I’ve been keeping fish for 6 years and I’m pretty darn good at it. My current tank is so well maintained and balanced that I only have to clean it once every two months(I still clean it more often though ). My current tank houses a betta and some endlers. I’m planning on leaving the endlers at home to keep up tank cycles, but the betta has been with me for 4 years, literally all of high school, and I need to take him with me. I made sure all the colleges I applied to accept a 10 gallon min tank.
Do you think it’s reasonable for me to bring a fish to college? I’m applying for 5 year arch programs. Also please share any college fish experiences or general thoughts on this topic.
Space in dorm rooms can be extremely limited. Be sure there is sufficient room ON YOUR SIDE OF THE ROOM to accommodate your tank. Also consider how would you handle long vacations?
@happy1
Thanksgiving break is short enough to leave my betta. He can go 2 weeks without food. Winter break and spring break are short enough to leave the tank in my dorm running. I have the lights hooked up to a timer so they turn on in the morning and off at night. I will take the betta and any other fish home with me. Perhaps for winter break I will leave one of those blocks of food that disintegrate over time so that the carbon cycle will be maintained.
Whats the Beta’s GPA? SAT Scores? We can’t tell you if the college will be a good fit for him, or even if he is likely to get in without that information.
@anonymous_otter127, it sounds as if you have a plan for breaks, so that just leaves the roommate issue. Making sure the lights and noise don’t bother your roommates, keeping all your belongings including all fish-related items in your part of the room, etc. If you have a large shared room, or a single bedroom in a suite, it will be much easier to manage than if space is very limited, for instance in a forced triple that was originally intended for two occupants.
If space allows, and if your roommate(s) and college will accommodate, then by all means, go for it! It sounds like you really love your fish, and they make you happy! I wish I could bring my cat with me to college, haha.
I kept fish for many years, but never bettas, so I don’t know how hardy they are. Transporting fish can be a pain, but it sounds like it won’t happen that often. I do think you need to get buy-in from your roommate(s), from a room and noise perspective, before you set it up. Even if the school allows it, if you don’t have the space or your roomies aren’t down with it, your tank will just be a source of contention. I would also be curious about the type of water you will have access to for water changes - make sure you bring any water treatment you may use now.
ya know…hmmmm…i think I’d go the first semester without the fish…you’re going to have a lot to get used to…and you’re not even sure of your roommate/room situation yet…i’m not sure if I’d bring a big tank into that…if it goes smoothly the first couple of months, maybe try it after thanksgiving?
Be very, very certain about the heat and power policies over long breaks. Check with the Physical Plant guys rather than the Student Life people to find out the real deal. I know they put off major maintenance for those breaks, and if you require power for heat, especially if you’ve in a northern state where dropping the temps to 57 for a couple weeks can save real money, you might be putting your pet in jeopardy.
I second the advice to check with the physical plant people. Years ago, I returned from winter break a couple of days early (cheap flight) to find that the heat in my dorm had been lowered to 52 degrees.
). My current tank houses a betta and some endlers. I’m planning on leaving the endlers at home to keep up tank cycles, but the betta has been with me for 4 years, literally all of high school, and I need to take him with me. I made sure all the colleges I applied to accept a 10 gallon min tank.