Tanks in University?

Hello all! I've been feeling a bit down lately about university and my tanks. I'm a high school junior (2nd to last year before university) with a 40g with a trio of axolotls and a 55g community. I'll have to get rid of them when I move to college in a year and a half, as my parents don't want to be stuck with them, which is understandable. My plan is to bring my favorite axolotl (named Big Gray, photo attached explains the name) with me in a 10 or 20g, but only around half the colleges I'm looking at allow tanks large enough for her. (One only allows "aquariums" up to half a gallon -_____- Heck, I'd feel kinda bad keeping even shrimp in there! I do wonder, though- do they let people have gallon milk jugs?) And of course, I'll go to whatever's the best college that accepts me regardless of their tank policy, but man, it'll really suck if I can't even bring Big Gray. She hatched a month prior to my 14th birthday so should theoretically live until I'm 24, or even a few years past that if I'm lucky. I think it'd be pretty neat to be able to bring her along for the ride!

Another side effect is that I pretty much can't start any new tanks for the next 6 years. I feel like it'd be a waste for me to start/upgrade a tank now, seeing as I'll have to give it away in 1 1/2 years anyway, and even if my dorm allowed tanks, having anything other than an axolotl would be impractical. I'd have to transport the fish back home for the summer and winter holidays, and while axolotls tend to hold up pretty well in travel, most fish don't. I also assume I'll be furiously job-hunting in my early to mid twenties to pay off my student loans haha. That means I probably can't have any high-tech planted tanks or saltwater for the next decade :/ Oh well. Education tops all!

Has anyone had fish/pets in university? What was it like? I'd appreciate any tales you all have!




P.S.: If anyone's in the Chicago area and wants a pair of axolotls or a handful of assorted community fish in summer 2022, I'm (unfortunately) your guy.

 

Hello all! I've been feeling a bit down lately about university and my tanks. I'm a high school junior (2nd to last year before university) with a 40g with a trio of axolotls and a 55g community. I'll have to get rid of them when I move to college in a year and a half, as my parents don't want to be stuck with them, which is understandable. My plan is to bring my favorite axolotl (named Big Gray, photo attached explains the name) with me in a 10 or 20g, but only around half the colleges I'm looking at allow tanks large enough for her. (One only allows "aquariums" up to half a gallon -_____- Heck, I'd feel kinda bad keeping even shrimp in there! I do wonder, though- do they let people have gallon milk jugs?) And of course, I'll go to whatever's the best college that accepts me regardless of their tank policy, but man, it'll really suck if I can't even bring Big Gray. She hatched a month prior to my 14th birthday so should theoretically live until I'm 24, or even a few years past that if I'm lucky. I think it'd be pretty neat to be able to bring her along for the ride!

Another side effect is that I pretty much can't start any new tanks for the next 6 years. I feel like it'd be a waste for me to start/upgrade a tank now, seeing as I'll have to give it away in 1 1/2 years anyway, and even if my dorm allowed tanks, having anything other than an axolotl would be impractical. I'd have to transport the fish back home for the summer and winter holidays, and while axolotls tend to hold up pretty well in travel, most fish don't. I also assume I'll be furiously job-hunting in my early to mid twenties to pay off my student loans haha. That means I probably can't have any high-tech planted tanks or saltwater for the next decade :/ Oh well. Education tops all!

Has anyone had fish/pets in university? What was it like? I'd appreciate any tales you all have!

View attachment 737700

P.S.: If anyone's in the Chicago area and wants a pair of axolotls or a handful of assorted community fish in summer 2022, I'm (unfortunately) your guy.

I didn't have fish in college, but dorm inspections are NOT comprehensive. If you can cover/conceal the tank with a piece of basic furniture, you're going to be all good. If it's not in plain sight, your RA's aren't going to rummage through your things. I'm sorry you're going to have to rehome most of your pets, but I think you'll be able to keep your favorite.

 

I had to get rid of my tanks back then a few years before university. But when I moved... german dorms are small... you have your own room, but it's only 11m² and you share bath and kitchen with 21 others. No chance keeping any tank except a planted nano in such living conditions. And after 3 semesters you're kicked out and have to get an appartment somewhere in town. Then you are usually too broke to spent money on a tank and I was having other hobbies as well that where even more pricey than aquariums.
It took me 4 years after my b.a. to finally get together enough money to buy a tank again. Wait and see what happens. Best bet: Rehome your animals when you go but keep the tanks somewhere in the basement. Clean them as good as possible and then just store them until you maybe move them to your university town when you got your own place. Will save you a lot of money. I did not. That's why it took me so long.

 

I had a bowl with a platy in it (DO NOT DO THIS ANYONE, THIS WAS VERY STUPID). One of the girls on my floor kept a cat for the whole year, so yeah inspections were not thorough. This was 20 years ago though, so probably a lot has changed.

 

I have tanks while at college, which is 3.5 hours from home. Two are in my dorm, another is being used for my research, another is at my boyfriend’s, and the last one is still at home

 

Thank you all for your input! From all your answers, it looks like it really does depend on the dorm. I'll ask around and see how thorough the room inspections are at the one I go to, though if it's in a state like NJ or Cali where axolotls are illegal, I'm out of luck- I like Big Gray a lot, but not enough to break a government law, haha.

MacZ, that sounds pretty cramped! Thanks for the advice; I hope to be able to convince my parents to hold on to my equipment and tanks, but I think they're planning on downsizing to a studio apartment once I'm out of the house, meaning I'd have to use a storage unit. And comparing the (relatively low) cost of my setup to that of renting a storage unit, I'd break even at about a year and a half, so it probably will make more sense for me to just sell everything and start over after college.