Aquarium Heaters are an item that can get overlooked when it comes to fitting out your new Siamese Fighting Fish tank. Male Fighting Fish are quite often sold in pet stores and do have a reputation for living in small containers and tanks. As a consequence, often there isn’t enough room left in their small container for the aquarium heater so the sales assistant often advises a heater isn’t required.

Don’t believe it. If your Siamese Fighting Fish’s container is too small for an aquarium heater then it is way too small to keep your Siamese Fighting Fish in. One male Fighter will need at the very, very minimum, about 4 to 5 litres of water but 10 litres is even better.

Therefore it really begs the question, when do you need an aquarium heater for your Siamese Fighting Fish tank? Well the first thing to understand is Siamese Fighting Fish are a tropical fish and as such prefer a water temperature of at least 20 deg C (68 F) and ideally about 25 – 27 deg C (80 F). So if you can’t consistently maintain a minimum of 20 deg C then an aquarium heater comes highly recommended for your Siamese Fighting Fish tank.

Now the next thing to understand about Siamese Fighting Fish is they will survive in cold water for short periods of time but that is all they will do ….. survive ….. for awhile anyway. Cold water and Siamese Fighters don’t mix. It will make your Siamese Fighting Fish susceptible to disease and sickness. He will be miserable and will most likely die well before his time.

Therefore if you find yourself in a pet shop being told something different, then don’t believe it. You’re being misinformed.

Therefore once you’ve made the decision that your Siamese Fighting Fish’s environment warrants an aquarium heater then the next decision is what type? Well the first point I would like to make is this. Aquarium heaters are not an item that you should skimp on. Lets face it, what you are doing is placing an electrical device into a body of water. Everybody knows that water and electricity don’t mix and despite the fact that aquarium heaters are purpose build to be placed in water, it would be safe to say that there are some heaters that are better than others.

Some aquarium heaters aren’t designed to be submerged below a certain level while others can be fully submerged. Therefore, if you’re after a submersible aquarium heater then make sure you read the specifications as you may be disappointed when you get your heater home and discover it isn’t fully submersible.

Next up you will need to decide the correct size aquarium heater you require. As a rough guide, the amount of litres equals the amount of Watts. Therefore a 25w aquarium heater will be suitable to heat up to 25 litres of water. Make sure you check the packaging though and follow the manufacturers recommendations.

Aquarium heater safety is very important as well. It is essential that you read and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. There is also an important point that can also be overlooked as well.

Many people understand that aquarium heaters come with a thermostat that will maintain the water temperature within a certain range. What some people don’t realise is that it will only do it when the aquarium heater is submerged in water. If you were to turn on your heater without water in your tank it will heat up very fast, melt through the plastic/rubber suction mounts very quickly and if you are using a plastic or acrylic container it will melt through that as well. So you can see, aquarium heaters can be dangerous when not used correctly.

Therefore you can see that following the safety recommendations is vitally important when using aquarium heaters.

So if you’d like to house your Siamese Fighting Fish comfortably in the warm water he requires and your climate or room temperature can’t provide it then you will need to use an aquarium heater. Remember just follow the instructions, do your homework about aquarium heaters and your Siamese Fighting Fish will be happy, healthy and eternally grateful.

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