Holiday Survival Plan - keeping Guppies alive!

[FishkeeperDiscoWostit]

Hi there,

We have 2 male guppies in a 25l tank (we are starting slow). We are away for 7 days soon. I have been doing a bit of research about the best way to keep the tank healthy in our absence (lots of great tips on here). My plan so far is:

* Feed fish a little more than usual in the run up to our holiday (was going to do this twice a day rather than our usual once, but still small amount)
* Clean filter a few days before we go
* Do 50% water change day before.
* Arrange for fish to be fed every other day (set measured amount) whilst we are away. Was going to provide flakes to keep things simple (normally we would feed them Daphnia at times as well).

We have 2 plants in tank. Lights are on timer. Fish are currently happy and healthy.

Does this sound like a sensible plan? Is every other day feeding okay, or could they even go 3 days and be okay?

Would love any additional wisdom.
Thank you

 

[Essjay]

They can actually go for a week without food. But if there is someone willing to feed them while you are away, a couple of times a week is plenty. But I would use just flakes as they are easy to measure out while daphnia are a bit more complicated. The safest way is to measure out one meal amount into one of those pill dispensers which have a compartment for every day of the week with instructions to feed only one compartment on any day. And hide the tubs of food as many well meaning friends think we don't feed enough so give them more than we've measured out.

 

[Slaphppy7]

How long has this tank been set up? Is it cycled?
If you clean the filter, be certain you don't "clean" the media, just rinse it in old tank water.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

What @Essjay said, although I'd suggest that they'd be happy enough for upto a fortnight without food, especially as you're potentially fattening them up beforehand. A week left to their own devices wouldn't be a problem.
Assuming you have a relatively normal tank, they'll also peck at your algae and microorganisms living in it and on it.

 

[emeraldking]

They can do without food for a week without any problems to be honest. In the meantime, they'll go on the search for food on the bottom that got waste otherwise. You shouldn't be worried about them when you leave them alone for a week.

 

[FishkeeperDiscoWostit]

They can actually go for a week without food. But if there is someone willing to feed them while you are away, a couple of times a week is plenty. But I would use just flakes as they are easy to measure out while daphnia are a bit more complicated. The safest way is to measure out one meal amount into one of those pill dispensers which have a compartment for every day of the week with instructions to feed only one compartment on any day. And hide the tubs of food as many well meaning friends think we don't feed enough so give them more than we've measured out.

Quite agree. Flakes is way to go and I will be hiding rest of the food. My Dad is a notorious feeder of any animal he comes across and sometimes he pops in unannounced . . .

 

[FishkeeperDiscoWostit]

They can do without food for a week without any problems to be honest. In the meantime, they'll go on the search for food on the bottom that got waste otherwise. You shouldn't be worried about them when you leave them alone for a week.

Thanks for that. I have heard they would be fine for a week, but think I might worry if I didn't have anyone popping in.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

My Dad is a notorious feeder of any animal he comes across and sometimes he pops in unannounced . . .

So hide ALL the food and tell your Dad that you wouldn't appreciate coming home to unwell or dead fish.

 

[FishkeeperDiscoWostit]

How long has this tank been set up? Is it cycled?
If you clean the filter, be certain you don't "clean" the media, just rinse it in old tank water.

Tank is cycled. We are about 2 months in to the fish adventure. Sure, rinse filter in removed tank water is what I meant

 

[FishkeeperDiscoWostit]

So hide ALL the food and tell your Dad that you wouldn't appreciate coming home to unwell or dead fish.

I have his number. We were away for a while recently and he popped in and announced the fish were STARVING! Luckily we were home the next day so I could do the tank. He has been warned . . .

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

We were away for a while recently and he popped in and announced the fish were STARVING!

Fish may possess very few human characteristics, but they are profound and accomplished liars.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I concur with the above. No need to feed if you’re only going to be gone for 1 week.

 

[Sgooosh]

They can actually go for a week without food. But if there is someone willing to feed them while you are away, a couple of times a week is plenty. But I would use just flakes as they are easy to measure out while daphnia are a bit more complicated. The safest way is to measure out one meal amount into one of those pill dispensers which have a compartment for every day of the week with instructions to feed only one compartment on any day. And hide the tubs of food as many well meaning friends think we don't feed enough so give them more than we've measured out.

yes
agree

this is funny- my tank needs to be fed crushed fine fish food that is held with the whole fist(cleaned) into the water so that it sinks down and cories can get it
also it has to alternate between hikari guppy, cory food, general fish food, and algae wafers
also make sure your friend is very trusted and not like a kid who just comes and leaves and just forgets about the whole thing (thadt probably be me)
feeding the right amount of food is hard too, like if i went to my friends tank i wouold have no idea how much to feed at all

 

[Colin_T]

Thanks for that. I have heard they would be fine for a week, but think I might worry if I didn't have anyone popping in.

Do what you listed at the start of this thread, except don't bother getting anyone to feed them for the week you are away. They really don't need it.

Unlike mammals and birds that use most of the food they eat to keep warm, most fish take their body temperature from the surrounding water. This means the food they eat is used for growth and movement. This allows fish to go for weeks or even months without food and suffer no major ill effects.

If the fish are adults and in good condition before you go, they will be fine without food for 7 days.

If you are still concerned, feed them 3-5 times a day for 2 weeks before you go. this will help them gain a heap of weight and they can use the fat reserves while you are away. Do big daily water changes during this time to keep the water clean. Make sure new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank. Add a heap of live plants and increase the lighting period to 14-16 hours a day. The fish will feed on microscopic organisms on the plants and will graze on any algae that grows from the extra light.