home alone fish

[cichfrk]

Guys, I'm sure you have taken a vacation for at least a week and the fish were "home alone". Aside from installing an automatic fish feeder and wishful prayers that nothing bad happens, what else do you do before hitting the road?

[fischfan13]

Guys, I'm sure you have taken a vacation for at least a week and the fish were "home alone". Aside from installing an automatic fish feeder and wishful prayers that nothing bad happens, what else do you do before hitting the road?

I don't feed them at all.
Some fish I might add a few live plants in their tanks to munch on, but that is it.
Maybe even a huge water change the day before you go away.

[joe_jaskot]

Water changes, clean filters, make sure all other equipment is working.

[cichfrk]

Bill, you mean to say no automatic fish feeders?

[Greenhacker]

I've done 5 days without feeding and no problems. I am facing the same issue over Easter. I'll be gone for 4 days and I've got lots of fry that I'm a bit worried about...

[Zippo]

IMO auto feeders are just one more thing that can go wrong.:coool!:

[cichfrk]

Yeah, I have some fry too. Some newly stripped ones.

[DJRansome]

I don't feed them at all. Maybe even a huge water change the day before you go away.This is what I do. I usually don't try to save fry if I'm going to be away but wait for the next batch in that case.

[Pete]

In the week preceeding I strip down all the filters/pumps to clean them so they'll be less likely to stick if there's a power outage. Then the couple days before it's big water change time.

I have a neighbor that's been very good at feeding my fish while I'm gone - simply put the food for each tank in some pill organizers, leave those on each tank with a post-it and there's very little to go wrong.

http://www.forgettingthepill.com/siteimages/312ss.jpg

[AMBUSHPREDATOR]

They should be fine for a week, make tank as clean as possible and cover it so it gets very low light in the day , this will help them conserve energy and lower aggression.

As far as having someone feed , I alway's portion the food into little plastic shot glasses . Very few non fish people can feed correctly . A pill box can work just as well. Have them come only once, say the third fourth day.

For the fry put them in a tank or somewhere with plant's to nibble on and maybe an old sponge filter as a snack stand.

Have a nice trip.

[fischfan13]

Bill, you mean to say no automatic fish feeders?

Yup, that's what I mean.
If you have fry, especially Mbuna, I would pack the tank with a lot of plants, especially Water Sprite and Java Moss...the fry will pick at the plants all week.

[triscuit]

I worry more about power outages and equipment failure than I worry about feeding. Fry are a bit more sensitive though. I would suggest getting someone to stop by on Day 3. i also use the daily pill dispensers. I can't get my autofeeder to work when I'm home let alone when I am traveling.

[Heyguy74]

Another possible option for the fry is move them to a friends house for the time your gone. Or just have someone come over and feed the fry. The adults will be fine fine. I would hide the adults food if someone came by to feed the fry.

[BlondeFishGal]

My two cents... I have been away for up to 2 weeks without feeding my fish and they were fine. What I would do is about 7-10 days ahead of time start feeding them extra, so they are a little more plump than normal. Then for water changes / filter cleanings, I do them about 2-3 days ahead of time in case something goes wrong. One time I was doing a big water change in a big tank and something on the Python broke. I had to leave the tank half done and run to the store to get a part I did not have. Could not have done that if I had done the water change the night before and was leaving early AM. I also always have two heaters in my tanks in case one fails.

As for automatic feeders...YIKES, i have heard enough horror stories to fear using them. If you really want to, I suggest setting it up days in advance and watching it work each time. Even so, i think I would stress more about a screw up on that when I was gone than it would be worth. But that's me.

Fry: yeah, it kinda sucks when you have to travel and you have fry. I could get away with it in a pinch when I had the disucs b/c they eat the slime from parents at the beginning. Bill's and other's comments about putting plants into the tank (floating plants, etc) is great b/c yup, they will eat stuff from them.

I used to travel ALOT and my fish held up much better than I ever thought they would. Try and not worry. (Easier said than done, I know!)

[Picklefish]

I have a few of the Eheim autofeeders and haven't had a problem, knock on wood, yet.
I have them set to feed my pl*co tanks in the middle of the night. My other tanks usually get fasted at least 1 day a week sometimes more, especially when I am on the night shift, and my fish are healthy and happy. I do keep java moss/fern with any fry however.

[cichfrk]

A long drive to Orlando ..... a pain in the bottom. :eclipsee_steering:
Advice from ECC friends..... always great, always free :beerchug:

A neighbor who comes to your house to feed your fish (I wish I have) .......priceless! :coool!:

Thanks guys, I really learned a lot! I'll give Mickey a hug for everyone :runnningaround: