Feeding while away

[matthew12098]

I'm going away for 4 days soon and I wasn't too concerned about my other fish, as I knew that they could go for a while without food, but my 2 female guppies have just dropped a total of 17 fry. How should I go about feeding them while I am away? Would it be ok to just put some extra Java Moss into their tank and let them eat that? As I have seen the fry do it before when I get home from school before I feed them. Or should I put one of those sinking food things in that last a week.

 

[FishBR]

Can you ask a friend or neighbor to stop by and feed them? Only the fry need food, don't worry about the other fish.

 

[AbbeysDad]

Fry really need to be fed three times (or more) a day. Adding plant material helps, but not really enough. If there is no one to feed them in your absence, I'd recommend the Eheim Everyday Feeder with high quality crushed flake food.

 

[itiwhetu]

If you have plenty of plant, the little guppies will be fine, it is only a few days. Just feed them before you leave.

 

[AbbeysDad]

It deserves mentioning that in spite of best intentions, some advice here may be flawed. Normally not feeding fish for a few days causes no harm. Fry do need to be fed several times a day...but not feeding these adult guppies for days mean that the fry become (tender and delicious) FOOD!!!

 

[itiwhetu]

I thought the fry had their own tank, silly me !!

 

[Colin_T]

Add lots of plants, give them a feed before you go, and increase the lighting times to 16 hours a day to encourage algae, and they will be fine. The fry will eat microscopic organisms on the plants and if the water turns green, they will eat the single celled algae.

 

[matthew12098]

I thought the fry had their own tank, silly me !!

Yes, they are in their own tank. I have discussed with other people and based upon feedback on this forum, I believe it would be best to turn the lighting up to 16 hours a day for the days that I am still here, as Colin_T mentioned. I have also added a decent amount of Java Moss to the tank to encourage micro-organisms to grow inside of the Java Moss for the fry to live off of, I have already seen a small bit of algae growing on the side of the tank which the fry take little nibbles at, which I assume is a good sign. I will also feed them just before I leave so they get a good snack. Any other advice? I would get my neighbours to feed them but they don't have a good relationship with us & the trip is with my friends and their families (plus my family), so there isn't too much I can do regarding someone else feeding them.

 

[itiwhetu]

Yes, they are in their own tank. I have discussed with other people and based upon feedback on this forum, I believe it would be best to turn the lighting up to 16 hours a day for the days that I am still here, as Colin_T mentioned. I have also added a decent amount of Java Moss to the tank to encourage micro-organisms to grow inside of the Java Moss for the fry to live off of, I have already seen a small bit of algae growing on the side of the tank which the fry take little nibbles at, which I assume is a good sign. I will also feed them just before I leave so they get a good snack. Any other advice? I would get my neighbours to feed them but they don't have a good relationship with us & the trip is with my friends and their families (plus my family), so there isn't too much I can do regarding someone else feeding them.

It is never a good idea to have non fish people feeding a tank it is best to just let it be for the few days. You have done and considered all the things you need to.