Forgive me but has the betta died allready? I thought it was hanging by a thread. A 25 watt heater will keep the water a consistant temperature. If you go with a heater, do not get the type that is "factory preset" usually a kinda small box looking thing that claims it is good for bowls and aquariums up to 5 gallons. They have been known to fry fish, while some have had success with them, I wouldn't trust it. When it comes time that your bio-bag (I think thats what Whisper calls them)is tatered and shreded, just replace the bag, dont discard the old one, but cut it into pieces small enough to fit in with the carbon, don't replace the carbon for that change but maybe remove some to make room for the cut bio-bag.This will allow the bacteria that has grown on the old one to "seed" the new.-However, what I'm still unsure of is what the "biological" part of the filter is... ---- The biological part of the filter is where the beneficial bacteria grows. Because the bacteria is alive it is called biological.One of the bacterias feeds off the ammonia in the water collumn (from fish crap and decayed food, etc), it. This produces nitrITE,another bacteria that is growing on the filter uses the nitrITE and turns it into nitrATE. This is good, because ammonia and nitITE are toxic to fish, nitrATE isn't toxic as long as its kept at a low level. That is why we do PWCs, to remove the nitrATE that is produced, allong with other dissolved organics in your little ecosystem. Since your aquariumis small needs to be done more frequently, as a rule of thumb. After a while you can determine what amount of water and how often it needs to be changed. One aid in this determination is a complete water test set. In the case of your filter the best place to let it grow is the white bag with the clip. The carbon also hosts the bacteria, but since the carbon exhausts after a while (or gets less effective at its job) it needs to be replaced. Rather then removeing both hosts to the bacteria and leaving no biological filtration, you just discard the old carbon and replace and keep the bag that has bacteria on it allready. As far as aging water, if you are only doing small water changes, frequently the small amount of water you are replacing should not affect the water too drastically. This is not allways the case though some well water(and city) has a high concentration of CO2 in it. This causes the water to be very acidic. When the CO2 escapes'the pH can rise rapidly to a base. This can stress fish, especially delicate ones. I have this situation and I just use an airstone in a bucket of water to "gas it out" if I amdoing a large water change. Aging over night or for a few days will also do the trick. You do however need a good water conditioner, like Prime or Amquel, that removes chlorine/chloramine and ammonia, if you have treated water from a water co----Alagae, with all the nutrients that may have built in the water + ones that are allready there + light 24/7 will give you an algae bloom, no doubt. If you do the PWC's and limit the light the algae will starve and go away. For a quicker results, use no light, or very little for a week or 2. This includes sunlight from a window. Some people have even covered the glass with a paper bag or something for a complete blackout.Read the original link I gave you, its long but no more longwinded then me. Oh yeah, the food varied diet is good, some have had great success with just a quality betta pellet like hikari. If you want to try something else you can even get live brine shrimp from a good LFS or start a hatchery of your own one day, its pretty interesting. My betta is a typical betta, a pig, he'll eat anything.

Here's another TERRIFIC recipe that calls for 1/2 pound of ground beef. So terrific, in fact, that next time I will double it and use a whole pound anyway. Actually, now that I think of it, it called for pork, but we don't eat pork, hence my substitution. But it was so heavenly with the beef, I was dreaming of the leftovers. I made this last week for Chinese New Year. I had a lot of napa cabbage and looked through my Chinese cookbooks for something different to do with it. I had potato cellophane noodles on hand, so I used those. I think it will be even better with regular ones. I will be making this often, not just for Chinese menus -- it is a GEM of a recipe because not only is it seriously delicious, it is SO fast -- on the table in about half an hour (at least if you already have minced ginger and minced garlic on hand), but it tastes like it's been simmering all day. Meatball Soup (Baitsai fensz rouwan tang) Adapted from "Harmony of Flavors," by Yung-chi Chao Chen, who writes, "This is a very delicious and substantial soup which combines meat, vegetables, and bean thread. It can be prepared and heated up before being served at banquets as well as at family meals." 2/3 lb. Chinese cabbage (celery cabbage or napa), about 3 cups, 1 1/2" sections 2 oz. dried bean thread (cellophane noodles) 6 cups water 1 1/2 T soy sauce 1/2 t salt For the meatballs: 1/2 lb ground beef [orig. recipe called for ground pork, about 1/4 fat] 1/4 t salt 1 T soy sauce 1 T minced scallion 1/2 t minced ginger root (I keep it already grated in the freezer) 1 t dry sherry 4 T water 2 t cornstarch Preparation 1. In a bowl, mix the meat with the salt, soy sauce, scallion, ginger, and sherry. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time while with a spoon or a fork, mixing in one direction until all the water is used up and the meat has become a smooth paste. Sprinkle in the cornstarch and mix well. 2. Soak the bean thread in hot water for about 5 minutes. Drain and cut the thread into 6 inch lengths. 3. Wash the cabbage and drain. Cut the cabbage stalks into 1 1/2" sections. Cooking In a saucepan bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add the cabbage, bring back to a boil, and then simmer for 5 minutes. Add the salt, soy sauce, and bean thread and cook for another 2 minutes. With a spoon scoop some meat mixture and with the help of the palm of your left hand, form the meat into a ball about 1 1/4" in diameter. Wet your left hand beforehand and also dip the spoon in a bowl of cold water every time you start a new meat ball. Drop the balls in the boiling soup one by one until all the meat is finished. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes and serve hot. Gung hay fat choy!

As bboy said, 1 is a Portulacaria (I think probably Portulacaria afra). It is Elephant Bush, Elephant Food, and various other nicknames, and is sometimes called Dwarf Jade, but it is not truly a jade -- jades are in the Crassula genus, a different genus of succulents. [Though they resemble each other, Jade plants and Portulacaria afra are not in the same genus, not in the same family, and not even in the same order. They are distant cousins at best.] Here's some info about P. afra: http://www.smgrowers.com/products/plants/plantdisplay.asp?plant_id=1314

+Sit back, relax, buy some books and start talking about what you want your garden to do for you. Are you a Vegetable gardener, want a swimming pool, orchard, wildflower meadow.. There is a great book called The American Meadow by John Greenlee. I could see developing Swaths of larger grasses combined with dark green sedges and wildflowers. I garden on 17 acres and it is TOTALLY different than gardening a lot.. Most of it , I have left wild and I manage the wildness. I have developed view lines from where I spend most of my time. I play with dimension and emphasize the stages. I create separate rooms in my mind. barriers are for piercing but create great privacy. The farther away, the larger the planting. small details are for by the house, pathways or where you spend time. I'd take it a bit at a time. I have been working on my cactus garden last year. This year I am working on a stone wall , but I am starting a bunch of wild grasses for plugs for next years project. You need to ask are you going to mow this place or are you going to get grasses that need no mowing OR WATERING. When one works on a large garden, one always has to think of how one will do this and keep it. Mowed areas must be defined apart from un-mowed areas. I go for the wild look and I love my short grass prairie grasses. I am lazy. I don't own a mower. Is there a HOA with expectations? My type of garden really pisses them off. There is so much to think about with an blank slate like this. Keep it this way for a year and see what comes up and do your research. Maybe there are some surprises under that dirt.