Feasibility of a Picotope in a Dorm Room

T

treiner5

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Aug 19, 2006
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I have a problem, I want to have fish next year in my dorm room but transportation and breaks are a problem. I've been keeping freshwater for awhile and I've gotten moderately bored and want to try a picotope reef. No fish because I'm looking at the 3 gal picotope and that's way too small.

The problem isn't my dedication or anything like that since I love fish and I'd like to try a picoreef, but I live currently in Orlando FL and I'm going to school in Boston. Therefore before school starts and after school ends are a problem. How feasible would it be to start a tank, enjoy it during the school year, and then sell it off, or restart at the end of the year? I'm assuming that it's impossible to transport a whole tank by plane from MA to FL so that's out of the question.

The other issue is winter break since I would be spending it back in FL, but that may be avoidable since I know people with apartments and I could get them to take care of the tank. The other question is about leaving it alone. Am I wrong in assuming that it would be a disaster if anything went wrong during the 3 weeks I wasn't there? Also I know there aren't fish to be fed but based on the research I've done I'll need to be feeding other organisms that are living in the tank even with live sand and rock as a filter, correct?

So if anybody has experience in this or any suggestions I'm more than open. If a picotope is too hard I guess I'll think about freshwater, and the worst option being no fish. :(
 
the only way i can see this happening is to set it up in Boston and when your ready to go back to FL ship all your livestock back like a online fish store would. (youd have to do your research so they dont come back dead) the only thing is you would have a couple of gallons of water waiting for you in Boston with all the right specs (PH, salinity, nites, temp, etc) so you can pour it into your tank when you get back and the next day or 2 when you livestock comes in immediatly start drip acclimating them.
its doable but lots of hassle for a pico.
i had a 7gal bow in my dorm room last year with 2 small frashwater oscars. girls loved them :) and all my friends loved watching them eat goldfish. the only thing is once you get a heavy workload (midterms and finals or papers) you might see yourself neglecting it as i did. and SW needs constant attention. also one of my friends was a meathead and would fead my oscars scoops of weightgainer protein bc he thought it would make the "get big". they survived all the doses of protein but it sucked trying to clean the tank and fill it using dorm shower water
 
Thanks for your response,
Luckily I have an apartment style dorm with 5 other guys so there should be plenty of room even if it's not in my particular room.

I guess the better option would be to get a 5-6 gallon acrylic and do freshwater with something interesting other than a betta. Any ideas on that or should I just skip over to the freshwater area?

Also willing to hear any other options from people.
 
most airlines let you carry live fish and such. im not sure what the deal is now with all the liquid problems, but i went on southwest a few months ago and researched it and it said you coudl bring back any seafood as long as it was in a sealed, watertight container.
 
fishieness said:
most airlines let you carry live fish and such. im not sure what the deal is now with all the liquid problems, but i went on southwest a few months ago and researched it and it said you coudl bring back any seafood as long as it was in a sealed, watertight container.
Click to expand...

Just looked it up on Northwest and Delta which we usually use and both say you have to send them air cargo which has like a minimum charge of $150. I guess that's out of the question unless I want to pay the $30 to ship them regularly overnight.
 
Well, you could always pack everything up good and put it in a checked bag to avoid liquid issues. It would take up a lot of space in a bag though. If you leave it during breaks you should just make sure you have an ATO to prevent massive salinity swings due to evap. Also, make sure you can get some decent water in your dorm. I am taking my nano into the same kinda dorm along with my 20g fresh, but the whole airplane problem should be a pain for you. Let us know what you decide, picos are a lot of fun.
 
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