Vacation Feeding

[Kirsten]

My state has finally allowed (nominally) young, (nominally) healthy individuals like myself register for a vaccine and I'm already planning summer and autumn vacations like no one's business.

I get that fish can easily go without food for a night and a day. But two nights? More?

Should I have friends and family come over to feed a couple times if I'm gone for 9 nights? Or should I try to learn how to make Repashy jerky? What would you do with ever-hungry livebearers?

[KBOzzie59]

I once accidently moved a Krib to my aged water barrel, he was in there a good long time, we are talking on the order of 2 months.  It is heated and has a stone to help boil off chlorine, no light, no food, and yes the poor thing was enduring chlorinated water re-fills of at least 25 gallons a pop.  It is still alive in it's original tank.

Most fish can easily go two weeks with no food.  Go enjoy your vacation!

Edited March 17, 2021 by KBOzzie59

[KBOzzie59]

Her is the story about "Grumpy".

 

 

[lefty o]

fish can go quite some time without food, just like people. ideally we dont want to go hungry, nor make our little friends do without.  3 or 4 days, feed them good before you go. more than that imo you might look into a feeder block. good thing with most livebearers, guppies etc is that they will pick at bio film on plants and other things. so they might get hungry, but they wont starve.

[AquaAggie]

I left mine for 9 days no problem. I would feed heavy for a few days before you go and do water change day of or before and you should be fine. 

[1moretank]

I normally feed really good for a week or 2 before leaving, that helps 2 ways - it fattens up the fish and it builds mulm and 'stuff' in the tank for them to eat.  I have planted well stocked tanks 10 to 75 gallons.  I have also used Nano Blocks for shrimp as a slow release food - I tested them while I was still home and they last 3-6 days depending on how many blocks and how many fish, but that takes a 2 week vacation down to one week unfed.  Auto feeders also work well, feed less but every day and they will easily last more than 2 weeks on my 55 s.

[Deku-Corydoras]

If I ever need someone to feed my fish, I take one of those weekly pill boxes and measure out the exact amount of food to feed. That way, all the person has to do is open the compartment and pour the food in. It removes the risk of overfeeding.

[Ben_RF]

Another option may be to get an auto feeder.  Which is not only good for vacations, but also can be good for your tank as it will help regulate how much actually gets fed on a regular basis.  I honestly don't know of a good one to recommend though as I have limited experience with them.

[Daniel]

2 minutes ago, Ben_RF said:

Another option may be to get an auto feeder.  Which is not only good for vacations, but also can be good for your tank as it will help regulate how much actually gets fed on a regular basis.  I honestly don't know of a good one to recommend though as I have limited experience with them.

Many forum members swear by the Eheim. I chose the iLonda because you can voice control it with Alexa:

But if I was only gone for 9 days, I probably wouldn't feed at all.

[gardenman]

It wasn't really a vacation, but when I broke my left femur I was in the hospital for fifteen days and my fish were unfed the whole time and did okay. My swordtails decided that the pond snails that they share the tank with were better than nothing in the way of food and ate them all. The swordtails were still fat and happy when I got back home, but the tank was littered with empty snail shells. Once I started feeding the fish again the snail population rebounded and the snails and swordtails are back living together with no issues. 

[Ben_RF]

@Daniel , is there a gap that stays open all the time on it?  I know a lot of autofeeders have that, which concerns me about spoilage and possibility of promoting bugs.  I have been looking for an autofeeder for a while that once it finishes turning it seals itself off.

[Daniel]

Just now, Ben_RF said:

@Daniel , is there a gap that stays open all the time on it?  I know a lot of autofeeders have that, which concerns me about spoilage and possibility of promoting bugs.  I have been looking for an autofeeder for a while that once it finishes turning it seals itself off.

Yes, there is a constantly open gap. But if I feed everyday the contents of the feeder are gone in a week. If bugs were to get (which hasn't happened) it would more delicious bonus fishfood. 🙂

[Hobbit]

From what I’ve gathered, the issue isn’t so much your fish going hungry as the fish becoming super grumpy and getting aggressive with each other. I have a small pleco right now in my 55 and if I went too long without feeding, I would worry that the yo-yo loaches would decide to go after him. Maybe not if I stocked the tank with snails before I left... But anyway, evaluate the size and aggression of your fish before deciding to make them hangry. 😅

[FlyingFishKeeper]

Hi, I think I've heard the most fish can go 14 days without being fed, maybe a bit longer too. Maybe even try growing a bit more algae than normal in tanks with herbivores or omnivores if you're gone for a while so they can have a bit to snack on? Although I haven't personally tried it, so I have no Idea if it would work, or be permanently off balance. @Daniel, I really need to get one of those if I were to own several tanks!

Edited March 17, 2021 by FlyingFishKeeper

[Daniel]

Just now, FlyingFishKeeper said:

Hi, I think I've heard the most fish can go 14 days without being fed, maybe a bit longer too. Maybe even try growing a bit more algae then normal in tanks with herbivores or omnivores so they can have a bit to snack on, although I haven't personally tried it, so I have no Idea if it would work, or be permanently off balance. @Daniel, I really need to get one of those if I were to own several tanks!

I got tired on standing on the couch to drop food into the aquarium so I am very happy I can feed dry food on demand. Now if it could feed live food on demand.🙂