Urgent! Pls reply

[aBlondes]

Please help. I am a new Betta owner, and I am trying to get this tank ready to put the Betta fish that I have (currently in a small tank way less than 1 gallon) into a 5 1/2 gallon tank... But I am missing a heater, and I want this set up before he goes in. Right now he must be freezing. But he was sort of dumped on me surprisingly, and I took these past 2 days to read up on Betta care, and I am scared that he may die soon. (Because of the poor accommodations he's in & the water temperature.)

So my question is:
How many watts should the heater be, for a 5 1/2 gallon tank? At the pet store there only were 100 & 50 watts heaters. I will look around for whichever one I need. My bf was saying those were too high. Help?

[dramaqueen]

I think a 25 watt heater will be fine for a 5.5 gallon tank. I recommend the Marineland stealth visitherm. They might be a little pricey but they are the best and most reliable IMO.

[aBlondes]

Thanks v. much :)

[ashleyy]

Marineland is awesome. On the box it should say the suggested gallon size. :]

[aBlondes]

Thanks a bunch guys :3 Going to buy it today!

[KukaaKatchou]

I got a fluval heater - my store didn't have the marineland ones

[aBlondes]

I'm leaving to get one later on today, I think I'm going to check Big Al's. I've already checked PetValue. All they had were the 50 & 100 watt ones. Oh and I'll check PetCo too. I think we have one of those somewhere around here.

[Adastra]

You could try asking the employees to special order a 25 watt heater for you--most pet stores will work with you to obtain certain items that they don't normally stock. It will take a week or so to get it in, usually, but that's not bad. Personally, I don't buy from pet stores anymore and do all my shopping online. The price markup in pet stores is ridiculous--retail stores have a lot of overhead, and they compensate for that by marking up their prices. Shopping online will save you a bunch of money, even counting shipping. I get all my supplies from this site: http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.co...lies/pr/c/3578

[Colibri]

I think that a 20w filter will be just fine. But, I think you should also consider the weather on the place you live. The winter is approaching, and unless you live on a very cold place, a 25w will do better. The weather where I live is really nice, but the winter is really really chilly. So I just bought for my 2.5 gallon tank a 15w heater so the water is nice.

Good luck!

[wallywestisthebest333]

Are you doing a fish-in cycle? If not 100% changes in a 5 1/2 gallon would be a royal pain. >.<

Good luck with your new buddy! =]