[boalt]

And my fish is acting really weird.

I came home after work to realize that the heat in my building had been turned off and Chester's (my fish) temperature had dropped to 68 degrees (it is normally 78 degrees. I keep my apartment really warm, so I didn't have an aquarium heater). Chester was moving really slowly (not really swimming. More like floating), so I freaked out and went to Petsmart and picked up the first heater I saw. I purchased a 25 watt Top Fin Aquarium Heater (I have a 5 gallon tank. I followed the directions, but it doesn't seem to be working (the temperature is now 72 degrees even though it is set to 78). It's been 5 hours since I turned it on, so I think it might be broken.

I've been reading alot of horror stories about malfunctioning heaters, and I'm scared to go to sleep with the heater plugged in. I know I can't leave Chester heater-less as long as the heat in the building is off.

Is there anything I can do? Like keep a lamp on him all night until I can pick up a space heater in the morning or place a heating pad around his tank.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ao]

if you have a table lamp an incandescent light bulb, you can try shining one into his tank and see if that will help heat it water, it definitely helped with my 1 gallon last time I had a temperature drop but 5 gal might be a bit too big... the heating definitely wont be even either. How is the fish doing now? you might want to get a 1 gal container with a lid (to keep heat in) and test it to see if the temperature will stabilize around 78 with the lamp at a certain range..... might work, best I can think of right now.

 

[bankruptjojo]

never buy one of those preset heaters they never worked for me. iv been keeping fish for lil over a year now and no heater problems. used or using elite, marinland, fluval, aqueon, and hydro. im not saying bad things cant happen with heaters i just thing its alot more likely that heater will be off window will be open ext.. so id say get a nice heater.

you'll just have to see if it did any damage i would think hell bounce back. a heating pad would prob work just make sure it dosnt get to hot. a light can also work. you can slowly very slowly put warmer water in a lil at time.

 

[boalt]

Thanks for responding. He's still acting weird (staying in one spot) but he seems better than he did when the temp was 68 degrees (it's now 74). I think I'll take your advice and put him in a one gallon container and shine a light on him because I'm way too scared to go to sleep with that heater in the tank (I'd probably have a nervous breakdown if it burned/electrocuted him).

Do you think the light will interfere with his ability to sleep?

 

[freemike]

If the temp is rising the heater is working. Aquarium heaters are meant to warm the water slowly usually about a degree an hour. It could take the night for the water to reach the correct temperature. Extreme temperature changes are bad even if it is moving back toward the ideal temperature. Fish will get stressed with temp swings and prefer smooth slow temperature changes like they experience in their natural habitats. Also with 5 gallons of water a lamp will not really effect the temperature.

 

[Bombalurina]

Preset heaters are only designed to heat the water to so many degrees over room temperature, so I don't think it is broken. I would leave it in - 72 is better than 68. I would also cover the top of the tank in clingfilm if you have it, to trap in humidity and heat (of course leave some room between it and the water and make a small ventilation hole). I would also wrap the tank in a blanket or towel. These would be better than using a lamp, which could stress him out.

 

[boalt]

never buy one of those preset heaters they never worked for me. iv been keeping fish for lil over a year now and no heater problems. used or using elite, marinland, fluval, aqueon, and hydro. im not saying bad things cant happen with heaters i just thing its alot more likely that heater will be off window will be open ext.. so id say get a nice heater.

you'll just have to see if it did any damage i would think hell bounce back. a heating pad would prob work just make sure it dosnt get to hot. a light can also work. you can slowly very slowly put warmer water in a lil at time.

Which heater would you recommend? I saw an Elite heater (on Amazon) and it seems to have pretty good reviews. I'm still kind of scared to get one, but I know I'll probably have to.

 

[bankruptjojo]

i like the fluval heaters so far but dont think that make one small enough fro a 5g. elite is in my 2.5 and works fine so far.(about 3 months)

 

[freemike]

I've used preset heaters and they usually get with in two degrees either way in my experience. Heaters IME are finicky things even with adjustable ones. I just added a sponge filter to my tank and had to rework placement and the temperature gauge for it to get the water to the correct temp. I have found placement of the heater in the tank to be more of a impacting factor than if it was preset or not.

I personally use the hydor theo 50w in my 10 gallon tanks tanks. Though not really necessary if you work with the placement of the preset heater usually have to find the sweet spot near the filter where the water isn't moving to fast or slow they will hold the necessary temperature. I use the tetra 50w in my 5 gallon tanks and just had to work the placement more than the hydor as it doesn't have a gauge to adjust it. All my tanks keep the correct temp with the same consistency. IMO there is more to heating a tank than throwing in a heater and plugging it in. Maybe I'm just anal lol.

 

[Micho]

Which heater would you recommend? I saw an Elite heater (on Amazon) and it seems to have pretty good reviews. I'm still kind of scared to get one, but I know I'll probably have to.

I have two Elite brand heaters both work perfectly. I can say that Elite is one of the best heater brands out there.

Also it seems like your heater is doing its job, the temperature is supposed to go up slowly and not quickly or it'll shock your Betta.

 

[bankruptjojo]

i just orderd a under gravel heater for my new fluval 8g. that sounds like a great idea, i know you tank is already set up and i have no idea how well this will work but just figured id put it out there for future choices.

deff try to put your heater near water flow if you have some. i usually put mine right buy my filter. i think the pre set heater i tried was tetra and it couldn't keep tank above 76. i just found out a lot of people keep there bettas in 84 or higher. i keep mine in 80-82.

 

[boalt]

Preset heaters are only designed to heat the water to so many degrees over room temperature, so I don't think it is broken. I would leave it in - 72 is better than 68. I would also cover the top of the tank in clingfilm if you have it, to trap in humidity and heat (of course leave some room between it and the water and make a small ventilation hole). I would also wrap the tank in a blanket or towel. These would be better than using a lamp, which could stress him out.

I don't have any clingfilm, but I have a towel that I can wrap him in, so I'll do that. I just did a 100% water change yesterday, so I really didn't want to have to move him to another container. If you think the heater is working, I'll keep it in his tank. I'm sure I'll get up and check on him all night, but it's better than waking up to a catastrophe in the morning.

 

[bankruptjojo]

id keep the heater in it. chances of him dying from heater not good dying from cold are much better.

 

[Wolfboy51]

(sorry if this has already been posted) some heaters like mine need a current to work, i use a slow fliter for thisi just prop it near the intake and it works fine.

 

[xjenuhfur]

I have a preset heater, it keeps my 4gal tank at 80. I usually just check the thermometer every once in awhile to make sure it hasn't gone on the fritz. I was kind of freaked out when I first put the heater in, but the more you freak out the more Murphy's law is gonna kick in.

 

[Tikibirds]

I have a variety of different heaters - most came off ebay since the local selection is poor, I don't even think they make some of the marineland ones I have anymore. The preset ones only seem to work well if your house is already warm as they only heat the water a few degresse more then the surronding temp. Needless to say, they did not work well when I lived in alaska. The highest it ever went was 67

 

[xjenuhfur]

It's true though, about where your located. Im in FL and my apartments a/c is usually at 70-72. So it's almost always heated to 80, and my friends 5gal tank with her exact same heater is still at 80.