Empty tanks

[LadyVictorian]

Well...I have a 20 gal tank here and a 10gal tank back in Minnesota I am picking up along with some of my other stuff. I was thinking of seeing about converting them to fish tanks but here in lies the issue. They were both used for mice in the past and I don't know if I want to use them for mice again or not. I kind of LOVE having mice and my 20gal would fit six mouse girls but that 10 gal can only fit three and it only has the mesh lid to where the 20gal has a lock lid for escape proof mice, lizards, and snakes. SO would it be possible to turn the 10 gal into a fish tank despite the fact it has had mice living in it for about three years on and off. It hasn't gotten as much mouse use as the 20gal since that was my main tank where my colony of mouse girls lived.

Now the last time the 10gal was used was for a sick baby wild mouse I saved and revived then set free. It has been washed with soup, hot water, and bleach so as to kill off anything the baby might have had. It has a standard mesh lid so I would need an aquarium lid instead and there is also the concern of mice chewing up the sealant. What could I get to actually fix that if it did have a leak and first question being since mice lived in these could they be fish safe or no?

[davyj0427]

I wouldn't be concerned about mice living in the tanks It sounds like you did a good job cleaning them. About the sealant I would take it outside and fill it to the top and let it sit for 24 to 48 hours and watch to see if it leaks. If it does leak you can get aquarium sealant from you LFS or Home Depot its 100% silicone just make sure the package says aquarium safe. Some have fungicides in them that will kill your fish nice and fast. (dont ask me how I know) The home depot route will be a tad cheaper like $4 dollars for a tube that would be more then enough to reseal. Just squeeze it into the joints and smooth it out with your finger if it gets messy wait for it to dry and take a razor blade to clean it to you liking.

[LadyVictorian]

Thank you so much. I am so tempted to make a sorority out of the 10gal now. Maybe five girls unless that is too many. First of course I need to get my 10gal tank back. My parents still have it back in Minnesota. After that it's fixing it up and cycling it. My 20gal is still in question. i could turn it into an amazing planted tank for some other fish types but dang...I would hate to suddenly want mice and no tank to keep mice in. Not even 100% what would go in the 20gal xD Aquarius. Wow he would have so much space he wouldn't know what to do with himself.

[davyj0427]

I have a 20L sorority with 6 girls in it right now on the lookout for a few more to make it ten. They love it and so do I. They all swim to greet me anytime I'm near them. I don't know much about mice except when your little and handle them rough they bite you. Would the 10 be too small for them?

[LadyVictorian]

For mice? No the 10 gal can happily fit three mice but I like lots of room since I can't get them out as much as I get my rats out. I have only ever free roam trained one mouse and that was because she was pretty much a dog. xD little Ophelia.

[BettaQi]

Originally Posted by LadyVictorian

Thank you so much. I am so tempted to make a sorority out of the 10gal now. Maybe five girls unless that is too many. First of course I need to get my 10gal tank back. My parents still have it back in Minnesota. After that it's fixing it up and cycling it. My 20gal is still in question. i could turn it into an amazing planted tank for some other fish types but dang...I would hate to suddenly want mice and no tank to keep mice in. Not even 100% what would go in the 20gal xD Aquarius. Wow he would have so much space he wouldn't know what to do with himself.

Have you had a sorority before?

I am scared to try even though I used to want one. I just read all the stickies and it seems like one lives on the edge of tragedy.

[LadyVictorian]

I have never had a sorority before but I have had tons of community fish aquariums. You do in a way not only because the fish can attack or kill each other but each time you introduce new fish the pecking order changes. It's the same with when I kept mice which was why you can't just throw a new mouse into the tank after the two week qt. The mice could kill the newcomer for 'intruding' on their taritory and with no way to escape it can't 'flee' or hide. Also you risk bringing in new illnesses with new fish but that is why a two week qt is good to run through. You should honestly do it with any new pet you get, even cats or dogs. Like my mice or my community tanks you need to pay extra special attention to the workings of your own mini society. With my mice I even learned quick that they were so much like wolves. You have your alpha female and you have the omega everyone pushes around. It was fun to watch the other girls fit back while the alpha female ate first and then let the others come to eat when she had taken the food she wanted. I would love, especially if I don't get mice again to have a community like that to watch other again. With my mice and community tanks I was very good at spotting who needed to be removed from the group and live alone either due to being aggressive or because they are getting their tail ends handed to them. Though I don't think I'll have to face what I did with my mice and my community fish. They tend to live shorter lives when kept alone. Betta's are more chill being alone. I know my community fish would belly up after a month of solitary and my mouse who was too aggressive for the colony only lived a year and a half compared to the 2-3 years my other mice did.

[LadyVictorian]

Actually looking at it now I just loled. Betta's are the aquatic mice. With mice you can't keep males together or they will kill each other (most people don't know that and it's awful when males fight because the loser can't run away so he gets slaughtered and I MEAN slaughtered, usually males will skin the other males alive and rip off limbs) Female mice on the other hand should be kept in groups but never under the number three or you'll have issues with over dominance on one female. They do best in groups of three though five is a better choice. That way you have a 'pack' and the alpha female won't spend all her time picking on one or two mice. It's basically like betta's you want to spread out the aggression. You can't take it out of the animal all together because it is what they are but you can help individual fish or mice by making sure they are not being picked on constantly. Even the introduction is just like mice only with mice you can't introduce them in their actual tank or a fight will break out 99% of the time. You have to let the pack accept the outside on neutral territory. Only difference is with betta's the alpha female will not how the newcomer has been accepted by grooming her, it's more a 'once the new pack order is established.'