File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
Do you guys have any opinions about having a fish at college?

My mother's opinion was that it would be difficult to transport between school and home. (It's about a 3-hour drive.) Is that really a problem?

I'm also concerned about the whole...giving the fish enough tank space. What's an ideal tank size/fish size for a smallish dorm room?
>> Anonymous
When I was reaaaaaaaaal little we had a pair of grape tetras that lived FOREVER. Around 5 years. With shitty care. They did eventually die of starvation, something I still feel bad for, but they're pretty hardy fish.
>> Anonymous
>>284578
I would never tell anyone to do a full water change weekly
>> Anonymous
>>284572
actually 9 months is not very good. if you take proper care they should live on average to be around 3.

also, if you have a tank with a built in filter, why would you ever do a complete water change. small incremental changes are much easier and better for the fish.
>> Anonymous
>>284587
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_average_life_span_of_a_betta_fish

"In petstores males and females are actually an average of two years old."

And I rescued him from a really crappy pet store, in which he was kept in maybe 6 ounces of incredibly dirty water. Realistically speaking, most bettas I've had or that people I know have had live about 6 months after when their owners take them home.

And I did complete water changes since the tank was a goddamn algae magnet. It didn't matter where I put it in the room; I needed to clean the crap out of the bottom.
>> Anonymous
Are there any good sites for betta/other fish care?
>> Anonymous
>>284597
About.com is pretty good.
>> Anonymous
College fishdork.

Agreeing with everyone else. A betta is probably your best bet.
Wont take up as much space as most other fish.
Still, i'd recommend a 5 gallon, and a heater. Bettas are tropical. If you give them heated water, you'll notice a huge difference in behavior. They'll be much more active swimmers instead of floating motionless color blobs.

Also, since bettas can breath air, you don't need to have aeration. Filters in tanks can be noisy. Not loud, but if you and your roomate arn't used to the sound, it'll be annoying.

Stick with a betta.


Also, I live about an hour from my college, and i've never had problems transporting fish. Its really not all that difficult.
I've got a 20 gallon and a leopard gecko tank on top of that. I've got an apartment, though, so theirs more room.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
I had a betta for about 2 1/2 years while I was at college. Then it died one week while I was away and left it in the care of my mother. T-T It knew to come to the top of the tank when I tapped on it before I fed him and he'd also follow my finger. I'm a person who LOVES having pets, so since a fish was the only thing I was allowed to have at school, he was awesome.

As far as transport, I only lived about an hour away so I would have my mom set out some water for him, drain his tank halfway to take him home, then change his water when I got there. It worked pretty well and didn't seem to bother him.
>> Anonymous
>>284621
Also, I kept him on the passenger seat so if I had to brake suddenly I coul reach over and keep the tank from tumbling. I seem to have that mom-reaction where anytime you stop quickly, you reach your arm out to protect what's in the passenger seat. I have no clue why, since I don't have kids, but it saved the fishie on one occasion, so I guess it's all good.
>> Anonymous
>>284622
I do that too, for whatever reason
OK, sounds like betta is the way to go. Thanks for the help, guys. Much appreciated.
>> Anonymous
>>284594
Algae can be attributed to a number of things, not just how much light the tank gets.

>>284632
If you're gonna be transporting him, just hang on to your betta cup. Fill it up with water from his tank when you have to move him.
>> Anonymous
>>284594
having bred bettas for several years, and also workingin a pet store. based on size i can tell you that the bettas we get in are the size of a betta from 6-9 months of age.

if you look at most online resources I think the general concensus is that most are around 8 months. It doesn't make any sense what so ever for a breeder to keep a betta for 2 years before shipping it out to a store, that just raises overhead