Post by starlight on Feb 12, 2004 17:28:50 GMT -5
During the winter it seems that there are more betta illnesses to contend with. In many cases lower water temperatures adversely affect our fish. If you research bettas you'll read some people recommend temperatures as low as 74. Others recommend 78-80.
Most breeders spawn bettas at 82 degrees. The fish seem to prefer it and are not inclined to spawn at low temperatures. At 82 the eggs develop properly (not too fast/not too slow)
74 always seems a bit low to me. What if you thought you're betta was in 74 degree water when he was actually in 72 degrees?
In the last few years digital stick on thermometers have become popular. You can read them at a glance and they look nice but are they accurate?
Before you can believe what a thermometer reads as reliable; you need to compare it to a known true thermometer.
The most reliable thermometers seem to be the old-fashioned glass tube. Hagen makes a line of them, you've seen them...floating,standing,hanging.
I have a number of these in my tanks. Last year I bought a Tetra stick-on thermometer that I placed on several acrylic tanks. I noticed that it read two-three degrees higher than the glass ones did.
I emailed Tetra and told them about it. They asked me to return it to them with proof of purchase. They replaced the one I sent them and included 5 other thermometers in different styles.
This would have been great but they all read 2-3 degrees high. I still use them; I have one on a fry tank. It reads 78 degrees, I can check it at a glance but the hanging glass-tube Hagen reads 80. That's what I want the fry tank to be. (they're two weeks old today)
I've recently noticed that the local Petland Discounts no longer offers Hagen's glass-tube thermometers. Instead the complete line of Tetra and Marina stick-ons in carded packages are hung by the dozens on display pegs. I've tried the new Marina line too...very hard to read and +2 degrees. I returned it to the store, not only was it inaccurate, the colors didn't show well and it was hard to read.
What I do like about the stick-ons is that you can tell by the color of the other color bars when the temperature is changing and is going up or down.
I'll be ordering from That Fish Place or Dr Foster real soon...I think I'll get some more glass tube thermometers.
========================================
I'd appreciate hearing your experiences with thermometers.
Comments on water temperature are welcome since it's so important to our fishes' health.
Most breeders spawn bettas at 82 degrees. The fish seem to prefer it and are not inclined to spawn at low temperatures. At 82 the eggs develop properly (not too fast/not too slow)
74 always seems a bit low to me. What if you thought you're betta was in 74 degree water when he was actually in 72 degrees?
In the last few years digital stick on thermometers have become popular. You can read them at a glance and they look nice but are they accurate?
Before you can believe what a thermometer reads as reliable; you need to compare it to a known true thermometer.
The most reliable thermometers seem to be the old-fashioned glass tube. Hagen makes a line of them, you've seen them...floating,standing,hanging.
I have a number of these in my tanks. Last year I bought a Tetra stick-on thermometer that I placed on several acrylic tanks. I noticed that it read two-three degrees higher than the glass ones did.
I emailed Tetra and told them about it. They asked me to return it to them with proof of purchase. They replaced the one I sent them and included 5 other thermometers in different styles.
This would have been great but they all read 2-3 degrees high. I still use them; I have one on a fry tank. It reads 78 degrees, I can check it at a glance but the hanging glass-tube Hagen reads 80. That's what I want the fry tank to be. (they're two weeks old today)
I've recently noticed that the local Petland Discounts no longer offers Hagen's glass-tube thermometers. Instead the complete line of Tetra and Marina stick-ons in carded packages are hung by the dozens on display pegs. I've tried the new Marina line too...very hard to read and +2 degrees. I returned it to the store, not only was it inaccurate, the colors didn't show well and it was hard to read.
What I do like about the stick-ons is that you can tell by the color of the other color bars when the temperature is changing and is going up or down.
I'll be ordering from That Fish Place or Dr Foster real soon...I think I'll get some more glass tube thermometers.
========================================
I'd appreciate hearing your experiences with thermometers.
Comments on water temperature are welcome since it's so important to our fishes' health.
. Temperature is indeed a major concern of mine - if you've read any of my posts, you know I've got 9 guys all in small (2-3 gallon) individual tanks. I tried keeping my house warm enough to warm them w/o using heaters in such small quarters and thought I was doing pretty good to get them up to 72! (they were mostly in 1-gallons at that point - I've been upgrading since Christmas 
)
. My experience with the stick-ons is that they run very close to actual temp - maybe +1, but no more in the 2+ months I've used these particular models. I also have some floaters - honestly don't remember the brand and it's not printed on them - but they run about -2, also consistent over 2-3 months. Just as an aside, I have one betta in a 3/4 gallon bowl (going to a dorm resident - I'm going to "surprise" them with larger tanks for my daughter's birthday, but for now I thought it would be mean to downsize him when he moves into the dorm) - anyway (that disclaimer aside) I have had him on a heating pad on lowest setting for a month and have found that the temp stays right at 78 per my "real" thermometer. 