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professionals who care for your aquarium as if it was our own.

Yesterday I had an Aquatic Escapes service customer as about the betta that she had on her desk at work. She told me that normally he is active and swims around during the day, but that in the past few weeks he's become sluggish and hangs out near the bottom.

I asked her about her maintenance routine.She was doing water changes every other week and keeping his bowl looking nice. When she mentioned his bowl, the answer occurred to me. I asked her if she was ever cold at work. She gave me a puzzled look, and then said that most if the time she is a little chilly in the winter months. I told her that just like her, her betta was probably a little chilly. And chilly bettas are more susceptible to diseases. Bettas naturally occur in Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia in areas where the water stays warm all year long. I told our client that she should see what the temperature of the betta's bowl is.

Then I shared with her that bettas prefer water as close to 80 degrees F as they can get it, and without a heater, most bettas kept in bowl get chilled in the winter. It is very hard for a bowl of water to be warmer than the air in the room unless it is heated somehow. Fortunately, the aquarium industry knows this and several manufacturers have developed small, betta sized heaters that are designed to fit into bowls and are designed to heat small amount of water. These small heaters are inexpensive and very effective.

A bowl heater is a great way to ensure that your betta is warm enough and remains active all year long. Another option is to give them a bigger house, or in other words, buy them a small one or two gallon aquarium. The additional filtration will benefit the betta while lessening the maintenance that you have to do to keep his environment healthy. Additionally, you could add another compatible fish to the aquarium. Some aquariums even come with a divider so that you can safely keep 2 bettas in the same aquarium. For more information on keeping bettas with other fish, click here.

So this winter, buy your betta a heater, and he will thank you by remaining active and healthier all year long.

John Crosby

Owner, Aquatic Escapes Aquariums