Holiday feeding

[Cjbear087]

So I’m going on vacation soon for 2 weeks and I know you can technically fast fish for that long however I don’t really feel comfortable doing that so I bought an eheim auto feeder. I’ve set up the schedule and I’ve managed to get the portion size as close as I can to what I usually feed. It dispenses a bit less than what I would usually do - maybe around half? Basically my question would halving feeding be fine for that period of time because at least they are still getting fed? I feed around 3/4 of a scoop twice a day. I have attached a picture for reference - the one on the top is what I usually feed and the one on the bottom is what’s dispensed. Will this amount be okay (twice a day everyday) for ~2 weeks? I have also tested for consistency with the amount and it fluctuates sometimes a bit more sometimes a bit less but not too far off. Thanks

[Guppysnail]

I would halve that again. At the least remove a third of it. We overfeed fish even when they consume all of what we feed in 2 minutes. They just do not need as much as we give them. Being cold blooded they poop out more undigested food than they absorb.  Most cold blooded things only need to eat 1x a week some only 1x a month. Some even less than that.  
It’s much better to be safer while you are not there to monitor.  

[Cjbear087]

On 7/8/2024 at 12:24 PM, Guppysnail said:

I would halve that again. At the least remove a third of it. We overfeed fish even when they consume all of what we feed in 2 minutes. They just do not need as much as we give them. Being cold blooded they poop out more undigested food than they absorb.  Most cold blooded things only need to eat 1x a week some only 1x a month. Some even less than that.  
It’s much better to be safer while you are not there to monitor.  

Yep got it around a half now - sometimes it’s a little less than a half and sometimes a bit more (it’s pretty inconsistent) but it never goes over what I usually feed. Is that okay? I’m gonna test it out in the tank for a few days aswell and tomorrow I’ll probably do a bit more consistency testing but for the most part seems okay. All good?

[Rube_Goldfish]

If the tank has been running a while, there are probably a lot of microflora and microfauna for the fish to graze on, too. Unless your fish are too big for that sort of thing, but it seems like bigger fish can generally go longer without feeding, anyway (more per meal but less frequent meals).

[Guppysnail]

On 7/8/2024 at 7:39 AM, Cjbear087 said:

Yep got it around a half now - sometimes it’s a little less than a half and sometimes a bit more (it’s pretty inconsistent) but it never goes over what I usually feed. Is that okay? I’m gonna test it out in the tank for a few days aswell and tomorrow I’ll probably do a bit more consistency testing but for the most part seems okay. All good?

Enjoy your vacation!  Where are you headed for your fabulous adventure?

[Cjbear087]

On 7/8/2024 at 1:40 PM, Guppysnail said:

Enjoy your vacation!  Where are you headed for your fabulous adventure?

Thank you! I’m going to Dubai! Very excited :)

On 7/8/2024 at 1:27 PM, Rube_Goldfish said:

If the tank has been running a while, there are probably a lot of microflora and microfauna for the fish to graze on, too. Unless your fish are too big for that sort of thing, but it seems like bigger fish can generally go longer without feeding, anyway (more per meal but less frequent meals).

It’s about 6/7 months mature so is that established enough?

[gardenman]

I spent fifteen days in the hospital in 2018 and my fish (neon swordtails) were unfed the whole time. They opted to feed themselves by eating the pest snails. The tank was filled with snails when I left and just empty shells when I came back. I don't know if the snails died from a lack of food and then the swordtails ate them, or if the swordtails actively hunted them, but the snails were all gone, and only empty shells remained. 

[Rube_Goldfish]

On 7/8/2024 at 8:53 AM, Cjbear087 said:

It’s about 6/7 months mature so is that established enough?

I'd think so, especially with the auto feeder going, but it'll depend on the stocking, of course.

Edited to add: the 'natural' grazing would be a supplement to whatever you'd feed them, so it's helpful but you don't need to rely on it, if that makes sense.

[Tlindsey]

On 7/8/2024 at 9:14 AM, gardenman said:

I spent fifteen days in the hospital in 2018 and my fish (neon swordtails) were unfed the whole time. They opted to feed themselves by eating the pest snails. The tank was filled with snails when I left and just empty shells when I came back. I don't know if the snails died from a lack of food and then the swordtails ate them, or if the swordtails actively hunted them, but the snails were all gone, and only empty shells remained. 

Wow