Moving!

[batzy.mp3]

Hello, I need some advice about my fish tank. I just turned 18 and I am going to college soon, but before that we are moving to a house we built by my grandpa's. I have a 40 gallon right now and I think I should downsize, but I need some advice with that! I don't think it is wise for me to leave my parent's with the 40 gallon with fish, but I really want to keep fish still because it's one of my favorite hobbies. Should I keep a small, maybe 10 or 20 gallon, at the dorm? Or should I keep it at my new house and just visit every weekend? A lot of people are telling me that I won't visit every weekend, but I think I could because I still want to see my dog and my parents! another thing is that I don't think they would feed them everyday, meaning I would have to get an automatic feeder, so I need some opinions on that because I haven't looked into those and their affect on the fish. Should I honestly just wait? Sorry for rambling, but another thing on that is how do I move them! I am unsure of how to transport them around if I decide it's a good idea to still have a fish tank. I don't want to stress them out too much by moving them to my new house and then to the dorm once I get it, since we are moving before I get the dorm. I know this is a lot, so thanks! Any advice will help, even if it's harsh!

 

[Andy Sager]

First thing you need to do is see IF the dorm allows fish tanks and if so, how large will they accept.
Second is how far from home is your school?
Third is what kind of fish do you currently have in the 40? Can any of them do well in a smaller tank?
Fourth, would your parents be willing to do the weekly maintenance on the 40 or how often will you be able to come home to deal with that? ( Be realistic because college is not like lower grade schools so your spare time may be very limited. )

Let's start there.

 

[batzy.mp3]

Thank you for responding! They allow up to 20 gallons, and it's only a 30 minute drive, I live fairly close! Right now I have 3 veiled angelfish, 2 bigger tetras, 5 of the neon-glow tetras, 1 dwarf gourami for some reason? and then a bristle nose pleco that has been with me forever. I know I will definitely have to give some, to who I'm not sure yet, but I'm not sure which would be good in a new tank. If I can I want to keep the pleco and the gourami because they are my favorites, and i also really like my angelfish but I think they are getting too big for a small aquarium like that. I feel like they would be able to do the maintain if I made it more user friendly, right now I just use a gravel suction and buckets, but at our new house it will be a lot easier to add and remove water ^^

 

[Andy Sager]

Thank you for responding! They allow up to 20 gallons, and it's only a 30 minute drive, I live fairly close! Right now I have 3 veiled angelfish, 2 bigger tetras, 5 of the neon-glow tetras, 1 dwarf gourami for some reason? and then a bristle nose pleco that has been with me forever. I know I will definitely have to give some, to who I'm not sure yet, but I'm not sure which would be good in a new tank. If I can I want to keep the pleco and the gourami because they are my favorites, and i also really like my angelfish but I think they are getting too big for a small aquarium like that. I feel like they would be able to do the maintain if I made it more user friendly, right now I just use a gravel suction and buckets, but at our new house it will be a lot easier to add and remove water ^^

Yeah, your Angels are not a good idea in that small of a tank. If they were breeders, that would be a different story but you shouldn't have time to deal with breeding Angels when just starting college. I would consider the Dwarf Gourami, the pleco ( make sure it's not too big yet) and consider other smaller tetra types or Rasboras like the harlequins or their smaller cousins, Asian rummynose or scissortails.

It sounds like you haven't asked your parents if they are even interested in keeping that 40 going while you are at school. If they are not really fish people, IMO the worst thing you can do is put the lives of your fish in the hands of people who do not have the knowledge to know when something is going wrong or they did something wrong. What if they want to go away for a few weeks? What if there is a weather event and they need to leave for an extended period of time? What if the power goes out and they panic because they have no idea what to do with the fish? Doing a simple water change is not that difficult and if you have to make it even simpler than you are doing it currently for them, you may be barking up the wrong tree. I would strongly suggest you discuss this with them before you work out a plan depending on them.

 

[batzy.mp3]

You are so smart! I actually felt bad and asked them about it mid-type on my last one, and they said as long as I did the cleaning they wouldn't be apposed to adding water. Honestly I think I want to keep the tank at the dorm though because I want to be able to care for them and get better at fish keeping, it looks like I have a lot to learn! Thank you for the help, if you have any more advice I would be happy to hear it. Also, thanks for the fish type advice, I'm going to look more into those. I love rummynoses

 

[Andy Sager]

You are so smart! I actually felt bad and asked them about it mid-type on my last one, and they said as long as I did the cleaning they wouldn't be apposed to adding water. Honestly I think I want to keep the tank at the dorm though because I want to be able to care for them and get better at fish keeping, it looks like I have a lot to learn! Thank you for the help, if you have any more advice I would be happy to hear it. Also, thanks for the fish type advice, I'm going to look more into those. I love rummynoses

I know it sounds hard but sometimes it's better to shut down a tank and keep it all for a later date then have it running with the wrong people handling it. Trust me, it wasn't easy for me to find people to care for all my pets just to go on vacations. I went 13 years once without one because I couldn't find anyone I trusted to " do it right." When I was working in Pet Stores, there were always people asking about tanks in dorms and trading in fish because they were heading off to school. You'll learn a lot with a smaller tank because things go bad much faster in smaller tanks. That means you have to be very aware of the water conditions. I also suggest you make sure anyone coming into your room or a roommate knows NOT to touch your tank or fish. Some of the horror stories I've heard mostly started with " we were all drinking and a buddy said, " Ya know, your fish look thirsty. Do you think they like beer? Let's see!!! "

 

[batzy.mp3]

Ohhh I know, I just love keeping fish so much but it might be for the better, I'll think about it. 13 years is crazy though! With the dorm that I'm staying in, I don't plan on letting anyone into my actual room, because it has a little living area where we could hang out instead. Stories like that are also why I am a firm believer in covers too, not that it would stop someone so dumb and silly! Is it okay if I have other questions that I message you? You seem to know what you're talking about and you're a cool guy!

 

[Andy Sager]

Ohhh I know, I just love keeping fish so much but it might be for the better, I'll think about it. 13 years is crazy though! With the dorm that I'm staying in, I don't plan on letting anyone into my actual room, because it has a little living area where we could hang out instead. Stories like that are also why I am a firm believer in covers too, not that it would stop someone so dumb and silly! Is it okay if I have other questions that I message you? You seem to know what you're talking about and you're a cool guy!

Yeah, 13 years, but I had a zoo in my house ( LOL ) and before then, I had a girlfriend I could depend on to care for everything.
As for messaging me, sure, no problem. I try to check in here daily but there are times I am on the road so it's not guaranteed daily. As for the rest, when you work in the pet industry for over 45 years, you hear a lot, A lot, A LOT, A LOT of stories and things. Some that would curl your hair!!!