Leaving Tank For 4 Weeks

[lucasluke]

Hi, on Monday I will be away from home for 4 weeks and I am worried about my tank.
It is a 12 gallon and is stocked with 5 Neon Tetras, 3 Peppered Corys and a Dwarf Gourami. I have someone able to feed the fish daily but they wouldn't be able to do a water change, at the most they would be able to top up the water. How would I go about leaving the tank for 4 weeks? Thanks!

 

[SamLovesCorys]

I think you should be ok for 4 weeks, just my opinion.

 

[SchottayB]

You'll be fine imo. As long as they don't over feed .

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Pre-measure food portions before you go and hide the main food tubs.

 

[lucasluke]

Thanks guys!

Pre-measure food portions before you go and hide the main food tubs.

Do I get them to feed the fish every day or once every few days?

 

[Noahs ark6]

It would be better to get them to feed the fish every day, but once every few days would be OK

 

[JTfromCharlotte]

If you're going to be away for 4 weeks and won't be having any water changes, I'd suggest switching to feedings every other day to cut down on waste.

 

[fluttermoth]

I'd go even further and suggest that a couple of times a week would be plenty. If you're not there for water changes, you want to keep the waste produced to an absolute minimum.

Does this tank have real plants? It would help an awful lot if it was well planted.

 

[lucasluke]

It would be better to get them to feed the fish every day, but once every few days would be OK

If you're going to be away for 4 weeks and won't be having any water changes, I'd suggest switching to feedings every other day to cut down on waste.

Thanks!

I'd go even further and suggest that a couple of times a week would be plenty. If you're not there for water changes, you want to keep the waste produced to an absolute minimum.

Does this tank have real plants? It would help an awful lot if it was well planted.

The tank has few live plants but nothing big just stuff like java moss etc.

 

[tribalbrit]

feed twice a week. Turn lighting down to about 5 hours a day and don't worry about the water change.

 

[fluttermoth]

I'd get a few more plants as well. Just some cheap stem or floating ones would help out a bit with nitrate, and with minimal feeding they should be fine

 

[mhancock]

Fluttermoth is absolutely right!

If your friend did some small changes (less than 20%) then they would not need to add dechlorinator and may be OK with managing that, even just a couple of jugs would help?

 

[Gilli]

Agree with advice given.I would feed just once a week and pre-measure your food into little cups so the doseage is correct- people who dont keep fish will always tend to overfeed. You want no uneaten food and the least poo possible.

I would also invest in a timer plug which are very cheap to put on your lighting system so it will come on and off at the proper intervals and thats one less job for your neighbour.

Dont worry about water changes - do a large one before you go and a large one again as soon as you get back and all will be well! Happy holidays!

 

[tomtomtom1230]

If it helps, I went away for three weeks and my fish were fed 3 times (once a week). No water changes or anything and it was fine.

I've found that most fish will be OK without food for about 10 days. Some fish can go longer, but personally I wouldn't leave it more than 10 days without food.

I only ever feed my fish once every other day anyway. The only other thing I bought for my system was a timer for the mains plug that my lights are plugged into. I set it to 7 hours a day and upped it to 9 hours when I got back (for the good of the plant's health). I also premeasured some trace elements for my plants and had my girlfriend drop them in before feeding them on the half-way feeding (week 2 of 3).

 

[lucasluke]

Thanks everyone! Got a timer plug and I am going to measure out food into little ziplock bags!