going on holiday

[jimbooo]

Hi Everyone,

i'm going on holiday for 2 weeks soon and not sure what to do with the fish.

do i buy a holiday feeder machine or get a mate to pop round and put food in?

i've heard bad things about feeders before and a bit weary. Tank is 10 Gallon with community fish and inverts. also i usually do a 25% h2o change weekly, will it be okay for 2 weeks without a change or should i try to teach a helpfull friend how to do it (also a bit weary of this, no one else has ever fiddled with my tank!!)

any first hand experiences would be really helpfull i'm not sure what to do.

 

[Nisha]

If you're having a friend coming over to feed, I recommend putting in the exact amount of food to feed in little boxes so that your friend doesn't overfeed by mistake. Those daily pill boxes are quite good for this since they have individual compartments which are air tight.
I think your tank should be okay without a water change for 2 weeks. Just make sure to do a water change just before you leave and as soon as you get back.

 

[canarsie11]

Good advice

 

[Joviella]

I totally agree with the friend advice. Depending on what fish you have, they could actually be fine without food for a two week period.(supposedly)
I, personally, would get someone to check my fish were all ok......and feed them every other day. Like suggested , I would leave pre-measured amounts of food to be given.

 

[Final Dynazty]

Yeah you should have a friend come over and feed them.

 

[bigfish]

How about using those block feeding blocks that slowly dissolve over the weeks your away that way u don't have to have someone fiddling with your tank while your away.

Put the lights on a timer plug.

Could just have someone to pop in to have a quick peak.


HTH

Bigfish

 

[mrswoman2000]

I recently went on holiday and was advised not to use the feeding blocks. I put the required amount of food into small tubs and showed my neighbour how to feed the fish and asked them not to give anymore. Lights were on timers and everything was great when i came back. I did a water test and results were perfect.

Lynn

 

[clutterydrawer]

Those holiday feeding blocks are predominantly plaster and can mess with your water chemistry. I used some made by Tetra which claimed to have no plaster in them but when I came back they'd rotted into a nasty fungus-y lump and it didnt look like they'd been eaten at all, so I won't be using them again!

The best thing is to have a friend over, and to pre-measure food to avoid overfeeding, like someone else said. Fish can actually go quite a while without food so your friend doesn't have to come round every day, every 3-4 days would be sufficient. just make sure it's someone you completely trust!

unless your tank is overstocked or you have very sensitive, delicate fish you should be ok without a water change for two weeks. do one before you go and as soon as you come back, instead. i think having a friend do a water change would probably be an invitation to disaster.

 

[corrosive]

One problem with getting a friend round is, that they will forget! Ive seen it happen.

The results ususally wernt good.

As said above ask a friend who you can trust, and who has a good memory .

 

[parker313]

We just got back from a 2wk vacation. I turned the lights off completely in both tanks and closed the blinds. It was a good chance to get rid of some pesky algae Then, I laid out some dried brine shrimp blocks and just asked that she feed them every 3-4 days or so. I did a water change right before we left.

When we got home, it was the middle of the night and I made the mistake of turning on the lights. All my tetras and both the rams looked like they were on the brink of death. They were swimming funny and had NO color. I thought they were goners for sure. The next morning though, they were fine. Turns out I had just woken them from sleeping

In my 46g however, I did lose a fish. I'd had 3 turquoise rainbows and 2 had died already (I think the boesemanis were picking on them) and the 3rd one died while we were gone. It must have died early on b/c it was a mess I was really worried that the ammonia would have spiked and killed my other fish, but I did a water change first thing the next morning and everyone is still fine

HTH,
Kristin

 

[clutterydrawer]

I did EXACTLY the same thing! When I got home from holiday I wanted to check *straight away* that they were all still alive, so I turned the light on...this was at 10pm, they were all completely white (all my fish are black normally...) and looked like they were lying down

i spent the whole night stressing about it then the next morning they were fine that'll teach me not to wake them up when they're sleeping!

 

[mrswoman2000]

I got quite a fright the first time i decided to check on the fish during the night. As others have said all the fish had lost their colour and i spent the night worrying. But the next morning all was well
As to the holiday feeding the neighbour that fed the fish for me was coming in twice a day to close/open the curtains etc, and i had labelled the tubs,(with the right amount of food in), with the days that they were to be given.


Lynn