beta fish water temp

Question
Thank you for your answer and suggestion of keeping a lamp placed over the bowl.  How close to the water does it need to be; he seems a little scared by the bright )(60watt) lamp I have placed about 4inches about his water level.  I am a bit hesitant to leave the lamp on indefinitely, overnight etc too.  

What is the life span of these fish by the way?
I don't want to buy a tank for various reasons, at the moment at least.
Thanks again,
Pam Scott

Answer
Hi Pam;

He will get used to the light. Mine always have. You need to keep it there as close as it takes to bring the temperature up to at least 78 degrees. It really needs to be on all day and all night. You may not need such a high wattage though. Even a 25 watt might do the trick. You might try turning off the light at night and covering the bowl with thick towels or blankets instead to keep the heat in. Experiment and see how it goes.

Bettas live to be 2 or 3 years old. They are a year old or so when we buy them, so most of them are with us for a year or two.

Followups welcome

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins