How To Heat Multiple Betta Bowls/boxes

[Bubblenester]

I was complaining about the cost of heaters for all my tanks, and my co-worker let me in on his secret- he uses Zoo Med Repti Heat Cable to heat everything from 2.5 gallons to 10 gallons. I ordered some, and I'm using it to heat my 2/3 gallon beanie baby boxes... it works really well, and the bettas have really perked up now that the temperature is higher. You can control how much it heats the container by how many times you loop it underneath, and you can use electrical tape to secure it to the bottom of tanks. We put our cable between two layers of towel then put the containers on top, and that seems to work well- the towel helps spread the heat so it's more even, with no hot spots.

Anyway, just wanted to share that with you guys!

I swear I don't work for Zoo Med.

[URL="http/www.incrediblepets.com/Reptile-Supp...Care-Heat-Cable"]http/www.incrediblepets.com/Reptile-Supp...Care-Heat-Cable[/URL]

ETA: I just want to warn anyone thinking of trying these that the first 6 feet of each size cable is "dead lead"- it doesn't heat up at all.

 

[nakomis90]

shame its a US thing
could do with that for the betta jars

 

[blue_betta]

im prety sure you can get em in the uk too.. in pets at home they have a video on pet care playing all the time, and the aquarium bit has this on it, they use it as under gravel heating, but ive never seen them for sale in pet stores, however, im not realy looking at the reptile things so mabey look there.

 

[nakomis90]

im prety sure you can get em in the uk too.. in pets at home they have a video on pet care playing all the time, and the aquarium bit has this on it, they use it as under gravel heating, but ive never seen them for sale in pet stores, however, im not realy looking at the reptile things so mabey look there.

i have looked for something like it....
ill have to order some from US see if i can get some shipped....
hopefully will be starting my baracks soon

 

[ibbledibble]

im prety sure you can get em in the uk too.. in pets at home they have a video on pet care playing all the time, and the aquarium bit has this on it, they use it as under gravel heating, but ive never seen them for sale in pet stores, however, im not realy looking at the reptile things so mabey look there.

i have looked for something like it....
ill have to order some from US see if i can get some shipped....
hopefully will be starting my baracks soon

don't be ridiculous of course you can get things like that in the uk, maybe not so common in basic pet shops, but definitely by post no need to get it shipped over from America! think of all those extra air miles! you obviously haven't looked very hard. i just typed "reptile heat cable" into a yahoo search, and look first option was those exact same cables! or here or here or there are these slightly different type

 

[Nossie]

There are a couple of really cheap alternatives to heating multiple betta jars.

I have my betta tanks sitting on a radiator cover on top of the radiator. It keeps the tanks nice and warm with no need for a heater at all. Stand it on a thick layer of polystyrene to stop it overheating and keep an eye on the temp in winter if you have your heating on a lot.
Second option is a light above the jars. Most of the lights you get omit enough heat to warm through a small amount of water. I have a small 12x8x8 tank that has one male betta in it and the pygmy light in the hood is enough to keep him active and happy.
Third, if you have lots of small jars, then stand them in a container (such as a cat litter tray) and surround them with water warmed by a small aquarium heater.
Or you could always stand them on a heat mat - either the reptile kind http/www.exotic-pets.co.uk/ultratherm-heat-mats.html or I am sure you can get gardening ones for standing cuttings on but they're more expensive.

 

[Bubblenester]

There are a couple of really cheap alternatives to heating multiple betta jars.

I have my betta tanks sitting on a radiator cover on top of the radiator. It keeps the tanks nice and warm with no need for a heater at all. Stand it on a thick layer of polystyrene to stop it overheating and keep an eye on the temp in winter if you have your heating on a lot.
Second option is a light above the jars. Most of the lights you get omit enough heat to warm through a small amount of water. I have a small 12x8x8 tank that has one male betta in it and the pygmy light in the hood is enough to keep him active and happy.
Third, if you have lots of small jars, then stand them in a container (such as a cat litter tray) and surround them with water warmed by a small aquarium heater.
Or you could always stand them on a heat mat - either the reptile kind [URL="http/www.exotic-pets.co.uk/ultratherm-heat-mats.html"]http/www.exotic-pets.co.uk/ultratherm-heat-mats.html[/URL] or I am sure you can get gardening ones for standing cuttings on but they're more expensive.

From what I've heard, the reptile heat mats either only heat up a tiny bit or way too much (never tried them myself). The problem I've always had with using lights is that if you turn them off at night, the temperature goes down. Keeping them in a larger container of heated water is something I've always wanted to try though!

shame its a US thing
could do with that for the betta jars

The page I linked to says: "Discover What Keepers In Europe Have Used For Years."

So that means you can buy them on any street corner in Europe, right? But anyway, I bet you could order them from a website if you can't find them in pet stores.

 

[Nossie]

The problem I've always had with using lights is that if you turn them off at night, the temperature goes down.

I haven't had a problem with that as they're in a heated house anyway. A general cycle all over the world is that it is cooler at night anyway so it's perhaps more natural for the tank temp to cool at night. My bettas are all in small tanks that warm through quickly.

 

[blue_betta]

The problem I've always had with using lights is that if you turn them off at night, the temperature goes down.

I haven't had a problem with that as they're in a heated house anyway. A general cycle all over the world is that it is cooler at night anyway so it's perhaps more natural for the tank temp to cool at night. My bettas are all in small tanks that warm through quickly.

yeh and they will loose heat very quickly too. a degree or two wont make a difference, they would certainly have to cope with that in the wild, but big swings in temp are seriously not good for your fish