Advice on Fish Setup?

[IRescue452]

For a tank with only a few fish that don't emit much waste and no live plants you might want a less powerful filter. You don't want the fish being sucked into it.

[lv4dogs]

Jessika answered your questions nicely! I just wanted to add some info about the plastic/silk plants.
Silk plants are good for fish that have fancy fins (bettas, angel fish etc...) as they are a lot softer & smoother than plastic plants & won't rip any fins like plastic plants can do. But if you just have smaller finned fish plastic is fine, it's cheaper too.

I wouldn't cover the heater, you shouldn't have the water above 70-78 so they should be safe. If your heater does heat up to the point where it burns your fish it is time for a new heater.

[jackie]

Also keep in mind that the rule of thumb as to the AMOUNT of fish you can have in any given tank is 1 inch of ADULT fish per gallon.

That is only with tetra-like fish (slim and long). That one inch per gallon rule should be thrown out of the window!

Jessica answered your othe questions perfectly, the only thing I would add is LIVE plants, they help your tank and fish out a lot.

Try to get a mated pair of dwarf gouramis, two males might have agression issues.

[jackie]

Oh, one more thing, a pleco is too big for a 10g tank.

What about a trio of cory cats?

[areias]

Oh, I know a regular pleco is...but the rubber lipped I think only get to be 3 inches. Thanks for everyones help!

[lv4dogs]

Plecos to get to be good sized but a baby should do fine in a small tank. BUT make sure you have a home lined up for him when he gets bigger. There is a great pet store near me that allows you to "trade" them in when they get too big for your tank.

Live plants are good, very good but you need to be experienced, they need more lighting than normal & you have to be careful on what additives you use for your water.