Betta And Going On Vacation!

[dani2win]

Hi! I'm new to this forum. I recently received a male betta as a birthday gift. I've had fish before, Oscars specifically, and I know a bit about fish, but I'm no expert.

My betta was not doing well in the little bowl he was given to me in. I am a college student and I live in a rather cold dorm. His water was always colder than it should have been and he wasn't eating. So I bought a 10 gallon tank with a filter and heater, the temperature stays around 80 degrees, he has plants and a little turtle to hide under. He's been in the tank for about a week now and is eating much better. Seems happier. I bought a 10 gallon tank and not a 5 gallon tank because I intend on adding more fish to the tank after about a month. Corys, catfish, maybe african dwarf frogs. I have to see how my betta reacts to other fish in his tank... he seems pretty docile for a male betta.

My problem is that I will be going home for Spring Break starting on the 26th. I won't be returning until April 6th. There's no one who could come in and feed the fish for me, since it's a college dorm and is closed to everyone during this time.

Option 1: Leave him in the tank and don't feed him for the entirety of my vacation.

Option 2: Bring him home with me in a plastic baggie and put him back in the little bowl for a while.

I have no idea what would be better. If I brought him home with me, that sounds really traumatic, especially considering he has JUST gotten used to his new home.

I'll have to transport him no matter what when I come home with him in the summer, and then I will be moving into an apartment for next fall, so the longest I'd ever be gone after that would be a weekend.

Suggestions? Thanks.

 

[GuppyGoddess]

That's a long time to go without a feeding. Is the tank cycled? You can buy fish feeding blocks to put in your tank while gone. . .

Personally, I'd want my fish close to me and would take him home in a plastic cup with a lid rather than a baggie. Also, you can get a hydro 7.5 watt heater for a small bowl that will help raise up the temp.

Hope all works out good for you and your little fish

 

[Jenste]

I would bring him home with you - while dorms are much cooler, it should be somewhat easier to keep his tank warmer at home! you could also invest in a small cheap heater and then keep it as a spare

 

[dani2win]

That's a long time to go without a feeding. Is the tank cycled? You can buy fish feeding blocks to put in your tank while gone. . .

Personally, I'd want my fish close to me and would take him home in a plastic cup with a lid rather than a baggie. Also, you can get a hydro 7.5 watt heater for a small bowl that will help raise up the temp.

Hope all works out good for you and your little fish

You don't think that would just stress him out more? I'm all for transporting him, believe me, because I think that's a really long time for him to go without food. I just don't want to stress him out more, especially since he was already so unhappy with his new tank for the first few days.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi dani2win

Welcome to the forum!

Before you make a decision about this, check to be sure they leave the heat and electricity on in your dorm. Sometimes they turn them off to save money when a building will be empty. You may have no real choice in the matter of taking him and his equipment home with you.

 

[dani2win]

Hi dani2win

Welcome to the forum!

Before you make a decision about this, check to be sure they leave the heat and electricity on in your dorm. Sometimes they turn them off to save money when a building will be empty. You may have no real choice in the matter of taking him and his equipment home with you.

Oh geeze. I never thought of that. Thank you so much!!

 

[bae1994]

if the electric is left on you could get (if you have the money) get a auto feeder

 

[Night61]

i remember facing a similar situation a few years ago with my first betta. trust me i know that choice you are making.
i ended up packing up everything and bringing it back with me, of course at that moment i was converting over from a smaller tank to a larger tank. you could always get a temporary transport tank, i use a half gallon to move my fish back and forth and makes for a good temporary home for a few days. this one will splash, but i still use this half gallon when i need to move a fish to clean there tank for a few. It's actually a pretty reliable tank.

half gallon

 

[Honeythorn]

If moving a glass tank cannot be done, you could go and get yourself a cheap clear plastic storage tub with a lid ( food safe) These can hold anything up to 17 gallons so finding a decent sized one from 5-10 gals should be no trouble at all . You can set it up the same as a normal tank .

Take your filter, your heater, and decor with you ,plus your fish in as large a tub of his own tank water as you can manage.


If the plants are fake then don't bother taking the gravel with you, since it's just for a short-ish time it's not worth lugging it along, and the lack of gravel will help keep things cleaner in the tub.


If the filter is new or has new media and is not cycled, then simply switching it off and packing it will be fine as you won't really have a bacterial colony to harm at this stage.

If it is cycled, then remove the media and put it in a bag of tank water to keep it wet while you travel, and this will help to preserve some of your bacterial colony and won't completely destroy your cycle.

As I say, you can put all the stuff into the tub as you would a normal tank , fill with dechlorinated tap water plus your tankwater, switch everything on and let it heat up and settle, then carefully add your betta, float him in the bag as you did when you first got him, and then release him.

It will be stressful for him, and he may sulk for a little while, but he will get used to it and adjust

 

[Mauricia]

I would go with Honeythorn's method. Plastic storage tanks are great for housing bettas, inexpensive, and you can use it to store stuff when not using it for him. I just want to point out that if you can't take much tank water home (parents don't want it in the car or something) then make sure to acclimate him to the water at your house slowly, I try to take about four hours adding a tablespoon of new water to the shipping container every ten minutes. Remember when you transport him to make sure he has access to oxygen and to keep him insulated if you're up north in the cold. An insulated lunch box or cooler works well to keep the temp from dropping too quickly. How long of a drive is it?
Also to transport water I use the gallon water jugs that they sell at the supermarket and just siphon the water from the tank into them. I would not use food blocks I used them once when I was little and it caused an ammonia spike and all my fish died . The main concern is keeping the water warm because cold water will stress him, that's why its best to get a plastic storage tub big enough for the heater. You could also get a mini heater for the bowl, just make sure to do frequent water changes and you're going to want to acclimate him to your house water when doing the first change so you don't shock him, maybe do a few little changes over a day.

 

[woodstock]

This may not be entirely relevant, but for those who are experienced with leaving their bettas behind, or traveling with them on vacation, I think a Sticky would be absolutely helpful. I myself am going to have to face this in the future (planned vacation) so it'd b great to have on hand.

And dani2win, you're definitely getting good advice here

 

[nessar]

This may not be entirely relevant, but for those who are experienced with leaving their bettas behind, or traveling with them on vacation, I think a Sticky would be absolutely helpful. I myself am going to have to face this in the future (planned vacation) so it'd b great to have on hand.

And dani2win, you're definitely getting good advice here

what is a sticky?

 

[woodstock]

A thread that is ALWAYS there, never taken down. usually very important or very informative. ... right?
I guess you could say it's also "pinned"

 

[Honeythorn]

Also, to keep the betta warm on the journey ( if more than around half an hour ) a small heat pack will be needed . In which case the best way to transport your betta is much the same way as they are posted when you buy one online.

Get a cardboard box that will fit your bag/tub with a little space all round to spare, line the sides and bottom with bubble wrap, break out your heat pack and put it on the bottom. Place a sheet of bubble wrap on top of the pack ( so it doesn't get too hot for him ) and then put him in his bag/tub of tank water ,and put It in the box. It should fit snugly and not roll or slide about in there.

Also if indeed using a bag to transport the fish, remember to tape the corners of the bag up against the sides, so he can't wedge himself into a corner and get stuck ( I have seen fish do this before when panicking ), and leave a good sized pocket of airspace between the water surface and the top of the bag where you tie it .

 

[woodstock]

I have a quick question, not meaning to take over or anything but -
When some people have to resort to transporting in much smaller "tanks" - like cups and the like, I've seen people say "Go with the cup, don't use a bag, they get more/less stressed." Why is this?