Vacation Anxiety

[mctypething]

I'm about to take a trip out to California for 9 days. I figured this was too long to go without feeding the fish so I asked someone in my neighborhood if he could come by at least a few times while I'm gone to feed the fish. He was supposed to come last night so I could show him my feeding routine, but he never did. The guy is a good guy but very unreliable.

Should I consider an automatic feeder, just hope for the best and not feed for 9 days, or just rely on this guy? He built my stand and used to build stands for a living, so he must have some knowledge of aquariums. I don't leave until Friday so I'm sure I could get him to come by this week.

I guess my question is whether 9 days is too long to go without feeding. Thanks for your help.

 

[BigJim]

It depends on the stock list and the tank, but I'd say that nine days is too long in most cases. An automatic feeder is an option, but I'd look at vacation feeders. I think all the vacation feeders are is fish food suspended in plaster of Paris. Use these, then do a large PWC when you get home.

 

[jsoong]

I would stay away from those vacation feeders .... they are too uncontrolled, and are likely to pollute your tank. <Eg, if the whole thing disintegrate ahead of time ...>

I think an automatic feeder is the best option ... you can't really trust someone who is unreliable.

 

[HeathB]

+1 on not using vacation feeders. Most of my fish wouldn't even touch it the time I tried one out.

I also agree that the auto feeder is probably best. Who knows when you might have to leave again/ stuff happens.

 

[mctypething]

Thanks for the tips. I'm going to give this guy one more chance and if not I'm going to get an auto feeder. Does anyone have any recommendations on auto feeders?

Gosh, going on a trip used to be so easy, now I have fish to worry about haha.

 

[thuffman03]

I have had good and bad luck with auto feeders. I tend to stay away from them now. I would try to get a reliable neighbor to tend after your fish while you are gone.

 

[7Enigma]

Here's another vote to stay FAR FAR away from those vacation feeders. They have the horrible tendency to foul the water, plus some types of fish can have issues from the binding substance (not to mention over-eat).

Here's what I recommend. Forget the auto-feeder. Get some dixie cups or shot glasses and fill them with the amount of food you want fed on a single day. I recommend a mix of flake/freeze-dried/algae wafer/sinking pellet. That way everyone in the tank is covered (omit if you don't have that type of fish). Put them out next to the tank with a sign that says:

"Please feed 1 ONE WON! cup a day. If you miss a day DO NOT FEED TWO."

Most people, especially ones that are unreliable think that they should feed more if they miss a feeding (not to mention feeding WAY too much at a single time). By placing the food in individual cups and making sure only 1 is fed at a time you can't go wrong.

And honestly while 9 days is IMO too long to go without a feeding, a single feeding within that time (preferaby on day 4-5)should be sufficient for the vacation. Anything extra is gravy.

After a couple bad experiences with friends/family overfeeding after forgetting to feed I started doing this with great success. Takes the pressure off the helper as well in terms of dosage.

HTH

 

[corrado33]

Does anyone have any recommendations on auto feeders?

I bought a cheap one from my LFS that fed once every 12 hours. That's all it did, nothing more, nothing less. I HATED it. If you are going to get one, spend a couple more bucks and get one that has adjustable feeding times. Plus, who feeds their fish once every 12 hours anyway?

Also, there was NO WAY to make it feed on command, no button or anything, so if you didn't test it when you first put the batteries in, you HAD to wait another 12 hours for it to feed again. It was dumb. Nonetheless, I used it. I figured that it'd be better to have a bit of food in the tank rather than none. I had it on the lowest setting possible too.

 

[mgamer20o0]

7Enigma is right on about this in my mind. i get people to feed once ever 2-3 days. hide the rest of the food so they cant find it also.

 

[7Enigma]

7Enigma is right on about this in my mind. i get people to feed once ever 2-3 days. hide the rest of the food so they cant find it also.

Good point on hiding the food. That is one thing I haven't done yet but will in the future. I only posted btw to say great pic on the anubias flower in your avatar. I have another shooting up right now in my tank waiting to open!

 

[mctypething]

Thanks guys. Well, the guy in my neighborhood came by last night and I showed him how much I feed and the overall routine I have. I asked if it would be easier if I separated the food in shot glasses, but he said he was fine. He used to build aquarium stands for a living so he is familiar with it all. He said he could come by every other day while I'm gone, which I think is perfect. I won't be able to do a PWC for 2 weeks, so the less food going into the tank during this time, the better. I feel a lot better now and I'm going to rely on him. He lives right down the street.

 

[7Enigma]

I would still put the food in the shot glasses. Just my humble recommendation.

 

[mgamer20o0]

pile container zip locks.... even people who "know" what they are doing its better safe then sorry.

 

[Mark Hewitt]

I've just come back from a week away. We got people to come in once every 3 days and give them a block of blood worms out of the freezer. That keeps them going no problem for 3-4 days at a time.

 

[cjldad]

Did they just toss the block of worms in, or were they thawing them in a cup of water first??

 

[Mark Hewitt]

Just whack them in. We always do that, the fish like attacking it and picking it apart.