In need of suggestions on how to store my fishies!

[Hurley]

Alright, for a little background...

I live at college in a dorm room and on Dec. 16th everyone gets kicked out and the dorms get locked up for the holiday break until january 1st when we begin to move back in. I've got several fish and I live 2.5-3 hours away from home and I dont want to take them all the way back home with me. I have a friend that lives close to campus who volunteered to watch my fish while I am gone. I will be giving him instructions and showing him how to take care of them before I leave.

The problem comes in when I think about moving and storing the fish. I currently have a 20 gallon tank, two 5 gallon tanks, and a 2.5 gallon tank(all cycled). I dont want to move the 20 gallon as it is planted and heavy. Also the dorm allows us to leave fish tanks running during break but I dont want to leave my fish alone for almost 3 weeks.

So, my plan is (and its open to changes which is why Im asking for advice now...):

1st 5 gallon: 3 cory cats, 1 stingray pleco
2nd 5 gallon: 6 phantom tetras
in the 2.5 gallon: with the divider in: 1 male betta, 1 female betta

I still have a clown pleco I need to put somewhere but Im not sure which tank to put him in.

Any thoughts and input will be greatly appreciated. Im trying to work out the kinks now so this will be as stress free on my fish, my friend and me!

Oh, and I have a zig zag eel and 2 gouramis that I am taking home with me(i have a cycled tank at home) any suggestions on how to transport them?

Thanks for the help!

[indiginess]

big, clean freezer Zip-Loc's or comparable set in a cooler will work well, but just about any container will work as long as you warm up your car first (assuming you are dealing with winter as well). oxygen levels are not really much concern with the relatively short drive ahead of you. tempereature is the biggie. keep them covered to reduce some stress.

i'd put the clown in the 20 if its not terriblly overstocked. it will be happy with the room. make sure theres a chunk of driftwood in it. there are threads in the catfish section that go into this more

good luck on finals.

eric

[Hurley]

i'd put the clown in the 20 if its not terriblly overstocked.

Im trying not to keep any fish in the 20 gallon because no one will be able to get to the tank to feed them. Do you think it would be ok for 3 weeks?

[indiginess]

i'm reluctant to answer, as i don't want to be responsible for the poor guys death. BUT...

if the tank is already cycled and will have an operational filter, heater, etc, then it might actually be benificial to have someone 'housesitting.' to keep up even a small ammonia addition for the biofilter. you might come back to an uncycled tank...

a decent sized pleco would be an ideal candidate. how big is it? plecs can sustain themselves on algae, and if you get a timer for your light (cheap at department stores), then it would have a food source.

if you do decide to leave the little guy, i'd get some algae wafers (Hikari is a good brand IME), fatten it up a little in the next week, and leave it three or four when you leave.

many fish can do two weeks with NO food with little lasting effect.

like i said, i don't want to be held responsible, but thats my 2 cents worth.

[Hurley]

The pleco is a clown pleco. He is about 3 inches long and wont get much bigger then that. I see what you are saying about 'housesitting' to keep the tank cycled. There are ghost shrimp in there too but I dont know if they will keep the tank cycled...probably not.

[indiginess]

in three weeks, the bacterial populations will die off to accomodate just the bioload thats present. even if you do leave the clown plec, make sure you keep a close eye on the tank with regular waterchanges when you get back. i would expect some small nitrIte spikes upon your return. nothing that waterchanges wont keep in check, though.

your clownie might like the run of the pad in the meantime.

not sure about how shrimp colonies effect bioload... that a good question. they don't have distinctive nephredium (sp, kidneys), so i wouldn't guess a lot.

:cool:

[Hurley]

What about the set up for the other fish over the three weeks? Will that be ok or should I make some adjustments to it?

[indiginess]

i'd definately take the two fives and the bettas with you.

a lot can go wrong really fast in five gallons of water.

maybe leave the other plec in the twenty. eventually it will be the better home for it. a pair of otos is much more suited to five gallons anyway. maybe talk to your RA and see if he/she would be willing to drop some wafers in once or twice. i imagine they have a list (or should) of people leaving running aquariums.

[indiginess]

note: in the few times i've left my tanks under someone elses care I:

leave written instructions as well
prepackage suitable food amounts (in plastic wrap)
leave a phone number

[Hurley]

maybe talk to your RA and see if he/she would be willing to drop some wafers in once or twice.


even the RAs dont have access to the building otherwise I would do that. The building is locked up tight, even now we need electronic cards to let residents into the building so outside people cant enter. Im really trying to figure out if the set ups I have planned for the other tanks is ok or if there are too many fish in them. I can get another tank if i need to but I would rather not. And I want to leave as many fish as I can with my friend close to school b/c traveling with all those tanks really isnt an option.

[indiginess]

they make neat double stands for 20H's. i have one that wrought iron looking. that would solve your want of another tank, and you could stick the smaller ones in the closet for emergencies and such., freeing up some space. chances are, besides the tank, light and stand, you'd have the rest of the equipment.

personally,'i'd say if you plan on staying in the hobby, avoid another ten gallon. eventually you are going to run into a situation you don't want it set up. moving fish sux. 20H's are really versitile, and the smallest i would recommend to someone buying a new tank. having said, you can do some really neat things with smaller tanks, and some of the 15 kits are really striking.

[Hurley]

ok maybe im not making myself clear. I dont want another tank. I have to move all my fish out of the 20 gallon (b/c its too big and too much of a pain to move) and into smaller tanks so I can move them over to my friends appartment so he can watch them for 3 weeks while I am gone. There is no way for anyone to get to the 20 gallon b/c the dorm will be locked up. I already have 2 five gallon tanks and another 2.5 gallon tank which I can use. Sorry if I caused confusion, Im just trying to figure out the best temporary set up for my fish.

[indiginess]

right on

your temp setup seems fine.

[luminomics]

you can move the stuff into the 20 and just buy an feeder fill it up and they will be fine you can get a "daily double" for like 10 bucks and it works great

[Hurley]

will it last for 3 weeks?

[luminomics]

ya it can last for up to a month just make sure it really full when you leave it