How important are heaters?

[Nat]

Hi everyone,

My axolotl has been living without a heater for 3 years now and I purchased one yesterday due to something I read. My average water temp without it is around 5'C and the lowest the heater will go is 18'C.
Do I really need it???
I would be grateful to know what is best for my axy!

Many Thanks

[Plonk]

The advice that I have always been given is that axolotls dont need a heater as they need to live in cool water. Water that is below 18deg C, the cooler the better.
What have you read to make you buy a heater?

[Kaysie]

How is your water averaging 5C? Most people don't even have refrigerators that are this cold.

[Niki]

I have a small heater meant for a much smaller volume of water in my tank. I have had it in over winter as the room the axies are doesn't have a working heater and their tank was getting very cold to about the 5C range of temperature. It made them rather sluggish and they weren't eating as well as they had been in their smaller nursery tank.
The heater is set to 20C and has an automatic cutoff so if the tank was to ever get that warm (It would be a small miracle currently due to the snow we have been having!) it would stop heating. The tank is at around 12-15C normally and i check the temperature everyday to make sure it isn't getting too warm. I think heaters are nessacery in some cases for those of us in the colder climates especially during winter but care has to be taken as not to cook the poor fellows! I think a small heater should be fine in your tank as long as it is only keeping the tank below 20C and preferably around 15C. I think when the weather improves i proabably wont need the heater in there anymore but a British summer is an unpredictable one!

[Phil]

In my opinion cooler water doesn't seem bother them. Got to admit, I don't think mine has ever been as low as 5c though.

[MRIGUY]

They will definitely stop eating or at least slow down at those temperatures. Aquarium heaters are prone to failure. I would go with the smallest one you can find. Even if it malfunctions it will not likely overheat the water before you notice. Too cold is hibernation, too hot is death. Err on the ide of cold.