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Our house is air conditioned, so we've made a habit of moving the bettas in containers without heaters out for the summer every year. We have mild but steady summers, so it works out well; they don't freeze to death in the house, they get some sun and live food, sometimes a bit of rain if it's really blowing (they're always shaded, so rain rarely reaches them).

Anyone else do this?

-Molly
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i wish, but to many bugs, and birds. if i could i would. put males in clay pots outside, my whole deck would be filled, and the neighbors would wonder.

My importer does this, just bringing them in over winter Seems to work quite well

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Wow, I never thought of doing that, great idea We definitely have the weather for it here and I've been tossing around the idea of buying another

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

I'm not exactly an expert on these things, but I've heard direct sunlight can be a very bad thing, especially since a two-five gallon tank will heat up from the sun much faster than a rice paddy might. The temperature fluctuations are a big thing.

If you keep them outside, you are best off using something like a cement or glazed tub, or having the tub in dappled light.

And cover the top with chicken mesh.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

We keep them out of direct sunlight, of course. The overhang from the house allows them to be protected throughout the day, because the sun moves over in that direction. We kept a close eye on the temperatures the first year and the fluctuations in the water were as minimal as those outside it.

-Molly
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Ugh, they'd COOK here! It's been stretching up to nearly 100 degrees the past few weeks, never dropping below 80 for more than a day or two. It's disgustingly hot and humid, and we've already got plenty of ants IN the house, can't imagine how many bugs are outside.

Besides that, then my dad would figure out how many bettas I have. And we certainly don't want THAT to happen... I just brought another one home today. *cough*

The AC is set at 78-80 degrees anyway, and since that's just about perfect, I don't mess with things. During the summer, I can actually have my betta tanks without heaters if I wanted... it stays at a nice, even temperature with the AC going. In fact, I've got several temporary betta tanks going (girls QTing until I put them into a community) and one QT for guppies, all without heaters. Only time the heat fluctuates is when it finally gets cool enough to open the windows, and even then, it's low seventies if that low. *shrugs*

Sounds like a great idea if you live a more temperate clime, though. Curse Chicago and it's crazy weather. You could even have ready made food... I'm sure you'd get mosquito larvae or other such nummies on the water surface.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Ooh, yes, that sounds nasty. We get about one 90-degree day a year, on average; last summer there weren't any, this year we've had two. Year before last there was one, etc.

But, nights are warm. So it works out terribly well all around, really. And live food - oh, yes! They tend not to eat much once the AC has gone on (before the temps are steady enough to move them out). Once out, they don't do much else!

-Molly
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I moved 3 B.Smaragdina out in a 20g tub. I've noticed a huge change in thier behavior! They've become skitterish and actually 'hunt' thier food lol. They will hide out in the plants and then dart out, grab the food and dart back. Its so cute watching them. They seem to enjoy it, plus they've gotten more colourfull