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Betta Heater

396 views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  Nashville123 
#1 ·
Hi, I just got my first Betta, I love him so much. I wanna make sure he is a happy little fish. He lives in a 2.5 gallon tank, the room temptaure was just too cold, and he was not eating so i bought him a " National Geographic 10 watt heater" So far its been great, he is happy and eating. My concern is from reaing reviews about tank heaters, that sometimes they over heat and cook the fish. When I'm home I check it often, but when Im at work I obviously cant do that, is it ok to turn it off while im at work and turn it back on when i get home?
 
#2 ·
a 10 watt heater is too small for a 2.5 gallon. You need at least a 25watt and you want the heater to be adjustable, not preset.

When you buy a heater that is reliable and adjustable then it will not overheat your fish. The only heater I've ever had that overheated my tank was a preset one.

Here is a link to a good heater.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=11368
 
#4 ·
if you are going to unplug the heater then there was no point in you getting it... Unplugging it will only cause temperature fluctuations that will hurt your fish. It will not fry your fish. I will repeat, it will not fry your fish. There is no reason to worry. Part of keeping a betta is having a heater.
 
#5 ·
There is always the chance for any aquarium heater to overheat/malfunction and cause harm to your fish.

I have had two Eheim Jager heaters malfunction, and lost some fish because of it.

However, IMO the benefits of using a heater far outweighs the potential dangers. The reason you use a heater is to keep the temperature of the water stable. Turning a heater on and off defeats this purpose and if you are going to do that, you might as well not run a heater at all.

I personally prefer adjustable heaters that have an inbuilt thermostat. I'm not sure what the National Geographic heater is like, but it seems that non-adjustable/pre-set heaters have a much higher failure rate.
 
#6 ·
I agree that it's important to have an adjustable heater. Now that I've made a hypocrite out of myself, I have four Hagen mini preset heaters. I have luckily (knocks on wood) never had an issue, it turns itself off when it reaches the temperature but I understand the fear of leaving them on all the time but I wouldn't worry bout it. Leave it on. I've even left them unattended for three days and all was ok.
 
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