Total newbie dorm room tank?

Alerin

Alerin

AC Members
Sep 17, 2004
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I've been in school for a couple weeks now and I've been itching to get some sort of small fish tank in my room. I was thinking some sort of shelftop/desktop tank with maybe 3-5 gallons at the most. Without having to pour through endless pages of information on the internet, what are the basics about what I need to know to not kill my fish? I don't know what kind of fish i want yet. I'd like to have a few in there though. Maybe some helpful links would even work. Thanks in advance! :)
 
Try here...

If you're only interested in a 3-5 gal, and if you don't have the tank yet, you may consider a 5gal acrylic from your local PetCo/Petsmart type place. They seem to be pretty affordable. But you could go a little larger if you wanted. 10gal isn't really that big. I'd have to suggest the main thing to do is to not over-stock the tank. Similarily, don't put in too much at once. New tanks will need to cycle in order to stabilize the water conditions. This would be called The Nitrogen Cycle. Also, check out this link for some general beginner info. Hope this helps!!

I had a 10gal setup in my dorm and it wasn't much trouble at all. I kept it on top of a wall mounted shelf deal I had in my room. It moved back and forth from up there to the top of the built-in desk a few times. Soon afterward, I got a friend on my floor into it as well and he ended up going a bit overboard. He got himself a 29gal tall... and didn't stop there. He then got not 1... but 2 55gal tanks. His roommate then got interested and got himself a 20gal kit from WalMart. My friend then decided to give saltwater a try and setup a 10gal salt tank. Way too small I know, but you can gather from this he wasn't really reasonable about the hobby. It had maybe 2 really tiny fish (I forget what kind). Needless to say, his room was pretty cramped. But it looked pretty cool. I'm thinking the only way he got away with this is his room was kind of tucked back around a corner... and... well, I was the RA. :D Clearly I didn't really care too much, especially considering I helped him carry his 2nd 55gal to his room. An example why seniors may not make the best RA's. :idea2:

Anyways, I had to share. :p
 
If it is at all possible, you should get a 10 gallon setup. They don't take up that much more room and shouldn't be much more expensive to setup. You'll have more stocking options with a 10 gallon than you will get with a 3-5 gallon.

Look through the species profiles for fish that you like, with a small tank you'll need fish that don't grow larger than 1-3 inches (the smaller the better). Post here with some fish you like and we can give you options for tank mates and stocking levels from there.
 
Some guppies would be good a for a small 5 gallon setup.

You could add some ghost shrimp too.

Or a small school of neon tetras in a 10 gallon.
 
A better choice would be least killiefish. Heterandria formosa, small fish, smaller than endlers for the most part even, very cool undemanding little buggers. Don't need a heater. I'm a little surprised Trickster hasn't piped in about them yet.
 
Fish in a dorm is one of the best decisions I ever made. They add so much, and really demand so little. I spend less than an hour a week on my tank [even though I religiously do water changes and vacuum] and it really adds so much.

My $0.02 is to go for a 10, 12, or 15 gallon. I know lots of dorms have limits on tank size, but a 10-15 gallon won't raise any eyebrows [my dorm has a 10 gallon limit]. A 10+ gallon tank will allow you a lot more variety in fish, and more breathing room when it comes to tank maintenance. With a 3-5 gallon, there's a lot less volume, so ammonia/nitrates/nitrites can build up rather quick-- and a water change can GREATLY alter water chemistry and hurt your tank.

It's MUCH easier to maintain a larger tank. It'll save you time, frustration, and give your fish more room. It will probably be the same price in the end. It may not appear this way, but anyone on this forum will back me up on this point- it really is easier to go with a larger tank. Whatever you decide on, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine.

Fishwise, I'd go with one gourami, some tetras or small livebearers, and a snail and ghost crabs. Gouramis are tons of fun to watch, tetras and livebearers are classics to the hobby, and ghost crabs and a snail will help you keep the tank clean and will add some variety.

~$100 setup (I know, $100 is a lot for a college student, but this setup will last for quite a while...)
$30 for a 10-15 gallon tank with hood and filter... $4 for gravel, $15 for decorations, $10 for a couple plants, $8 for some food, $10 for a heater.
then $23 left for your fish- that should be PLENTY.
 
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I would also suggest getting flourescent lighting for the tank (most 10 gallon have it) and get some easy to grow low light plants liek Crypts or Java Fern. Since you will inevitably go away for a week or so at some point the the plants will help to keep the water clean. Also if you are going away for a week or less then don't worry about food. The fish will survive fine for a week without eating and it will help keep the tank cleaner.
 
Alright, it sounds like i should go with a 10 gal tank. As I understand it.. I need to set it up and run the tank without fish for a little while? What do I need to do to condition the water out of the tap?
 
All u need to add to the water out of the tap is a dechlorinator. They sell them at neatly all pet stores. jsut follow the instructions on the back as tp how much to add, and that will remove the chlorine and hard metals from your water.
 
i agree about the 10 gallon. i had a 20 tall in my dorm room last year, and moved to a 10 gallon this year due to this room being way too small for a 20. 10 will give you many more options fishwise than a 3 to 5 and doesnt take up that much more space. and it sure does add a lot to the room. now. to start up the tank you need to first off learn about cycling, i reccomend fishless cycling. to do this right you'll need a couple of test kits and a 99 cent bottle of ammonia. from what i understand the tap water will dechlorinate on it's own while it is sitting out for a few weeks cycling, so i wouldn't buy a dechlorinator. in my experience getting a bottle of that starter bacteria works pretty good to jump start the cycling though. you will need a filter and aerator. dorm rooms are kept pretty warm, so room temp is usually around 80, so i wouldn't spend money on a heater. for fish, there are a lot of possibilities, but before you buy anything make sure to ask the fish store people how big it gets. for example i know the oscars are cute, but they get to be like 2 feet long in 2 years. pick someting that stays small and is relatively non-agressive. i have an angelfish with a school of tetras and some common plants, and it looks great. the angelfish will need at least a 20 tall, probably bigger, when it is full grown, though. if you are into cichlids i have always thought it would be neat to have a pair of kribensis and a school of hardy tetras, this combination should work well in a 10 gallon. you could get some dwarf gourami's. whatever you get, do spend an hour or 2 reading about it online before you get it, just to find out what kind of requirements and preferences it has (for example, if you did kribs you need to know they like caves) good luck with the new tank :)
 
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