What's The Best Way Of Introducing Ace To Warmer Temps?

[ZephyrStarPlaties]

My betta Ace has been in a cold water tank (I didn't know they were tropical), so I'm going to set up a 5 gallon heated and filtered tank in about a week. How should I make it so that he isn't stressed by such a drastic change in temperature?

 

[horsepaw101]

Let him float in your tank for 30mins and then add some of the tank water into his little bag or cup (whatever you have him to float), every 5 mins do this for 3 times and then gently let him in. Remember to cycle your water tank first for a few days before letting him in.

 

[KittyKat]

I assume you are going to be doing a fish-in cycle as the tank is larger than your existing one so it would be safer than leaving him in that? What temperature is the current tank (measured using an alcohol thermometer or a calibrated digital thermometer, not a liquid crystal thermometer)?

The best thing to do is probably move everything to the new tank, including fish, then very gradually add warmer water until the water in the tank reaches the minimum temperature on the heater, at which point, switch the heater on at the minimum temperature. Then, over the next few weeks, increase the temperature on the heater by 1 degree every 1-2 days until it is at what you want it to be. I recommend around 22 C for most tropical fish, including Bettas.

It is probably a good idea to add the water slowly anyway, because your tap water could be quite different in terms of parameters to your tank water as tank water parameters tend to drift over time (unless you do regular, large water changes) and fast changes in water hardness can harm fish.

 

[KittyKat]

Let him float in your tank for 30mins and then add some of the tank water into his little bag or cup (whatever you have him to float), every 5 mins do this for 3 times and then gently let him in. Remember to cycle your water tank first for a few days before letting him in.

This won't really acclimatise him at all, if the water parameters are different enough to harm him. From what I have seen over the years, this type (temperature only) acclimatisation is not that much better than just putting the fish straight in, the real danger to the fish lies in the difference in water parameters, which is why I always recommend drip acclimatisation.
How do you cycle a filter in a few days? The only methods I have ever seen (which work) take weeks…

 

[ZephyrStarPlaties]

I assume you are going to be doing a fish-in cycle as the tank is larger than your existing one so it would be safer than leaving him in that? What temperature is the current tank (measured using an alcohol thermometer or a calibrated digital thermometer, not a liquid crystal thermometer)?

The best thing to do is probably move everything to the new tank, including fish, then very gradually add warmer water until the water in the tank reaches the minimum temperature on the heater, at which point, switch the heater on at the minimum temperature. Then, over the next few weeks, increase the temperature on the heater by 1 degree every 1-2 days until it is at what you want it to be. I recommend around 22 C for most tropical fish, including Bettas.

It is probably a good idea to add the water slowly anyway, because your tap water could be quite different in terms of parameters to your tank water as tank water parameters tend to drift over time (unless you do regular, large water changes) and fast changes in water hardness can harm fish.

I'm going to try and do a fishless cycle, but that would be another two weeks of a cold betta. I'm not sure about the temperature because I don't have a thermometer, but it feels like holding an ice cube D: I'll try and do everything you mentioned though

 

[KittyKat]

How would you do a fish-less cycle in two weeks? They usually take 4-6+ weeks for most people.

Just be sure to add warmer water very slowly and use a reliable thermometer, and you should be fine. It might be a good idea for you to read a bit about fish-in cycling, the most important bit is that even undetectable amounts of ammonia and nitrite are enough to cycle the filter, so keep the water changes up to keep both of those low.

 

[OldMan47]

When starting with a fully cycled tank, just rtaise the temperature in his new home by one or two degrees each day. Unless you intend to breed him, you can stop around 78F, 26C. If you want to breed him, the final temperature should be about 80F, 27C.