babyblu

I'm freaking out a bit here...

Our friend turned out light off on our betta tank last night and I can only imagine he's the one that turned the heat UP by accident (didn't tell us! he turned any other knobs). It's at 86 in the tank and I sure hope that he isn't going to die! He's active, moving, eating, etc.

We're slowly bringing it down to his ideal temp.

Thoughts on this panic of mine? I love my betta buddy and if something happened to him so soon to getting him, I'd be so devastated.

NEVER AGAIN can ANYONE touch this tank.

prairielilly

While I'd feel the same, I would think that bc it was for such a short duration, and he appears to be well, that your little buddy will be just fine Just make sure the swing back to normal happens really gradually.

If he'd been like that for a week, then I'd be pretty worried...

Iron waffle

He'll be alright, bettas can tolerate high temperatures over 86 for a few days. It even happens in their natural habitat once in a while.

agabr123

i wouldn't worry too much about it, your betta boy will probably be just fine i'd very slowly turn the temp back down again, no more than a degree per hour, maybe even less than that.

babyblu

OK... thanks everyone for the replies. I just love Gorgeous so much and so does our little girl. Plus, I'm a worry wart at the best of times.

Temp's coming down slowly and he's still happily making his bubble nest, and eating, so I'll assume he's not going to be adversely affected... thank goodness!!!!

I had no clue they could go through big temperature swings, so it made me nervous. Keep reading about how perfect everything needs to be for betta's... THANKS.

prairielilly

Bettas get sold in LFS's in little filthy cups and kept by unknowing fish owners in unheated, uncycled, unfiltered tanks because they are hardy fish and (unfortunately for them) can tolerate a wide range of fluctuating parameters. However when the conditions are less than ideal, the fish will survive but hardly thrive. They are healthiest and happiest in certain conditions, as are all fish - heated, cycled, filtered tanks, with regular nutritious food, room to swim and interaction with their keeper. The 'perfect' conditions advocated for bettas are the same as those for any fish.

LetDiceFly

In the summer during heat waves my bettas have dealt with tank temps as high as 90 deg F and it has never seemed to hurt them. I try to use ice packs to bring the temp down, but I'm not always there.