betta temp

[pandora's lily]

i have a 1.5 gallon bowl for one of my bettas and the temp is usually at a constant 72 degrees. i would like to get it up cuz i'm sure that he would appreciate it, but its too small to use a heater in...any suggestions?
the bowl is on my desk in a small room that is usually the warmest in the house...

 

[billy61788]

desk lamp...or one of those heater pads

just make sure it doesnt get too hot

 

[Celura]

Definitely go with something such as a desk light or hood fixture so that you don't run the risk of overheating your Betta with regular heaters. They're not reliable. The safest thing to do is heat the room, and not the bowl.

 

[shrks1fan]

Using a desklamp isn't a good idea because you need to do one of 2 things, both of which are bad, 1) you have to leave it on most of the time, especially at night and the fish will get no darkness, which they need, 2) you turn it off at night so the fish can have some darkness time, but then the temp drops and fluctuation of temp is just as bad as being cold (if not worse).

What I used to use for my small Betta tanks before I started keeping the fish room at a constant 78-80 degrees, was use a heating bad, the adjustable kind you use for sore backs or to keep your feet warm, hehe. Adjustable because then you can pick which setting is perfect for the tank. I kept mine at the lowest during the day and turned it up to the next setting at night when the temp in the room was much cooler...it worked wonderfully and kept the Bettas nice and cozy throughout the day and night.

Linda

 

[pandora's lily]

thanks linda, i'll definitely try that, i did do the desk lamp thing but i didn't really like the heat fluctuation from day to night, but the heating pad sounds like a really good idea...

 

[cutechic]

If you do use a desk lamp and decide to turn it off at night, you can try wrapping a towel/ thick blanket around the tank to retain the heat. I haven't used this method, but I've heard it works well.