Here’s the question of the day for betta lovers. What do you think your betta fish’s water temperature should be in their tank? 70 degrees? after all, they are tough fighting fish. 75 degrees? that is where we maintain the temperature of our houses. How about 80 degrees? Well if you guessed 80 degrees you were correct and your betta loves you for it.

Are you surprised that your betta has a water temperature of 80 degrees? Think about it for a second, they are tropical fish, tropical fish live where temperatures are almost always above 80 degrees. If the temperature drops below 80, the water they are in maintains the higher temperature until the sun comes up and it gets warm again.

The urban legend of a little betta living in mud puddles and jumping from one to another is just that, an urban legend. These fish live in rice fields, rivers and ponds that usually maintain a fairly high temperature.

Thinking of your betta as a fish that doesn’t need special treatment or care is going to doom your betta to an early grave or whatever.

My wife and I got a beautiful blue betta for our anniversary about 4 years ago. For two years we were indoors most of the time and the house was kept at 75 degrees. During the summer we set the temperature to 80 degrees. We noticed a marked increase in our betta’s activity when the house was 80 degrees instead of 73 or 75 degrees. We never realized that this was due to the difference in temperatures. We realized that he was lazy one day and not the other.

Over the winter we took a week long trip and had one of our neighbors watch and feed our fish. We set the temperature in the house at 65 degrees.

When we got back from the trip, our beautiful little betta was on the floor of his tank and appeared to be dead. The temperature in the house was 66 degrees. We both thought the little one was lost. We left it until we unpacked and the house warmed up. After about an hour, he started swimming and when the temperature in the house reached 75 degrees, he was swimming normally.

It was at this point that the light came on for my wife and I. Maybe betta fish shouldn’t be in cold water. Remember, tropical fish!

My wife jumped on the internet and started doing some research. Sure enough, almost every view made it clear that bettas should be kept in tanks that have been heated and kept around 80 degrees. I wonder how many poor bettas have died of hypothemia when the water in their tanks got too cold.

So what is the answer to this problem? And why don’t the employees of the fish department of the pet store tell us about this? It’s as simple as purchasing a tank heater for your betta’s tank. Could it be simpler than that? How many people have had their fish die and wonder what could have been the cause. A few words at the pet store would have fixed the problem.

Many aquariums and fish tanks come equipped with tank heaters or you can easily install one in the tank.

The SIZE of the heater will depend on the SIZE of your betta tank.

In my opinion, the smallest size for a betta should be a 2 gallon tank, which would require about a 10 watt heater.

It is best to get one that is fully submersible and it’s safe even if it runs dry. A heater this size can raise the water temperature by about 5 degrees. The cost for one this size would be around $13.

As you get into larger tanks like a 5 gallon a 40 to 50 watt heater will be required. The price for one like this would be about $25.

Now that you’ve decided to buy a heater, the next question is, where do you get it? What about the pet store where you bought your fish? Most pet stores carry a variety of tanks and heaters. Many tanks come with heaters made especially for aquariums of that size. If not, follow the guidelines above, ask the Department Manager for help, and read the information on the heater packaging.

Don’t forget that thing called the World Wide Web. There are hundreds of sites where you can buy a betta tank heater.

Another thing you should consider getting is a thermometer to measure the temperature of the water. This is the only accurate way to know the actual water temperature of your bettas. The cost of a thermometer will be less than $10.

Your betta fish will live a happy and healthy life (around 5 years) if you make a little effort to help him. One of the best things you can do is make sure the water in your tank stays at the correct temperature. A tank heater and thermometer will make this a very easy task for you.