I Know Ill Sound Stupid...

[Animal Lover 2000]

i was wondering how i should go about heating a 1 liter or 1/4 gallon betta cube

 

[KuronoEnyo]

I um... Maybe a lamp? Could resinate heat into it. But if there's wiggle room to upgrade the aquarium I think you'd find a much easier way to provide heat.

 

[Nightfall]

Do you have any other fish? If you have a larger, heated aquarium I've found you can place the Betta's tank so a wall is touching the glass of the heated aquarium, and it will gently warm the water. It's not as effective as a heater, but it is better than nothing. Lamps work for small tanks (make sure you have a thermometer to make sure the temperature doesn't get too high), but you can also buy heaters designed for little tanks.

The easiest way is to either upgrade to a bigger tank or purchase one of those partitioned glass Betta aquariums, put the fish in one of the partitions and then put water and a heater in the next partition. Having said that, I do understand that it's not always possible to upgrade, so do the best you can with whatever you have the space and the money for.

 

[Chad]

It's really not at all stupid! They do make heaters for betta micro tanks (my name for them) but from the reviews I've read they aren't the best. Because I live in Arizona I don't have much issue with temperature as I keep my house about 76-78 year round. We have to have air conditioners in here in the desert. But in the case where the house might get too cold you do have to concern yourself with temperature. A small cube can lose its heat quickly. This is another reason I don't recommend betta be kept in anything smaller than 5 gallons. That's a tank for which decent heaters with temperature controls are made and that doesn't lose its heat quite as fast. I have a small heater in my 6 gallon nano tank which was previously my betta tank.

 

[Animal Lover 2000]

thanks i want as many bettas as i can and right now i have room for only that size i have a 5 gallon but needs set up space and cyclng
i may use it as his summer home and with his winter home in a breeder box
with my plan i can 2 males and 4 females

 

[Chad]

Of course the males will need to separated. If they are in the same tank they will fight with each other.

 

[Flute]

Would you have them in multiple 5 gals? Or just the one? If just the one then there is going to be some serious stocking issues, even if they are all divided. Sorry if I've miss understood ^^'
A 1 litre tank is very, very small, you'd probably be best to upgrading him permanently to the 5 gal

 

[fluttermoth]

I agree with Flute and tcamos; a 1l tank is far too small to keep any sort of fish in.

 

[Tuxyu3]

Yeah, that betta will not be happy long-term mainly with the space but also with the inevitable fluctuations in conditions.

 

[Baccus]

I have seen heat pads designed to go underneath small cube tanks, but I have never used them and would be leary of using something that is designed to get hot on many household surfaces.
A lamp overhead will warm the tank, but it will cause massive fluctuations particularly overnight when the light is off as well as cause a lot more evaopration.
If possible I would try to get maybe a 1 or 2ft tank that can be divided to house a male on both sides, this would ultimately be easier for you to filter, heat and generally carry out tank maintenance on. Female fighters I have found to be fine with other fish and work well in a peaceful community tank.

 

[Nightfall]

This would be perfect for you. It's designed to sit under the gravel rather than directly under the tank: http/www.amazingamazon.com.au/betta-therm-heater-fighter-fish.html

I know it's an Aussie link, but I'm sure you can get them all over the world.

 

[Animal Lover 2000]

they will be 1 in one tank andanother in the five
i agree but i bareley have room fir the cube i cannot buy another tank especiallt not 2 foot also these tanks were given to me i did not buy them and do not have the money to dod so
ive seen those before the tanks a cube not bowl so it ouldnt work

 

[kiwifeather]

Quite frankly I don't think you should have bettas at all. If you barely have the space for a cube and can't afford tanks that are actually suitable for a living thing to be housed in (which a 1 litre tank is not!) then you shouldn't get them. They may be fish but they deserve to be housed in suitable conditions regardless. It's the same as getting a dog and confining it to a shed all its life. Sorry if I come off mean but I am sick of people getting pets on a whim when they don't actually have the means(or desire) to take care of them properly and not actually thinking about their welfare.

 

[Animal Lover 2000]

yes wellit is better than little cups they keep them in and also at least im TRYING to heat it unlike my parents thatsay bettas dont need haet i tell them they do and so on
also im rescuing bettas from deaths by people who buy them wwith no knowledge of the fish and stick it in some thing super small or with fish that will kill or eat it
i may not even leave him in there!!!!!

 

[Chad]

...with the inevitable fluctuations in conditions.

This is really a good point. Changes in water happen so fast in small tanks. I always use the example of taking a drop of food coloring and putting it in a swimming pool. In that amount of water you simply won't notice it. Put the same drop in a glass of water and the whole thing turns red. Ammonia in a large tank takes time to build up, changes occur slowly, which gives the aquarist time to react, but in a small tank the water quickly changes sometimes while you are at school or work and there's not time to fix it. I had a couple of 2.5 gallon reef tanks, with some inverts and corals in them. Evaporation in the time I was at work was enough to alter the specific gravity of the water so much as to be harmful to the livestock so I had each tank on an auto top off system to maintain the salinity while I was away. Small tanks can work for some livestock but often it requires extra effort and I get tired of extra effort.