Betta Fish Bowl Heater

Okay before I begin, I would just like to let you all know that I have a blue Betta Fish named Merlin. He lives in a one gallon bowl with only pebbles. I know that the one gallon bowl is not good for him and he could be much happier in a bigger bowl, but that is not an option at the moment. I do a 30-50 percent water change every other day with dechlorinator. I mantain his tank the best I can (if there's anything else let me know!!!). So I will move him into a 5 gallon tank as soon as I can, so please don't hate on me for his bowl!!! I know he can be happier. So, he is really happy and swims around and flares at pencils. However, he does not have a heater. Our house is usually about 76-80 degrees so it has not been much of a problem. However, I know how much these guys like warm water and I would like to get him a heater in case the house temp drops and so that he will be happier. However, I know this can be quite a challenge for small tanks!!! So do you guys have any suggestions or advice as to which heater will be the best for my little guy? Thank you for reading through this long post and thank you in advance for your help.

 

There are heaters available to fit bowls! Even filters! How soon will you be able to upgrade his tank? If it's not going to be a long wait then I would suggest putting the money towards the new setup because a bowl heater isn't going to work in a tank. He'll be OK for a little while in his bowl.

Welcome to the forum!

 

Great idea. Hopefully, I should be able to upgrade his tank in a couple of months. Hopefully a bowl heater isn't too expensive!!! I already have old decorations so I just need electronics and a tank for the expansion. Thank you for letting me know he'll be fine in the bowl for a bit, some of the other forums were really worrying me!!! I actually think I have an old tank heater (from an old 45 gallon tank). It's about 10 years old, but do you think it will work for the bowl? If so, what's the safe way to clean it? Thank you very much for all of your help.

Thank you for that too! Its nice to be welcomed by a VIP!!! :-D

 

LOL! Does this mean I should stop answering forum questions in my pyjamas?

The things I would worry about most with that heater is how powerful it is compared to what you need to heat such a small volume of water, and also whether enough of the heating element will be safely covered by water. If the bowl is too shallow the heater may explode:-\

 

Okay before I begin, I would just like to let you all know that I have a blue Betta Fish named Merlin. He lives in a one gallon bowl with only pebbles. I know that the one gallon bowl is not good for him and he could be much happier in a bigger bowl, but that is not an option at the moment. I do a 30-50 percent water change every other day with dechlorinator. I mantain his tank the best I can (if there's anything else let me know!!!). So I will move him into a 5 gallon tank as soon as I can, so please don't hate on me for his bowl!!! I know he can be happier. So, he is really happy and swims around and flares at pencils. However, he does not have a heater. Our house is usually about 76-80 degrees so it has not been much of a problem. However, I know how much these guys like warm water and I would like to get him a heater in case the house temp drops and so that he will be happier. However, I know this can be quite a challenge for small tanks!!! So do you guys have any suggestions or advice as to which heater will be the best for my little guy? Thank you for reading through this long post and thank you in advance for your help.

They do sell heaters as Aquaphobia said. I know Aqueon has reliable bowl heaters but IMO it's not worth it, depending how are you financially. A typical bowl heater runs about $15 plus tax and a 5-10 gallon heater goes for about $20 plus tax. If you plan on upgrading Merlin to a 5/10 gallon might as well do it now. I'm not mad your Betta is in a bowl but, if you do buy the bowl heater it will be useless once you upgrade and not to mention a heater for a larger tank is almost the same price as the bowl heater so you'd be throwing your money away. IMO just upgrade your bowl, under $50 dollars you can get Merlin in a 10 gallon tank or you can buy that heater for a bowl almost $20 and have no use for it in the long run. You can't go wrong with either upgrading Merlin or getting the bowl heater, in the long run both require spending money so why not get the best for your money and not waste it on temporary items.

 

LOL! Does this mean I should stop answering forum questions in my pyjamas?

The things I would worry about most with that heater is how powerful it is compared to what you need to heat such a small volume of water, and also whether enough of the heating element will be safely covered by water. If the bowl is too shallow the heater may explode:-\

Lol yes. This is now a job. This is a warning .

Ahh yes it says not to use it under 25 gallons. Good thing I didn't put it in...

They do sell heaters as Aquaphobia said. I know Aqueon has reliable bowl heaters but IMO it's not worth it, depending how are you financially. A typical bowl heater runs about $15 plus tax and a 5-10 gallon heater goes for about $20 plus tax. If you plan on upgrading Merlin to a 5/10 gallon might as well do it now. I'm not mad your Betta is in a bowl but, if you do buy the bowl heater it will be useless once you upgrade and not to mention a heater for a larger tank is almost the same price as the bowl heater so you'd be throwing your money away. IMO just upgrade your bowl, under $50 dollars you can get Merlin in a 10 gallon tank or you can buy that heater for a bowl almost $20 and have no use for it in the long run. You can't go wrong with either upgrading Merlin or getting the bowl heater, in the long run both require spending money so why not get the best for your money and not waste it on temporary items.

Very good point. I think I found a large tank kit with a heater for about $30 so it's probably a better option. I'll probably just try to get his tank very soon. The only time, now, that I'm going to get a bowl heater is if he doesn't make the tank transfer until winter. But I'm going to try to make it within this month or two. Thanks for all of your help, again, guys!

 

Be sure to check out everything that comes with the kit. Quite often the accessories included are not good quality or are less than ideal for your setup. If you can, buy used except for the heater; you're probably better off getting that piece new

 

Be sure to check out everything that comes with the kit. Quite often the accessories included are not good quality or are less than ideal for your setup. If you can, buy used except for the heater; you're probably better off getting that piece new

Great. Actually his eye looks a little swollen today but I doubt he has a bacterial infection. It isn't cloudy and he's perfectly happy. Just to be safe, though, I did a 100% water change and will add a tiny bit of Epsom salt to absorb extra water caused by osmosis (he's still reacclimating). And the good news is that I'm gonna get him a five gallon with filter and heater this week. Oh yeah I forgot about used! I'll look on Craigslist and eBay and see what I'll find.