Vacation

[martintanks91]

Hey I'm not gonna be home for a few days, 6 to be exact. Will my fish be okay without food or is it to many days? Or should I put in this food that dissolves in the water that I bought at my lfs?
Thanks !


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[The_Desacrator]

There are automatic feeders you can buy. From what I have been seen others give advice on this forum fish can go a few days without eating. 6 might be pushing it, but I sure someone else can give you more exact instructions. Also you can have a family member or friend come in and feed them once or twice.

 

[FishayFishay]

Fish can go up to 14 days without eating according to Google (lol I'm not gonna pretend like I'm a marine biologist or something for the forums)

But 6 days is pushing it because you should feed at least every other day for healthy normal growing fish/and or other species.

My advice is to have someone come in every other day to come and put a pinch of food in. I know a lot of people are nervous about letting people who know nothing about fish, handle fish. But if it makes you feel better, do anything you can to make the job easier for the person coming in and give them simple but specific instructions. Sticky notes on the tank or stand is a good idea.

You could go to your local drug store and pick up a pill bottle schedule thingy. A week worth and put a pinch of food for the days they will come in, this way they know exactly how much and make sure to include on a sticky note that they shouldn't feed any more! Even if the fish looks hungry still, some people are too quick to fall for that. Lol

I'll lay it out for you to make it simple for you and whoever takes care of your fish in the near future.

S- the day you leave/feed normally
M- no food
T- feed a pinch
W- no food
T- feed a pinch
F- no food
S- feed a pinch

Understand? Good luck man and don't worry about them too much. They'll be fine. Make sure to water change and make sure all equipment is doing good and will last at least until you get back.

 

[ScotJudd]

My neighbours come in every other day when I'm away and they love doing it as they don't have a tank of their own.
I leave a measured amount for each day in small containers, labelled up for the day they should be fed.
I HIDE MY FISH FOOD so hungry looking fish don't get over fed by well meaning feeders.
As an aside, I clean the filter one week before vacation, time to ensure there are no leaks. I water change the day before I go to ensure the best conditions for the whole vacation. I always come home to healthy fish, keener to eat than usual and water with lower nitrate levels than usual.
I think my fish actually benefit from me being away ?.


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[martintanks91]

Ya i thought about leaving a friend in charge but he will deffinatly over feed and I'll be worried thee whole trip. I bought a food that dissolves in the water in 7 days witch is almost the same length as my trip, I know it's not the best answer but automatic feeders are expensive and I don't usually travel.
Thanks for all the advice!


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[FishayFishay]

I heard those are terrible, like they just foul up your water and probably can cause a nitrate spike. It's up to you though.

 

[lksdrinker]

If you're not there to do any maintenance then I'd suggest no food for your absence. The fish will survive and you wont have uneaten food slowly fouling up your tank.

 

[Nightshark]

I was gone for 5 days recently. They were just fed a little extra the day before I left. Everybody was fine. This was with 2 African cichlid tanks. I did do a pretty good water change before the trip too.


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