Do I need a heater?

[Aroe]

I have a tank with my one betta in it and that's all. Do I need a heater or will he be fine without one? I'd like him to have the best setup possible

[LadyVictorian]

Depends, do you get real winters out there? Do you keep your room temp at a steady 80-84 degrees? If no then yes you need a heater.

[callistra]

Unless your house is a consisten 80F+ meaning no drops in the day or peaks at night.. one stable temp all the time.. yes you do need a heater.

What size is your tank?

Your fish will need at minimum:

2G+
Heater
Oversized soft silk plants and at least one kind of cave decoration for him to hide in.
Conditioner which removes chlorine, chloramines, and heavy metals
Good quality fish food where the first two or three ingredients are whole fish, not fish meal or wheat.

[eemmais]

You really should get a heater unless your room is kept really warm. They are not that expensive, I got one for my ten gallon that cost a little less than 15 dollars.

[Aroe]

Okay. I have everything but the heater. I'll get right on that, thanks for your suggestions! What should the temp be set at for him?

[eemmais]

I think it's 74-82 degrees. Mine is set at 78.

[Laki]

My 25w heater is set to keep it 79-80F. But I had them perfectly fine in temps up to 82F (when I used the preset heater).

[callistra]

78-80 is ideal. Some like it a degree or two warmer or colder (76-82). Heaters will often be off by 2-3 degrees, so go by your tank thermometer. Aqueon Pro I have found to be by far the most reliable. Marineland Visitherm is very consistently 2-3 off, but at least it's reliable. Also aiming for the middle 78-80 degrees will help in case your thermometer is off by a degree or two, which is also pretty common, but they tend to be more reliable than the heaters at least. I have more than a dozen of the glass thermometers and they're all over the place between a span of 4 degrees, but most are within a couple.