Gone For 10 Days! Feeder Suggestions?

[ohheyyouitsme]

Uhm.. hello! So, specifications...

I'm new in the town I'm at, so I don't know anyone who can come feed my little guys for me. We live in a po-dunk little town with the nearest fish-life store (PetSmart) is about an hour away in another, only slightly larger town. I don't have a ton of money to spend on an automatic feature, either!

10 Gallon Tank:
I have 1 mickey mouse platy, two balloon belly mollies (who just had 3 fry that are still alive, which will be in the tank by the time I leave, maybe) one albino cory catfish, and one dwarf gourami. I also have one live moss ball, a super neat little filter, and a regulatory pre-set heater.

My house stays about 74-ish degrees to begin with, so the heater only comes on every now and then to keep it at 76-77 degrees depending on if the light is on.

But! What I'm curious about is that I'm leaving for 2 months, at which time my mom is going to take care of my tank. However, SHE is leaving for 10 days while I'm gone, so I'm at a stand still!

I've used PetSmart brand weekend feeders under supervision and I DID NOT like them, but the local Wal-Mart (bad I know but it's all I've got!) has these discs of compressed flakes that say they can feed for up to 14 days? They're made by the same flake brand that I feed everyone already, so I'm wondering if it's worth it? Or, would everyone be OK without anything (so to keep water specs at proper levels) for all 10 days?

Sorry for all the length, I just wanted to put all the facts out there! Thanks so much!

-Jaiden

 

[MikeO]

They will be fine to leave for 10 days without food I'm sure.

I often leave mine for a week without feeding when I am away with no issue. I'm sure they can go for a lot longer without eating.

 

[Aquascaper]

As long as you tailor the feeding before and after (gradually decreasing then increasing) a period as short as that without food would be ok. Not feeding will also help to maintain water quality.

'Holiday' blocks or whatever they're called are not particularly good for water quality as the dissolving agent usually affects alkalinity as well as the excess nutrients, etc.

 

[ohheyyouitsme]

Thank you two so much! I've been feeding them every 2-3 days recently as kind of conditioning, and they look happy and fine everyone is really active, so it's nice to have some reassurance that they'll be OK for the whole 10 day period! Thanks so much!

 

[DreamertK]

Maybe you'd like to get a plant for the vegetarians to nibble on for sustenance. There are a variety of plants that require little to no light or ferts or co2. The only ones you'd want to avoid is the java fern, fish don't like to nibble on those.

 

[ohheyyouitsme]

Maybe you'd like to get a plant for the vegetarians to nibble on for sustenance. There are a variety of plants that require little to no light or ferts or co2. The only ones you'd want to avoid is the java fern, fish don't like to nibble on those.

What kind of plants would you recommend? I already have a small moss ball, but they mostly leave it alone. Is there a type of leafy grass-like plant that my mollies and gourami may be safe with?

 

[DreamertK]

My blue gourami love feasting on my vals (vallisneria). Amazon sword they leave alone. And they leave my marimo alone. Just be sure to tell your mum to pull off any chewed up and dying leaves when she gets back. Vals are generally a few dollars and available in most fish stores and will grow in most conditions. If you plan of permanently keeping them, most types of vals will grow taller than your tank but they'll just slump over at the waters surface and continue growing underwater. Some other suggested plants that I dont have are Anubias and Sagittaria, though Anubias is a very slow grower.