Any other college hobbyists?

I'm just wondering if there's anyone else out there in college right now currently invested in this hobby. I recently got on board a little bit ago and can't imagine not having the fish now.

I'm just looking to hear your stories on how you got invested in the hobby, what it's like for you to keep your fish in college, how you get around taking them home for break and how your roommates deal with the fish etc.

For me, i'm currently a Freshman and majoring in Radiation Therapy and I currently have a 5.5 gallon tank with a Male Betta and Mystery Snail in my dorm. I personally bought my Betta on a whI'm without a lot of research but i've really learned a lot since joining this forum and i'm in the process of cycling my tank now. I kept fish when I was younger and wanted to get another one to liven up the room a little and also help me destress since I have pretty bad anxiety at times. I do all of the shopping, cleaning and feeding for my fish and have spent well too much into my little guy but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I'm hoping to bring my 20 Long up with me next year since I plan on living in a single apartment on campus next year and can't wait to set it up in the springtime.

Can't wait to hear your stories, I hope I can expand my hobby more and hear from others experiences. I love my fish so much and would love to meet more like me.

 

I am a highschooler which many might find that surprising but hey its not the age its about experience and researching! However when I go to college I will probably have a shrimp or betta tank for my dorm! But that's in 1.5 years

 

I'm a college student also. I had a 2.5g with guppies in my dorm, but that was upgraded and changed out to 5.5g with pearl danios (not much better). I just strongly dislike bettas (more specifically their heads). Currently have ember tetras, nerite, and amano in my 5.5g. I'm curious what is the max tank size allowed in your dorm?

 

Al913: that's awesome! Have you been looking at colleges yet?

s hawk: my school allows up to 10 gallons but doesn't specify how many 10 gallon tanks we can have. what about you?

 

It depends on the dorms. My freshman dorm is 1 tank per room less than or equal to 5g. The dorms I thought it was going to be in this year was 10g. However my off campus apartment is no limit.

 

Our policy doesn't really specify how many per room and if it's for freshman only etc.

I wanted to live off campus next year so I could be sure I wouldn't have any issues with having a larger tank but I'm not too keen on paying an extra 50/month plus pet policy forms since the complex I was most interested in mentioned that they were only okay with small bowls which is not okay for any fish to live in.

 

Ohh that dorm was just for freshman only not the regulation technically. That would be weird. Freshman get 5g, sophmore 10 gallon and so on. I might see why they only allow small fish bowls. I can see weight making some sense to a point. However a gallon of water is just over 8 pounds or so. 5 gallons that about 40 lbs plus gravel and equipment so just over 50lbs roughly. Which isn't that much but it's some.

My landlord just highly recommended renters insurance with the tank. That's it

 

Ohh haha sorry misunderstood then and that would be difficult to regulate and probably wouldn't apply to many of us lol

Yeah I guess a 20 long would be really hard on the floor if I were to be on the second floor or something next year. I'm going to try to grab a first floor single next year just to be sure. Idk I was just a little bit turned off by them not giving me a definitive answer since they could easily just come into my room and be like lol you need to pay $400 right now since they are considered part of the pet policy etc

 

Some colleges allow you too have your own dorm room instead of sharing! Also I'm pretty sure no one checks the dorms, LOL. Though not sure about this!

 

Were having a safety inspection next week but I doubt the RA's would really care since it's paperwork for them to fill out and probably not worth their time over a little fish tank haha. I'm definitely living alone next year so I don't have to bother anyone with a huge aquarium

 

We only had one inspection and that was before winter break. It was pre fish tank. However I would of had to take the tank home over break (regulations)

 

Yep i'm taking mine home. He's actually going home Thanksgiving break and will be watched by my parents for a few weeks since there's no point in taking him home for 5 days and bringing him back again only to take him home 3 weeks later for a month or so..

 

That's a good plan actually. As I'm off campus I'm just going to leave it and hope for the best

 

Yeah you should be fine. I'm not sure if they plan on turning the power off over Thanksgiving Break but Winter Break for sure. I probably will bring him home for the Summer over Spring Break since move out would be super chaotic.

I'd love to go off campus but the worry of someone tampering with my tanks or upping my rent randomly scares me haha plus I don't know how the apartment would do if I did bring the 20 long since maybe the floor wouldn't be able to support it.

 

It's just soemthing I would talk to your landlord about. Moving out with fish isn't that bad actually.

 

They couldn't really give me a lot of information anyway about fish so it also made me skeptical. Like the representitive I talked to said that they weren't sure what was allowed.

I desperately want to get into saltwater aquariums in the future but no time, money or space

 

Same with me. I would like either saltwater or cichlid tank. Both you can't easily do in college

 

Definitely in the future i'm considering it provided I have time and money. They are so soothing to watch and I definitely applaud anyone who has one. It's just so time consuming in college and delicate that with the amount of breaks you have, I wouldn't want to risk messing it up

 

I'm in my senior year of college. I live on campus in upperclassman apartments and have three 5 gallon betta tanks and one 29 gallon community tank. They're kind of lax on the rules here, lucky for me. Since I live on campus year round and have no roommates I don't really have to deal with too many hassles to keep them. I can imagine it's rough in a dorm!

 

Dang that's the way to do it in college

 

Wow that's awesome! I'm assuming the Betta's are all male? I'm debating getting an extra 20 long to just store at home so I can just transport the fish, substrate etc home for breaks and leave the empty tank there.

I just went down from my lofted bed to get my charger and saw my Betta sleeping on his suction cups on his heater. He's opened up the past few days and is getting in more color and showing his whole tail now and creating a nest. I'll have to post pictures sometime tomorrow. He looked a little annoyed to see me haha, he probably was cozy

 

Not having to take the whole tank down every break would probably make things much easier for sure. Also an apartment would easily support the weight of a twenty long, forgot to mention that.

I have three males and one female (one of the fives is divided). And awww, it's nice when you get to see them finally feel at home and start to show their personality. I'll see if I can get some pictures too!

 

Finally got some fish to hold still! Here are my bettas:





And the tanks




I realized I forgot to get a picture of the tank my female betta is in, but we can pretend I did!

 

Wow wish I had a betta now. Especially the fourth one down

 

Wow wish I had a betta now. Especially the fourth one down

She's one of my favorites!

 

I'm not in college anymore, but my junior year is when I first got into the hobby and bought a 2.5 gallon tank for my betta fish for my dorm room. I was lonely and decided to get a fish. Thank goodness he was a hardy little guy because I made a bunch of rookie mistakes with him!

I lived in the dorm too with limited space, so the small tank was the best I could do. I would need to take him home with me whenever I went on break using a plastic "travel tank". It was about half a gallon maybe? It was a 5 hour drive and I'd just put him in the tank and leave him snugged in the back seat so the tank wouldn't turn over. We traveled together for two years and he lived a few months after my graduation. He got a tumor on his side and died. Definitely a sweet little guy. I love Bettas and definitely plan on getting another one eventually in a nice 10 gallon heated tank.

Have fun with your betta in college!

 

Riza: Wow! Definitely jealous! They are beautiful. I'll try to snap some pics of my guy but it's hard since my lighting sucks haha. They all look so natural

Kris: I absolutely loved reading your story. I'm the same way with mine, i've made a lot of mistakes but i'm learning so much now and can't imagine what I would do without him since he helps me cope with stress and liven my room up.

I'm sorry to hear he passed but i'm glad you still have the memory of him, fish are definitely special! I definitely will and I can't wait for many more years with him. He's a hardy little guy