How long can my fish be ok without eating

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Datreeferman

Aquarium Advice Activist
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Sep 30, 2013
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Kyle,Texas
I have a goby,pair of clowns and a chalk bass along with a small cuc. I was going to Puerto Rico for a week(Tuesday to Tuesday)and have nobody to feed my fish and my fish only accept frozen foods so I can't use an automatic feeder, I was just wondering, will my tank inhabitants go a week without food?(technically five days because I will feed it when I leave and when I come back. I might be able to have somebody feed them once before they leave on Friday.
 
They should be fine I leave my tank alone for a week and a half at least once a month just feed a little extra before you go and when you get back there be fine
 
You should be okay if your fish are healthy. I took a weekend trip only to have a family emergency and was gone for a week and a half. Luckily I shut off the sump pumps in my tanks as I don't have an auto top off. The fish were fine and soft corals came back a few days of the pumps turning back on. I just had a couple powerheads going to circulate the tank. Good luck and be careful to shut off pumps so evaporation doesn't get the best of you am your tank. Could be a mess otherwise. Just another piece of advice. Good luck!
 
Generally fish that are well cared for (quality food, clean tank, consistent parameters, excellent WC schedule, and so on) could survive for two weeks, maybe three. What I would do, would be to fast them for one day a few days before you leave. Then do a 75% WC/gravel vac and wipe down the inside tank glass the next day to clean up the tank nice for them. Feed them as normal until you leave. No over feeding. Have fun (if it's a vacation) and they will be fine.
 
Generally fish that are well cared for (quality food, clean tank, consistent parameters, excellent WC schedule, and so on) could survive for two weeks, maybe three. What I would do, would be to fast them for one day a few days before you leave. Then do a 75% WC/gravel vac and wipe down the inside tank glass the next day to clean up the tank nice for them. Feed them as normal until you leave. No over feeding. Have fun (if it's a vacation) and they will be fine.

No, I would leave as much algae and junk on the glass and surfaces for them to nibble on in your absence, the fish really don't care one bit how clean the glass is, LOL.
Doing a huge water change and cleaning like that isn't something you really want to do right before leaving for a week, too many things that could get knocked out of balance..
really, a 75% WC, :confused: sounds a little drastic.
 
No, I would leave as much algae and junk on the glass and surfaces for them to nibble on in your absence, the fish really don't care one bit how clean the glass is, LOL.
Doing a huge water change and cleaning like that isn't something you really want to do right before leaving for a week, too many things that could get knocked out of balance..
really, a 75% WC, :confused: sounds a little drastic.


Most fish won't eat the algae that you see growing on the glass like Coraline or Diatoms and such. So, you don't want to leave a whole bunch of "junk" in your tank. Doing so can also send your parameters out of whack because the tank isn't being cleaned or maintained.

Yes, the 75% water change is a bit drastic. Maybe a 25% if you normally do 10% unless you will be able to preform your normal water change within the period that you are gone.

Also, not doing a water change is what is going to send things out of balance. ESPECIALLY if you have a heavy load of SPS because your Calcium and such will be way low when you get back.
Doing the water change will make sure you have enough... Or not any (depending on the parameter) of the element/nutrient.
 
a 75% waterchange to go away for a week is totally not necessary IMO.

Do you have an auto top off? If not, evaporation would be my main concern, you can loose a lot of water in a week and your salinity will get really high.
 
I don't have a top but I've left the tank low before, maybe I could fill it to the very top before I leave:confused:image.jpg
 
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