Should I buy an air pump?

[Kim]

First let me say that you got an AWESOME deal!

I wouldn't bother with an airstone, but I would definitely run a filter and cycle the tank (I strongly recommend a fishless cycle using pure ammonia), as you will definitely not enjoy doing 100% water changes on a 10 gallon! Clean water and stable parameters are the best gift you can give a fish :)

To prevent fin damage, I would wrap the filter intake tube with some nylon or slide a sponge over it (you cut a hole into a piece of sponge, then slide the tube into it). Also, you may want to consider baffling the outflow area depending on the strength of the current. As for decorations, basically anything non-toxic and smooth will be fine. Silk plants are preferable to plastic plants, which are often quite sharp, and driftwood, safe rocks, and flower pots can make great caves/hiding places. Live plants are another option, however, I wouldn't rely on them as the sole source of water filtration if you are new to keeping live plants (they have to be growing quite well to remove all the toxins in the water, and it can be a bit tricky to accomplish this at first).

Have fun setting up your new tank!!

[prettykitty123]

Thank you all so much for the helpful information. A friend of mine that worked at the store gave me a free Whisper air pump, but I have not used it. I figured I'd keep it just in case i needed it for a different tank of tropical fish in the future.

[Luxavior]

I would say it really depends on the betta fish for if you need an air pump or not.

My betta uses his gills quite often so he doesn't have to constantly swim to the surface for air while he sleeps or plays at the bottom, so I got him an air pump.

However while setting it up, I had tested it out using the airstone it came with and instantly threw the airstone away right after.
The airstones create too many large bubbles and completely disrupts the water's surface and it freaked both my betta and myself out.

Instead, I plugged the end of the air tube with a piece of gravel and poked one hole near the plugged end using a safety pin so that it'll create tiny bubbles and creates very subtle ripples.
It'll occasionally clog but it easily fixes by poking a safety pin in the same hole while the air pump is on.

I don't keep them on 24/7 though.
They get turned off a few hours before his bedtime so that they don't startle him when he occasionally floats around in his sleep (rather than laying on something to keep him in one spot)