• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Bettas 101
    • Acclimation
    • All About Water
      • Nitrogen Cycle
      • Ph & Ammonia
      • Water Changes
    • Betta Fish Anatomy
    • Betta Vases
    • Choosing a Tank
    • Feeding Bettas
      • Food Myths
      • Frozen & Live Betta Food
    • Tankmates for Bettas
      • African Dwarf Frogs & Bettas
      • Apple Snails & Bettas
      • Neon Tetras & Bettas
      • Otocinclus Catfish & Bettas
      • Quarantine New Fish
    • Plakat Betta
    • Rosetail Betta
    • Veil-tail Betta
  • Sick Betta
    • Diseases and Treatment
    • Aging Bettas
    • Bloating and Constipation
    • Cotton Wool Disease
    • Dropsy
    • Fin Rot and Fin Loss
    • First Steps
    • Gill Hyperplasia
    • Ich
    • Popeye
    • Septicemia (Infection)
    • Swim Bladder Disorder
    • Sick Betta Symptom Checker
    • Velvet Disease
    • Wounded Betta
    • Fish Tank Granuloma
  • Behavior
    • Bubble Nests
    • Skittish Bettas
    • Tail Biting
  • Breeding Bettas
  • Equipment
  • Q & A
  • Other fish
  • Contact

Fish Care

Everything You Need to Know About Betta Fish

You are here: Home / Equipment / Heating 2 – 6 Gallon Aquariums

Heating 2 – 6 Gallon Aquariums

Q: Anon wrote,

With the colder weather coming I’m noticing my aquarium temperature is fluctuating a lot and it gets pretty cold at night. What kind of heater do you recommend for a 3 gallon tank?

A: Ah yes, with Autumn comes cooler weather and fluctuating aquarium temperatures that can lead to stress or illness. I just installed my aquarium heaters in all my tanks, which I had removed for the summer. For a mini tank from 3 – 6 gallons I find an adjustable 25 watt aquarium heater to work very well. For such small volumes of water, that adjustability is key. Bettas, being completely tropical, require a steady water temperature between 78 – 80F [25.5 – 26.6C] so it helps to set the heater low and to slowly warm it up as necessary to meet the desired temperature. If the existing water temperature is quite cool (around 70 -72 degrees) allow yourself a couple of days to get the temperature up to where you want it. Rapidly fluctuating temperature are much more destructive so don’t feel you need to get that temperature up immediately. Take your time.

There are several brands and styles available including fully submersible and partially submersible. I don’t have a strong preference between fully and partially submersible but I do prefer one that is easily adjustable. Some can be tough to adjust and are hard on the fingers. The most important thing for me is an indicator light and the second most important thing are temperature indicators. (Numbers that actually say 77, 78, 79, 80 degrees etc.) They are almost always off somewhat but at least it offers a starting point. Some don’t have any indicator numbers and all and can require more guesswork then I like.

My favorite mini heater is the Marineland Precision Heater for Aquarium.

There is also this submersible flat pack mini-heater. I have never tried it and can’t endorse it but I would love to hear your product review if you have used this heater. Please feel free to post comments on this blog entry about this heater or other heaters you love or hate.


Filed Under: Equipment, Heaters

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Carina says:

    I have two large bowls (I think 2.5 gallons) for my Bettas and have used these little flat heaters for the last three years – I got them at Pets Supplies Plus (midwest chain similar to PetsMart.) for about $8.00. I can’t attest to how constant a temperature they keep the water because I don’t use a thermometer…the water always feels mildly tepid, though. One of my fish is going on 4 years old and I’ve never had a health problem with either, they are frisky and eat well and make lots of little bubles so I assume they’re doing fine.
    Sorry it’s not a very technical heater review. 🙂 a

    Reply
  2. Christie says:

    Carina, thanks for the review. I know I found it really helpful and I’m sure others will too. You don’t need to get much more technical with a 4 year old betta. It sounds to me like you must be doing a great job to have raised him up to be an old timer. Thanks again!

    Reply
  3. kelly says:

    I just received a 100 watt Askoll IP68 tank heater with only a plus and minus rather then temperature indicator. I have a 4 gallon tank and one Betta fish. Is this too much for the tank and how do I use it?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search


Recent Posts

  • Cool Betta Fish Tank Ideas
  • How Long Do Betta Fish Live For? – 5 Helpful Tips For a Long and Happy Life
  • 3 Gallon Fish Tank for Betta
  • 10 Gallon Aquarium Stands and Cabinets
  • How Much Do Betta Fish Cost to Buy and Care For?

NippyFish Facebook Page

Visit the NippyFish Facebook Page

Featured Posts

Complete Guide to Betta Fish Diseases and Treatment

This complete guide on Betta fish illnesses and diseases from A-Z will help you pinpoint what is wrong with your Betta and how to treat it.

The 4 Most Common Signs of Illness in Betta Fish

This article focuses on the 4 most common signs of illness in Betta fish.

Betta Fish Tank Setup – A Detailed Guide For Beginners

This article will be providing a detailed beginners guide on how to setup a tank for your Betta fish.

Top 12 Betta Fish Toys

This article has a list of some of our favorite Betta fish toys. Don’t have a bored Betta.

Setup an Aquatic Plant Environment For Your Betta

Having a healthy plant in your tank will help to improve the water quality by filtering out waste and removing some of the CO2 that’s produced by your fish.

Copyright © 2025 All Rights Reserved | NippyFish | Privacy Policy

Nippyfish.net is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.