Hi Guys
I'm leaving for a 10 day vacation. Fish will be fed every other day by neighbor. I am pre filling small bags with food to try to keep control of the amount of food they get. My big question is will the fish be o.k. without a water change for 10 days? I have a 50 gallon tank that's been up and running for 5+ years. It's a community tank with dwarf cichlids, tetras, and rainbow fish. The rainbows(2) are about 5 inches long,2 other rainbows about 2 inches long, one other rainbow 4" long, bolivian ram is about 3" 6 tetra's about 2" each. Also a cichlid about 3 inches long. That's about 30" of fish. I've had the rainbows for at least 3 years. they were only about 1" long when I got them. Some of my tetras have been in the tank for 4 years. I have live plants as well. My normal water change(about 20 gals.) is done every 3-4 days. I do this mainly because I enjoy working on my aquarium. All my tests are always good. I think that explains the longevity of my fish. Any way what are your thoughts about waiting 10 days between water changes? I will do 50% change right before I leave. If I need to, my brother will come in and do the change for me but he is not an aquarist, so there is a chance that something could go wrong. Thoughts please.
I'm leaving for a 10 day vacation. Fish will be fed every other day by neighbor. I am pre filling small bags with food to try to keep control of the amount of food they get. My big question is will the fish be o.k. without a water change for 10 days? I have a 50 gallon tank that's been up and running for 5+ years. It's a community tank with dwarf cichlids, tetras, and rainbow fish. The rainbows(2) are about 5 inches long,2 other rainbows about 2 inches long, one other rainbow 4" long, bolivian ram is about 3" 6 tetra's about 2" each. Also a cichlid about 3 inches long. That's about 30" of fish. I've had the rainbows for at least 3 years. they were only about 1" long when I got them. Some of my tetras have been in the tank for 4 years. I have live plants as well. My normal water change(about 20 gals.) is done every 3-4 days. I do this mainly because I enjoy working on my aquarium. All my tests are always good. I think that explains the longevity of my fish. Any way what are your thoughts about waiting 10 days between water changes? I will do 50% change right before I leave. If I need to, my brother will come in and do the change for me but he is not an aquarist, so there is a chance that something could go wrong. Thoughts please.
Just make sure your neighbor doesn't overfeed, which it seems you have that under control. Don't sweat, but if you're really worried just do a big water change before you go, like the day before, and you should be set. I like this tank, the table design is cool!
