how to change the water temperature

[cryosi]

did u buy a goldfish kit or a tropical fish kit!

 

[TAZZ]

i bought the kit they had for bettas - they had one setup - which i asked em about. i was basically going tot he store not knowing what i was needing, and asked the person there what i needed. what i have is what they referred me to. with exception from the plant and light - i bought these afterwards

tazz

 

[Andi]

did you buy the fish and bowl at the same time?

 

[TAZZ]

yup... basically i went into the store and told em i wanted somethign small - a starter kit. they referred me to a betta fish, and the tank+kit. I purchased both at the same time. after bout 2 wks (when i had a lil cash hehe) i got a plant and light.

tazz

 

[Andi]

well (as a novice myself) I'd not go back there again, you just cant buy a tank/bowl and fish at the same time - go do a search on 'cycling tropical tanks' read articles in here, then just read,read, read and ask questions TAZZ

 

[TAZZ]

hmm wouldnt u think a large pet store such as Super Pet (www.superpet.com) would have some idea though wouldnt you? i guess i should just monitor the water temp, and do regular water changes to keep it up, til i can get some more cash - for an aquarium

tazz

 

[Andi]

TAZZ, imho the larger stores have the least knowledge - they just out to make a quid/buck. Find yourself a decent lfs (local fish shop) they should look after you, most (not all) peeps in large stores know little or nothing about fish!

 

[TAZZ]

heh tru - makes u wonder why they wouldnt tell u to buy the other stuff - after all thats more profit to em right?

okay so bottom line... get a water heater heeh... but would u think i could last maybe a week on what ive got - with regular water changes... cause im kinda broke but should b gettin paid soon - and would really prefer to fork out a lil more and get the whole aquarium setup.

thanks

tazz

(btw thanks for the fast replies hehe... its like a chat thing atm LOL)

 

[William]

Are you american Tazz? I ask because room temperatures in different countires vary. Here in the UK it is too cold for bettas in tanks and at this time of year in america it is probably also to cold. But if you lived in cyprus or somewhere quite hot you could get away with it. If you are american then you can probably pick up aheater really cheaply - even cheaper on ebay.com .

However you just say you have a bowl could you give the size of it because some bowl are just too small for heaters and the heaters will actuallyj have trouble keeping the temp constant perhaps leading to boiled fish

 

[William]

okay so bottom line... get a water heater heeh... but would u think i could last maybe a week on what ive got - with regular water changes... cause im kinda broke but should b gettin paid soon - and would really prefer to fork out a lil more and get the whole aquarium setup.

If you get a decent heater there is no reason you can't use it later on when you get your full aquarium set up You probably can wait a week I wouldn't but bettas are pretty tough fish. Just keep it in a warm part of the house, if your bowl is too small for a heater then I'd recomend getting a bigger tank as well - for a betta it doesn't have to be huge and you can pick them up really cheap. You mention lots of water changes, not a bad thing but do you have a filter in there?

 

[Fly258]

How about keeping it in an airing cupboard / boiler room or somewhere where its a bit warmer, until you can afford a heater
Jim

 

[beki_jane]

where did you buy your fish from?
was it a good fish supplier?
when i asked mine about a betta they said that although it could live in a bowl it was best kepted in a heated aquarium, and lookat it this way when you buy your tank you could use the heater as 2 are better then one
p.s
they also told me not to get a betta as i had guppies and that guppies shred betta tails

 

[TAZZ]

ahh im in Canada, its kinda cold but my room is warm cause i keep the comp here - and it runs 24x7 =P

got the fish from super pet,dunno if they r good - apparantly not - seing how they r selling fish to ppl without giving full info on the subject.

the bowl is around 5 gallons i guess... not very big - and the heaters i saw looked pretty huge. the tank also has a lid on it (with vents) so i wouldnt know if the tank itself is designed for a heater.

i have no filtration, again i was unaware i needed it

talk about being novice eh LOL...im like a n00bie n00b of the n00bier n00bs

tazz

 

[beki_jane]

pity you are not in uk, where i get my fish from just deal with fish and are brilliant(answer all my silly questions) , you'd be better finding a good supplier and while you saving for a bigger tank why not buy a smaller one, you can buy them with filters and heaters for about £40 and use it as i hospital tank when you get your bigger one
beki

 

[semper fi]

here in the u.s. the big thing is to keep bettas in planters. no heaters or filtration. like goldfish they are not required to have heaters.

agree with everyone though that you should read up on not only how to maintain tanks but the fish that are going to be housed in them as well.

the fish is more lively in the warmer water cause their metabolism speeds up. cooler waters help to calm down aggressive fish. fish at cooler temps are slower growing, require less food and are not as active. will also more than likely not breed.

maggie