How much to pay someone to take my betta tank over the summer?

[katea0608]

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this thread...but anyway I am a college student living in a dorm 25 hours (drive) away from my home. I got a 5 gallon betta tank second semester as I needed something to focus on other than my schoolwork, and I am absolutely loving it. I've learned so much about the fish keeping hobby and plan on continuing it. Anyway, there is no way for me to take my aquarium home with me this summer so I found a girl who lives nearby who said she would be willing to take it for me over summer which is approximately 3 months. I would simply be asking her to feed daily, and do a water change about once a week. Of course I want to pay her for taking care of my fish for me but I really can't decide how much is appropriate for something like this. Any thoughts on how much I should pay her? Should I pay monthly or weekly just incase something goes wrong (fish dies, etc)?

Any thoughts would be appreciated, thanks!

 

[Inner10]

College student...a carton of beer should suffice... If the fish is still alive make it 2 cartons of beer.

 

[saltwater60]

Is she asking to get paid or are you like well she’s doing this for me so I should pay her?
It’s hard to put a price on this. If she’s a fish person I’d get her a gift card to a LFS. If not find out what she likes and get her a gift or a gift card to that.

 

[Gone]

Why aren't you taking the fish home with you? You can bag it up and it will be fine for 25 hours if you're driving. Accommodations for a betta will not be that expensive if you can't transport the tank and equipment.

Unless this is a fish person you're likely to quickly see health problems with the fish. It's common when someone steps in to help take care of them.

 

[Guy25]

I'd give her $50. Idk just my opinion, it's a 5 gallon with a Betta, and if she kills it, she can buy you a new one/give your money back.

 

[katea0608]

Why aren't you taking the fish home with you? You can bag it up and it will be fine for 25 hours if you're driving. Accommodations for a betta will not be that expensive if you can't transport the tank and equipment.

Unless this is a fish person you're likely to quickly see health problems with the fish. It's common when someone steps in to help take care of them.

I don’t have a car and my parents aren’t on board to drive 25 hours to pick and up and 25 back

 

[fabienne]

There is actually some LFS that take care of your fish for you, if you leave for a longer time. If she is a fish person, good job! If she is not, I don't know if I would trust her with my fish tanks for such a long time. Weekly/monthly paying is a good idea. I don't know how much you should pay though...

 

[Gone]

I don’t have a car and my parents aren’t on board to drive 25 hours to pick and up and 25 back

Oh. I thought when you said your home was a 25-hour drive that you were driving home.

If you're taking some other mode of transportation, ship the fish. That would be much safer than a stand-in caretaker, no offense to the person. It's just a situation that often (usually) goes bad.