp, and Glowlight Tetras in small schools. Without over crowding how many can I safely put in there?

3. How many plants are good for a 10 G set up? How many of what kinds and tons of recommendations would be awesome.

Those are my only questions but any other information you want to give I'm more than happy to listen to recommendations.

Sorry for it being so long I just want to do right by Captain Swimmy (aka my little dude)

[eatmice2010]

For a 10g i would stick with one other small fish and 3 shrimp or one snail. In my 10 i use sand and have water sprites, java moss, some grass and another leafy plant that i cant think of its name.

[scogginsfamily06]

Originally Posted by eatmice2010

For a 10g i would stick with one other small fish and 3 shrimp or one snail. In my 10 i use sand and have water sprites, java moss, some grass and another leafy plant that i cant think of its name.

Cool thanks...

[Aoicat]

It looks like you're off to a pretty good start there. Just make sure you keep a close watch on the temperature because I've heard of people having problems with preset heaters like that.

1) I use sand in my tank because I also like the look of sand best. I'm no plant expert, but it seems to be working ok for me. I've got bamboo and a couple small Anubias in my tank right now.

2) I'd be very cautious about putting anything else in with him until your tank cycle has been established. Start testing your tank water to see when the chemistry has stabilized. Until then I would probably do about 50% water changes twice a week. You wouldn't want to kill off his potential friends because the tank wasn't ready to support them.

[scogginsfamily06]

Originally Posted by Aoicat

It looks like you're off to a pretty good start there. Just make sure you keep a close watch on the temperature because I've heard of people having problems with preset heaters like that.

1) I use sand in my tank because I also like the look of sand best. I'm no plant expert, but it seems to be working ok for me. I've got bamboo and a couple small Anubias in my tank right now.

2) I'd be very cautious about putting anything else in with him until your tank cycle has been established. Start testing your tank water to see when the chemistry has stabilized. Until then I would probably do about 50% water changes twice a week. You wouldn't want to kill off his potential friends because the tank wasn't ready to support them.

Thanks is there any kind of heater you'd recommend that one was the one I got for his current set up so he wouldn't freeze. Do you use only sand and if so what kind? I will totally make sure all is right before I get more little ones to put with them. They're happiness and health is key to me.

[Aoicat]

The heater you have is fine for now, just keep an eye on your thermometer to make sure it's keeping the tank at a proper temperature. I would suggest switching to an adjustable one at some point since they're a bit more reliable, and you can adjust it to the temperature you want. The sand is just plain black aquarium sand, and it's all I use for substrate. I'm pretty new to live plants myself. Sand isn't necessarily the best substrate for live plants, but I've been doing good with the bamboo for 3-4 months now. The Anubias are new so I'm waiting to see how well it does.

[eatmice2010]

I wanted to post a pic of my tank to give you an example