By all means, see if the branch works. But keep your eye on him since BPs are not the most graceful and spider balls even less so.

So that's heat cable...I never really saw what it looked like before.
I assume it's snaked or coiled under one side of the tank to provide a good warm area, then. Looks cool.

And yes, you need a thermoSTAT to control it. Dimmers and such are only good if your room temps don't change. Stats run anywhere from $20 for the cheaper 'for now' model, to $80 for midrange good, to $110+ for top of the line.