# HUMAN Thermometer to measure water temperature?



## Nouran (Oct 18, 2011)

Can I used the normal body thermometer to measure and "try" to adjust the temperature of the water inside the fish bowl for my betta?


I am trying to measure the temperature of the water, first it showed 7 degrees celcuis then i added 1 very small glass of heated water on about 1 liter of cold water and measured again it displayed 32.2 degrees celcius and so i added cold water again....did that process many times but i cant get it to reach 25

Im still trying...
actually i figured out my betta was in 7 degrees so im planning to move it first to about 10 to 12 degrees for 30 mins then keep on gradually increasing the temperature so it dnt get a shock

Is that ok???? I dont have the water thermometer at the moment and im a very busy person Ill try to get as soon as possible


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## Leeniex (Aug 14, 2011)

The thing is, he needs to be in a consistently warm tank. You need a heater.


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## Princess Penny (Aug 26, 2011)

You need a heater - 7*C is FREEZING for a betta!


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## MaggieLynn (Jun 24, 2011)

Bettas are TROPICAL. you NEED a heater. many people said that on your other post. thermometers for a tank are pretty cheap and even if you buy a cheap basic heater that is something, next time you buy a new pet though you should really research them fully and buy everything you need before you actually purchase the pet.


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## Nouran (Oct 18, 2011)

I know ur right i shud have researched...sorry...but wen i went to the pet store the guy told me its fine it dont need oxygen no heater no nothing...just water change every 3 days and feed only once a day 3 pallets or 2 ... and he said dont put it with other betta fish.. thats all the info i got from the guy and i believed its true since hes the pet store guy...

now i realized he just wants to sell and concerned about gettin money more than the safety of the animals.


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## Nubster (Aug 1, 2011)

That's crazy. 7 degrees C is only 44 degrees F. That's literally just above freezing. You are killing your fish. And fluctuating the temps like that and that fast is causing even more harm. Certainly the room that the fish is in isn't that cold. The water should be at least room temp. If you need to, turn the heat up in that room at least to mid 70's until you get a heater which needs to happen ASAP.


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## betta89 (Sep 29, 2011)

you need to check your other tred there is a lot of seggeshtons on there and important queshtons


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## MaggieLynn (Jun 24, 2011)

Sadly most pet stores are like that. there is a thread floating around somewhere on here where people are sharing all the dumb things petstore people are telling them. its pretty funny


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Wait... How'd you have it at 7 degrees C??!! my room alone can drop to 14 degrees, which is why I have a room heater


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

My guys feel sick at 70F, I cannot imagine a betta being alive in 44F. This doesn't seem right to me...


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Maybe it is a repeat typo  they CAN survive 10-15 degrees Celsius, but they start shutting down to keep alive, and is painful to them...


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## Nouran (Oct 18, 2011)

ok first of all i live in a hot country its atleast 25 to 30 degrees celcius inside the house without a heater....BUT MY QUESTION IS THAT NOBODY HAS ANSWERED YET TILL NOW... Is that i used a NORMAL HUMAN THERMOMETER to measure the water temperature of the fish...it displayed 7 degrees celcius...so i dont know if its rite to use a human thermometer to measure water??? Maybe Its giving me a rong reading I DONT KNOW, Should i ONLY use a water special thermometer or what???? IM CONFUSED

Im sure my betta is not well tho...I put him next to a lamp now so it should heat up a little....Im afraid of adding some warm water to his tank as it mite increase the temperature suddenly for him and drop suddenly again.....IM TRYING TO GET A HEATER>...the thing is i dont have a close by pet store. I should have it by today plz all pray for my betta


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## Leeniex (Aug 14, 2011)

A glass thermometer? It should be accurate for now, but make sure to buy an aquarium therm. soon. They are very cheap.


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## Nouran (Oct 18, 2011)

no its a normal human digital thermometer


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## Nouran (Oct 18, 2011)

i just dont understand how can the water b 7 degrees celcius if the room temperature could b minimum 25 degress C


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## Leeniex (Aug 14, 2011)

I wouldn't trust a digital. I tried it once and it didn't read correctly. I believe they are only accurate up around human body temp.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Yup it is not reading right  living in a warm country, that reading for sure 100% is wrong lol. And yeah get a heater when you can.

Can you do a water change? That can perk him up maybe.


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## SnowySurface (Apr 25, 2011)

A human thermometer can not be used to measure the temperature of air or water. It only works correctly when you are reading the tempurature of something solid. That's why you have to hold it under your tongue and not move it. So the reading you are getting is wrong since water isn't as solid as a muscle. If your room temperature is 25c then your betta tank is probably between 21-3c. Only a thermometer designed for underwater use will give a proper answer. I know the are around 1-2 US dollars near me, so maybe a simple theremometer is cheap near you as well.


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## Nouran (Oct 18, 2011)

I asked my chemistry teacher today about water temperature and now i came up to the conclusion that the water temperature can NEVER possibly be below 20C cuz simply the weather here is around 20-30C and the house is even slight warmer so the water can never reach 7C....The thermometer reading is WRONG.

WELL If the temperature of the tank is right then WHAT IS RONG WITH HIM??
He used to attack my goldfish wen it was alone with him in the small bowl. Now i put them in a bigger tank and added another goldfish. since then he stopped attacking them. Therefore Im thinking of re putting him in with the goldfish as he seems fine with their company. Hes a very quiet betta and he DOESNT fight his reflection...

What i succeeded at tho is that I tried someone's advise on this blog to dip the pallets in garlic juice and mush it so it can b easy for his tiny mouth to eat lol....and the result was HE FINALLY STARTED EATING AFTER NOT EATING AT ALL FOR 3 DAYS...wooooooooooo!!! i was jumping from excitement...

So maybe attacking goldfish is not a habit for him maybe he was just not used to a bigger orange fish around him lol...Im glad hes ok with them now tho!


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## bkelizabeth (Aug 18, 2011)

I don't think that's the actual temp of the tank....... she already said that she's not using the right thermometer.


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## bkelizabeth (Aug 18, 2011)

You really need to check your other thread........ we've been trying to tell you that keeping a betta with a goldfish is not a good idea.. and you need a heater.. *sigh* please read all of the advice. We're all trying to help you. The REASON you can't put bettas with goldfish is because they live at different temperatures. Goldfish thrive in cooler temps and bettas do better in warmer temps. You need to separate the goldfish and the betta and buy a small heater...........


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## mjoy79 (Jul 13, 2011)

wow...... just.... wow


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## Nouran (Oct 18, 2011)

hahaha
@bkelizabeth... I knooooow i get the point...dont worry. Those seem to be getting alone. However i am taking ur advise seriously i already separated them. 
Ok ok i wont put them bk 2gether lol


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Yeah, bettas need their own special care  and goldies are messy fishies lol. I bet you'll see an improvement once he is by himself (also less ammonia waste because no goldies), plus if you could get some frozen or freeze dried bloodworms, and smaller pellets. This is pretty good for bettas - along with some live foods, if you are lucky to obtain them.


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