is it safe for my livestock and plants to remove heater?

[Juicebox]

I have a 5.5 gallon fluval tank. its an npt..

the plants in it are

java moss
dwarf water lettuce
duckweed
marimo moss ball
amazon sword
java fern
anubias
rotala rotundifolia

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the livestock in it is

1 male betta
1 mystery snail
3 ghost shrimp
and a load of pond snails mostly babies..
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the problem is i need the heater from this tank to use for another project im doing..ive no way of gettin an additional heater at this time..

the room temperature is around 60 - 70 in the day time and at night im guessing it can drop between 50 - 55..


will my plants and my livestock be able to survive in this tank without the heater for up to 4 weeks??

if not all will make it i can remove the shrimp and mystery snail to another tank...

i can also remove some of the plants if needed but i cannot remove the betta or the pond snails..

can anyone tell me what is best to do please?? id really appreciate any replies

[eemmais]

I don't think you should remove the heater. Most of the fish would be okay except the betta. Why can't you buy a new heater? Maybe from amazon?

[Juicebox]

i cant afford a new heater right now,not even a 10 dollar one,i will get new equipment in about 4 weeks time when funds improve...


people keep betta fish in little 1 gallon unfiltered unheated tanks for months,i thought maybe the betta would be ok without the heater for a 3 - 4 weeks

[eemmais]

Well it might live, but I wouldn't recommend it. Especially since your house
gets to 50 degrees. I would just wait to start your new project. Btw, your betta in your profile picture looks gorgeous!

[Bombalurina]

+1. Just be patient and start your new project when you can afford a new heater. Although bettas can surive sub-par conditions, there's no need to subject them to them when you don't have to. :)

[LittleBettaFish]

Yeah worst thing that happens is your betta gets sick from something like ich or velvet because of fluctuating temperatures.

Your comparison is like me saying that I am going to put my dog into a tiny run because the dogs at the pound are housed like that and they survive.

I would definitely not advise removing the heater. 50-60 degrees farenheit is way too low for a betta. Especially if it is not going to be consistent.

[Perseusmom]

Yes I have to agree with everyone without a heater your Betta could get very sick I would not risk it very bad idea. I hope you can figure something out for a your project maybe get a loan for a family or a friend.

[Option]

When I first started with bettas I use to keep them w/o heaters...and believe it or not all of them did fine. If you're under a budget then I would just be cautious not to let the tank fall < 70F. If above 70F then you should be fine.

[flyingpony22]

I wouldn't recommend removing the filter. However, when I lost power and heat for 10 days from the hurricane a few months back I used to heat water up on the stove and fill empty water bottles with it and float them in the tank to warm it up it their normal temp. I would also wrap towels around the tank to help keep the heat in. It was the most annoying thing in the world because you have to keep doing it every few hours, but I guess if your adamant about removing the heater you could try that.

[eemmais]

Yeah that might work, but it probably wouldn't be kept at a very steady temp. The point is that though it IS possible for your livestock to survive without a heater, it is not recomended. Especially because you are not in an emergency situation with starting your new project.