All my bettas: What to do when school starts up?

[sugarloves]

Coming next year Im going to live in dorms and I want to bring my 5 bettas and my other fish. I know for a fact that the rooms are hardly big enough to turn around itn and I was wondering if anyone had any idea of how I could keep my bettas in a compact and simple way. What do other people plan on doing (or have done) when moving into dormatories with all their fish.

 

[fishdude07]

you could get like a 20 gallon long (30x12x12) and get some dividers...you could put in 4 dividers, and then youd have 5 sections for all 5 of your bettas...i think thatd work fine...but maybe you dont like the idea of having a tank with 4 dividers in it

 

[Darkside]

But then you realized he would have to pick up or rig up a filter which will filter all 5 sections, and he would also have to worry about the bettas knocking themselves to death trying to get the other bettas across from them.

 

[fishdude07]

true, very true. but he could use small internal filters in each section. the bettas seeing each other could be a problem...but i would think theyd get used to each other after a while. but what do i know

 

[twoluvcats]

most of the time, bettas will get used to the guy next to him and only flare once and a while. You can get dividers that have cutouts for waterflow, so you wouldn't have to filter each section. Divided tanks can be problematical, because if one fish gets sick, they can ALL get sick.

You need to call the college where you are going and find out what kind of restrictions they have. The college I went to said "you can only have 1 tank 5 gallons or less"...find out what the rules are first, and then start planning around them.

 

[fishguy07]

I just realized: what the heck are guys like me supposed to do, im a 10th grader in high school and i got some big tanks... i think im gonna have to go to a community college..

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Definately see what your college says about tanks/pets. Mine is pretty good about fish...you can have up to 20 gallons of tank per person. Also find out what kind of room you are in...the beginning of freshman year, I got stuck in a triple in a double size room...no room for anything over a gallon.

What are your bettas in now? You could set up a pair of 2.5 gallons with dividers, and that would take care of 4. Are you planning to bring your other fish, too?

When I came up to college, I wanted to bring a 2.5 gallon and my betta. We waited on the 2.5 gallon for the first trip, to make sure there would be enough room for it. Then I brought it up after I went home for a weekend. You shouldn't have a problem with a betta or 2, but your other tank might cause a problem.

How are your parents about taking care of fish? I know my Mom is great, and she loves the little angels and kuhli loaches that I left her...

 

[sugarloves]

Haha, my mom has made it VERY clear she does not want to take care of my fish when i leave. I have a common and a fancy goldfish right now (pawned off to me by a friend who went acorss the country to live) that i will probably give to someone to keep in their pond when I leave. Im not too sure about the fancy and wintertime though...

I have some adfs, live bearers (mollies and platies), danios and corys that I dont know what to do with. I would like to keep the corys and platies in my 3 gallon tank. Thats 4 fish in a 3 gallon. A little much but I think i can pull it off with constant water changes. I will return the danios and mollies (because the mollies are really agressive and have their own tank right now) or give them to sumone. The adfs I would like to keep.

My bettas are:
2 in a divided 2 gal (that i will prolly take with me)
and i am currently dividing up a 3 gal critter tank for the other 3 with the female in the center so that they dont get too stressed from seeing eachother.

Im not to sure about the adfs, maybe I will toss them in with the bettas. I know my old ones wont tolerate them. But we will see about the new ones. I would LOVE to bring my 10 gal and divide it up. But I know for a fact that there isnt even enough room to turn around in the dorms. That have a small desk that will fit a computer. A bed, and a closet. Its smaller than a jail cell. Maybe I will put the computer in the closet....oh the things we do for our fish.

 

[DarkElf_Mairead]

Our college lets us have up to 10 gallons. But it's not like they check much. I have the dorm with the biggest rooms (except the apartments and more expensive suites) but it's still kinda small. I have a 5 gallon and two 2 gallons. Takes up most of the outlet's on my side of the room lol. But you know, no one will probably know if you have bigger. We're only allowed to have fish but I have 2 snaills and a frog. One guy I know has had severald salamanders in a few 20 gallon tanks for 2 or 3 years. Once you get used to living a dorm you start to learn how to compact things. You'd be amazed at what you can fit in a little room.