What to do over Christmas holidays?

[jodie_jo]

I am not going to be in the house for 1 week over xmas and my normal "fish-sitter" is also away. I have been looking at various tablets and contraptions to feed the fish whilst im gone, but would like to ask what people think is the best thing to use?

I have neon tetras, 2 congo tetras, 1 gourami, 1 plec and 1 silver shark in a 65ltr tank.

Thank you.

[hc8719]

some people will tell you that you dont need to feed them, but i think an auto feeder is the way to go. i have one, works great

[theotheragentm]

I second the auto feeder.

[rich311k]

A feeder would be the way to go. I don't put much stock in those vacation feeder things. Just lumps of calcium.

If you have to, a week with out food will not kill any of your fish. They will be very happy to see you when you gat home. If you can get a person to come in once or twice during the week just put some food in a dixie cup or some such container and tell the person to just dump it in.

If you don't already have one get a timer for your lights.

[tropicfishman]

I agree about the auto feeder, if ya can set it up right then you should be A ok

[DepotFish]

The fish will be fine. Get an auto feeder if you want, but don't worry at all if you don't get one. I just left my fish for a week. All was well when I came back.
As for christmas though I'll be gone for a month. So 13 goldfish, 8 bettas, 4 loaches, and 2 platies and my filters are coming home with me to spend the holidays in temporary setups. It will be a hectic holiday, but nothing new to me or the fish. I'll probably have several more goldies on the trip back with me

[Fishyfanatic]

Ditto Depot. You can get an auto feeder, but they will be fine. If you do decide to get an auto feeder test it for at least a week before leaving.

[jodie_jo]

A week? Really? Well i never....
Not sure how comfortable i would feel leaving them for a week without food... how long can they actually go? (out of curiosity)

I may have to purchase a feeder soon then

[DepotFish]

Most fish can last over a month if the tank is properly stocked and cycled, longer if the tank is colder. But you run the risk of one fish dying and making the water go bad so that rest of them die too. Or if the water is unstable you run risks by leaving it unchecked that long.

[JRagg]

Yeah, they can go a lot longer than you would think. I've witnessed it personally.

I picked up the Eheim auto feeder a couple of months ago. It's not cheap, but it works well. It can be set up for 1, 2, or 3 times a day, and it holds a good bit of food. Only works with pellets and flake though.

It's up to you whether you go auto-feeder or leave them alone for a week. If you have aggressive fish or really small and growing fish I would probably go the auto-feeder route.