Back from vacation, feeder failed! (Happy ending)

[BrianJR]

Here's my story...I went home for the holidays, and I was gone for a total of 18 days. Since it was the holidays, most of my friends were also away, so nobody could feed my fish. So, I bought a fish feeder off ebay. This feeder has 14 individual compartments, so you can make sure your fish get a set amount of food each day. I had the feeder going for a week before I left, and everything seemed to be working perfectly. I left for my vacation feeling fairly comfortable about my fishes well-being.

When I returned, the first thing I did when I walked in the door was check my fish! I was so relieved when I turned on the lights and they were all still there! The tank was dirty, and my tetras were very pale, but everyone was still alive. So, imagine my surprise when I looked in the feeder to see that 10 of the slots still had food in them! No wonder my poor fish were pale.

I'm not sure what happened. Maybe the battery died (it was a fresh one) or maybe the motor died (another quality product made in China). Whatever happened, it means my fish survived for 2 whole weeks without food! I can't believe it! I've been feeding them for the last two days, and everything seems to be back to normal...both fish colour and behaviour.

Moral of the story...next time I'll be getting friend to feed my fish. But it's nice to know my fish are pretty hardy.

 

[aquarist15]

actually, if they are hardy fish, they can survive in the worst conditions. During the hurricane my power was out and nothing was running (didnt have a backup air pump). Well guess what? Every one of my fish survived the week and a half without power. the ammonia was building up but they survived with food.