my daughter got a betta for christmas, we keep our house on the cool side .help!?

Question

the bowl has a temp marker, it says 68 is that too cool?our friend bought a goose neck lamp to keep it 70 degrees, my husband says it isn`t nessacary -advice please

Answer 1

It is best to keep them in warmer water, 78-82 degrees. With cooler temperatures, bettas are less active & will stay near the bottom of the tank.
Get a 2.5+ gallon tank & purchase a heater to keep the temperature consistent.
Your betta will be very happy.

Answer 2

Several of the answer here are just plain wrong. Betta are tropical fish from Thailand, and lack the ability to take a lot of cold like goldfish. In fact betta prefer higher temps than most tropical fish. The ideal range is 75-85, but they will thrive down to 70. In the 65-70 range they get sluggish, and prone to diseases. Much below 65 will in the end prove lethal. Having say this king in might rapid changes in temp are really bad. (So don't panic and throw the fish into warmer water.)

The lamp is a not a good way to heat a tank. There are heaters to heat small bowls. Or if the bowl has a wide base you can try a heating pad for reptiles.

Answer 3

I have seen heaters for sale online for as small as 2-gallon tanks. (Do a google search for aquarium heater MINI.) It is important to your betta's health and happiness that you get him into a filtered tank rather than a bowl and get the temperature in there to a stable 78 degrees. Cold bettas are listless, noninteractive pets and far more prone to diseases, especially ich. (While you're at it, it's not very expensive to add a little cave structure and some fake plants and it will make the betta a lot happier and more fun to watch, since he'll have an interesting territory to explore.)

My advice is to help your daughter do what it takes to provide the best care possible for her fish so that she learns compassion and the value of life. If you deliberately let ailing pets die because they're not as much fun as when they're young and healthy anyway, think what lesson you're teaching your child for later in life when YOU get old and need to be taken care of. Tell your husband that!

Answer 4

Betta's are a tropical fish and live in warm water. However, I have a betta and a freeezing cold room and he is doing fine. Sometimes I move him into another, warmer room for the night, or put his bowl over the dishwasher to heat up a bit. haha.

More important than this is allowing the fish time to adjust. Don't go straight from hot to cold water. When you first change the fish's water, do not change all of it. The fish could go into shock or get stressed from a change of environment. My first one died I think because this caused stress which led to fungus on his face =(. But other than that you should be fine. The one I have now survives a lot.

Answer 5

bettas don't like a lot of light, so the light is not a good idea. not to mention it isn't controlled enough you would kill him. he needs a heater or you need to keep you temp higher. if you can't do either of these than you should take him back because he will die. while I've never seen heaters for small bowls (I've never seen anything for less than a 5gallon) I don't doubt they make them, however, it is CRUEL to keep bettas in anything less than a gallon. ideally a betta should have a 5gallon tank with a filter and heater.

your daughter's betta is at extreme risk for illness, lower temps cause stress and make them prone to disease. small tanks make levels of ammonia build up VERY fast and cause stress also, plus bacteria and fungus run rampant. bettas prodce just as much waste as any other fish and need a filter and room as much as any other fish. they need temps around 70-80, in the 60's and they become more prone to diseases.

Answer 6

I have two betta's and they live for quiete some time and my fish barely lived cause our temp was like ttly wrong and it was 68 degrees in our house and my betta almost died but the fish thawed out (laugh) oh and one more thing they can live for almost three years atleast my fish has live 2 years

Answer 7

Your husband is wrong. If I remember correctly, (and don't quote me on this) Betas should be between 72 and 76 degrees. You can get a water heater at any pet store - they're very cheap. I would suggest doing that, if you don't want to deal with a heartbroken little girl with a dead fish.

Answer 8

A mini heater will work, but you really ought to have a 5g tank for him. The mini heaters are fixed at 78 I think, and are under 10$ last time I checked. (25W maybe)

Answer 9

All you need to do is get a tank heater/ filter, it will keep the water warm and clean. Also, then you dont have to clean the tank as much, and the fish will be happy.

Answer 10

some individuals do.....ha ha ha. My kinfolk is to blame. yet I believe you. Christmas lights furniture are impressive. i'm waiting for christmas in October already. The lights furniture might desire to be a year around factor. having stated that, that's between the flaws that makes christmas christmas, so i assume we would desire to consistently save it to that factor of the year.