Going on Vacation... what to do with the fish?

[mandy2936]

Hello,
In the beginning of March I'm off from school for spring vacation and will be going away for 7 days. I currently have a 20g tank and a 5g tank. The 5g might be able to be carried to a neighbor, but obviously the 20g can't.

Do automatic feeders actually work? What is the best thing I can do? For the 5g Betta, if I can find a willing neighbor, what is the best way to transport it in the car? Should I lower the water level in the tank, and put the Betta in a bag or something for the ride? How should I go about this whole thing?

The longest I've gone away from my fish tanks so far (they are relatively new!) is 3 days, so clearly I am new to this.

Thank you very much for the advice

 

[fred]

Never used an automatic feeder but what I did was pre-measure the fish food and had someone come over and feed the fish once a day. I think those automatic feeders are a good idea though and I'll use it next time we go away

 

[tyspot1000]

I know this sounds mean, but you could put a few ghost shrimp (Really cheap at petstores) in the tank, slowly, the fish will get hungry and eat them off in time. Ive done this a few times and its worked. Im not sure how im going to feed the fish next time im gone, I have some amano shrimp that I dont want to loose!

Ive never used Automatic feeders, but Ive heard mixed reports of them being good and bad. If you do get one, Make sure to get one that you can pre-set the food in so that you wont over feed the fish.

As far as draining the tank,

First: Get the betta out of the tank and into a small fish bowl/ container with tank water.

Second: Drain the tank until little, to no water is left.

Third: Put the filter media in a container or zip lock bag with some tank water (To keep the filter media alive until setup at neighbors/friends house.

Then, you can move the tank

 

[Codefox]

I'm single and I travel heavily for work. I'm generally gone Sunday night through Thursday but if I decide to go somewhere over the weekend I'll even be away a couple weeks in a row. Since I'm gone so much, even when I am home, I'm just not in the habit of feeding my fish. It doesn't help that my aquarium is in a room of my house that I don't go into until the afternoon generally.

So because of this, I feed my fish almost exclusively with an automatic feeder. I've had it running for 6 or 7 months now and my fish have done very well. I didn't get a cheap one and it has quite a few different programmable settings so I'm quite confident in its ability to keep my fish fed.

If its only for a week I'd just have someone come feed the fish a couple times but if you think you'll get frequent use of an automatic feeder, consider getting one. I have this one by Eheim: Feed Air Automatic Feeder (Eheim)

 

[glassbird]

If you get an automatic feeder, get it long before you go away and set it up to run WHILE you are home. If it does a good job while you are there to monitor it, you can go away with at least some confidence that it will do a good job while you are gone. Be sure to set it for a little less food than you normally give, just in case.

Regarding moving the smaller tank, remove all the water except for an inch or two, and put the fish in something else...maybe a brand new (and very clean) bucket, with the rest of the water from the tank.

If you have someone in to feed your fish, be sure to pre-measure into little containers or baggies the right amount for one feeding. Then HIDE the rest of the food. (In another room, under the bed, etc.) Non-fish people just have no idea how little fish need, and can be prone to giving "extra for later". You only need some one to come in 2 or three times, at most. Not every day.

 

[adeebm]

I would recommend a Fishmate F14 feeder. It's the only cheap feeder that I know of that allows you to control the exact portions for each day, up to 14 days. The barrel type feeders tend to dump a random amount of food in. You can use a feeder, or you can get a neighbor to come in. The fish don't have to eat every day though, and most can even survive for a week without food. You could have someone come in twice or three times that week.

--Adeeb

 

[Seeker]

Take it from me.

I too am planning on a spring break trip for a while and need someone or something to feed my fish. I bought the only model of an automatic feeder from my local pet store that was cheaper and didn't break the bank, and it sucks. I set it up to see what kind of work it would do. The amount was always random. Most of the time, it over fed the fish. I could see it working for a larger tank--maybe.

I have no use for the one I have and don't know if I can take it back. Maybe I can send it to you if you pay for shipping. PM if anyone is interested.

I also looked into food blocks. Does anyone have any knowledge of those? I have a smaller tank with some guppies and shrimp.

Any advice would be great.

-Jacob

 

[adeebm]

I will never use those food blocks again. I used them once a long time ago. The water was all yellow and cloudy when I came back, and I doubt the fish even ate it.

--Adeeb

 

[glassbird]

I have never used the food blocks, but I have read many posts where people swore they would never use them again. There is a newer type, some sort of gel feeder, but I would try one out while you are home and see what it does. At least that way you can step in to correct the situation if they also fail.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

If you have anyone who can feed your fish, get them to go in twice a few days apart in the middle of your trip and feed them an amount you have already put out for the purpose. Overfeeding is a BIG problem with caretakers... I would underfeed, underfeed, underfeed... Fish can go without for a while and will find food.

 

[mandy2936]

Thanks everyone for the replies!!
I have found a neighbor who can take my Betta, but I don't think I can find another for my 20g. So, what I was thinking was to leave the Betta tank at home and just ask that one neighbor to come in a few times and feed both tanks.

I'm well aware of how common it would be for the neighbors to overfeed, I can just imagine that disaster, so I'll take everyones advice and only put out a pre-measured ammount. If it turns out that no one is available after all, than I will look into some of the automatic feeders you have suggested.
Thanks everyone so much!! I appreciate the numerable feedback. AA is just so great, isn't it?

Sent from my iPod touch using Aquarium

 

[Leopard danio]

I have never used the feeder blocks I was thinking about using them next time i go away but after reading about them i dont think i am going to try them.

 

[hal.lc]

Assuming both tanks are fully cycled you should be fine just letting them be. Your fish can easily survive without food for a week. The biggest issue would be water quality. So right before you leave you should do a big water change on each tank.

The big problem is that if just one fish dies the decomposing fish could completely crash the entire tank. So you want to take extra care to inspect the health of your fish before you leave and quarantine any sickly fish.

If you have a neighbor you can trust you should ask them to stop by once half way through the week to check for dead fish. You could have your neighbor feed them a little too if your worried about your fish going hungry. But be sure they don't overfeed them. The more the fish eat the more waste they create.

Be sure to do another water change right when you get back. Water quality can turn pretty fast, especially in smaller tanks like yours.

Also, if you have any live aquatic plants you could put in the tanks(if the ranks aren't already planted) this would help with water quality. Even just some "lucky bamboo" would probably help.

By the way, I'm going to be traveling around the same time, but for 10 days. So I'm in a similar situation.

 

[dkpate]

If you find a neighbor to feed them, you can proportion the food out in those little snack bags, and have the neighbor feed every other day. I always put the date on the bag too.

 

[hal.lc]

If you find a neighbor to feed them, you can proportion the food out in those little snack bags, and have the neighbor feed every other day. I always put the date on the bag too.

That is a very good suggestion.

If I have someone available to check up on my aquariums I use these small hard plastic containers that I found at the dollar store, put a half portion of food in each and then hide the rest of the food to be certain there is no over feeding. I then place each one on top of the tank that it is meant for and have a friend come by once or twice while I'm gone(depending on how long I'm gone for) to hand out the food.

I would suggest not trusting an automatic feeder while your gone. They are alright to use if your going to be around to check on them regularly, but its just not worth the risk of malfunction to use them while your away. There is nothing wrong with leaving your aquariums unfed for a week, although I wouldn't go any longer than that.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

I left my wife a list of instructions. She followed them to the letter as previous times when I had been away she had overfed and unfortunately the food broke down and the fish were dying when I returned. It's pretty funny seeing the dates she had noted she had done each thing this time.

Pet instructions | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[dkpate]

I left my wife a list of instructions. She followed them to the letter as previous times when I had been away she had overfed and unfortunately the food broke down and the fish were dying when I returned. It's pretty funny seeing the dates she had noted she had done each thing this time.

Pet instructions | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Man, you were gone forever! LOL

 

[Dary421]

On the same general note., does anyone know how long you can go not feeding a triggerfish? They always seem hungry., I'm experimenting now just feeding them every other day,..but they seem upset....( didn't wanna hijack this tread , but thought it was on the same topic)

 

[Forester]

I would with an automatic feeder, I go away weeks at a time with the automatic feeders and I have a 20g, 30g and a 75g.

Tyspot are you on fishlore to

 

[hortoholic]

Although I highly don't recommend, I used those vacation feeders with no problems. Just make sure your water is in those parameters in order for them to dissolve correctly.