5 Gallon Road Trip?

[KaitieG]

My family is planning a month-long vacation in a converted bus (skoolie) this summer, and we plan to make it out to WA from WI (my aunt and uncle are on Bainbridge Island and have invited us to stay).  Since Bainbridge is in the Seattle area and so is the Co-op, I've been scheming a little about the possibility of bringing along a cycled 5 gallon tank to bring home a betta from the co-op.  Here are my (people-centered) whys:

• Co-op has a great selection of bettas
• I don't have an LFS
• I think it would be super cool and fun to own a co-op fish...I mean talk about a fun trip souveneer!
• A month without fish tanks...gasp.😉

Here are my concerns (note...this list is longer.  Probably a point to consider):

• The bus is bumpy.  Like it's an old school bus bumpy.  I think we could find a way to stabilize the tank so it didn't fall off anything or break (not that my husband's super keen on this, but he could do it), but would it stress out the fish to be jostling around?  How much is that mitigated for the fish being underwater?  FWIW the 5 gallon I have for this potential venture (Christmas gift) is the Marineland Portrait.  It's tall and narrow.  Nice thick glass.  But it'd be bumpy!
• The bus may or may not have air conditioning/heat (it could get quite warm during the day and quite cold at night)
• We have a limited battery bank.  If we can run a generator, it's no problem running a filter and heater, but if we're in a no-generator place, we have to conserve power from the battery bank, and I'm concerned especially about the heater draw.  It'll be summer, so not sure about temps but they could swing.  I'm worried both about too hot and too cold.  We won't be in the bus ALL DAY every day.  We may stay with friends where I could bring the tank into the house for part of it, but we may also be at national parks and out hiking during the day living out of the bus.  Temp control is a big concern that I'm not sure how to solve.
• Now that there's that nifty new battery air-pump, I figure I'd have the filter covered!
• We'd have about 2 weeks of travel left after WA.  Logistically how much of a pain would this be overall?  

So, things I haven't thought of?  Solutions?  Opinions?  Not sure if this is the greatest idea ever or just plain selfish and dumb.

[DaveO]

I like the idea of getting your new fish from the co-op. I don't like the idea of driving around with it for two weeks. Can you ask your aunt to overnight it to you when you get home?

[KaitieG]

On 12/29/2021 at 5:52 PM, DaveO said:

I like the idea of getting your new fish from the co-op. I don't like the idea of driving around with it for two weeks. Can you ask your aunt to overnight it to you when you get home?

I've thought about having her ship a fish, which seems possibly do-able.  The problems would be 

1. We'd still have 2 weeks of vacation to go

2. It would need a place to live for 2 weeks while we're still on vacation--that means having a cycled tank setup at her house assumably and then leaving that whole setup there for her to deal with.

3. I'd also need a tank setup and running here--so we're talking 2 complete fish setups--one that would only run for 2 weeks and then be unwanted/wasted.

Am I missing a great alternative to where it could live until it gets shipped?

[DaveO]

On 12/29/2021 at 6:58 PM, KaitieG said:

I've thought about having her ship a fish, which seems possibly do-able.  The problems would be 

1. We'd still have 2 weeks of vacation to go

2. It would need a place to live for 2 weeks while we're still on vacation--that means having a cycled tank setup at her house assumably and then leaving that whole setup there for her to deal with.

3. I'd also need a tank setup and running here--so we're talking 2 complete fish setups--one that would only run for 2 weeks and then be unwanted/wasted.

Am I missing a great alternative to where it could live until it gets shipped?

I suppose an alternative would be to  ship it directly upon receipt from the co-op to your home. If you have someone capable of recieving it at home, a fish sitter maybe?

[drewzero1]

It's not ideal, but I have on occasion kept fish temporarily in a 5 gallon bucket with heater and cycled sponge filter. I only needed it for a couple of days, not sure how well it would work for two weeks. I'm also not very familiar with bettas.

[KaitieG]

On 12/29/2021 at 7:57 PM, DaveO said:

I suppose an alternative would be to  ship it directly upon receipt from the co-op to your home. If you have someone capable of recieving it at home, a fish sitter maybe?

THAT is an idea that might actually work!  Good thinking!