Went down to a tropical fish store and got myself my first ever fish tank.
10 Gallon Tank
10 lbs of Sand (Rinsed it! Woo!)
2x Java Fern
1x Unknown Sword Leafy thing
1x Viney thing with tiny leafs.
1x Betta Fish
The pet store said I should add my water treatment, bacteria, plants (they came with about a gallon of water) and the guy at the shop said I should get a SSS or Sturdy Starter Swimmer to produce waste and get my Nitrites/Nitrates/Ammonia up (well, down eventually). I mentioned to him that I wanted to have a nice little Betta community tank with a couple Oto's, maybe a snail or two, and a school of tetras. He told me to get a sturdy fish like a Beta and put it in the tank after 48 hours of it running with the filter on, and I should be good to go til my tank stabilizes.
Here is where it gets tricky. My tank looks really empty with just the plants it has, no decorations, and my lonely betta who isn't sure if he likes the cup or the new fish tank I didn't know much about cycling until I already bought the betta and after the fact I did research and realized I am kind of in over my head as far as setting up a balanced ecosystem in my tank..
TLDR (too long, didn't read); I don't know what to get for my tank next.
More plants?
What kind of light fixture should I get?
Do I keep the glass cover with the filter hole cut in it, or buy a 40$ hood?
Is sand good, or bad? Should I put some rocks over the sand?
What kind of bottom dwellers, cleaners, socialites should I fill the tank with?
Tank Dimensions: 20x12x15 (or something like that)
Edit: I don't have my air pump + tubing + stone installed yet since the Betta doesnt really need it, but.. Do the plants? I left the store without tubing, but I can't believe I didn't think of this before lol.
10 Gallon Tank
10 lbs of Sand (Rinsed it! Woo!)
2x Java Fern
1x Unknown Sword Leafy thing
1x Viney thing with tiny leafs.
1x Betta Fish
The pet store said I should add my water treatment, bacteria, plants (they came with about a gallon of water) and the guy at the shop said I should get a SSS or Sturdy Starter Swimmer to produce waste and get my Nitrites/Nitrates/Ammonia up (well, down eventually). I mentioned to him that I wanted to have a nice little Betta community tank with a couple Oto's, maybe a snail or two, and a school of tetras. He told me to get a sturdy fish like a Beta and put it in the tank after 48 hours of it running with the filter on, and I should be good to go til my tank stabilizes.
Here is where it gets tricky. My tank looks really empty with just the plants it has, no decorations, and my lonely betta who isn't sure if he likes the cup or the new fish tank I didn't know much about cycling until I already bought the betta and after the fact I did research and realized I am kind of in over my head as far as setting up a balanced ecosystem in my tank..
TLDR (too long, didn't read); I don't know what to get for my tank next.
More plants?
What kind of light fixture should I get?
Do I keep the glass cover with the filter hole cut in it, or buy a 40$ hood?
Is sand good, or bad? Should I put some rocks over the sand?
What kind of bottom dwellers, cleaners, socialites should I fill the tank with?
Tank Dimensions: 20x12x15 (or something like that)
Edit: I don't have my air pump + tubing + stone installed yet since the Betta doesnt really need it, but.. Do the plants? I left the store without tubing, but I can't believe I didn't think of this before lol.