How to feed over a weeks holiday??

[KITT]

Hi Guys and Gals,

I have 3 tanks in all. 2 small uk 60 litres and one medium juwel rio 240 litre. Anyhow I off on holiday for a week and I have heard lots of conflicting ideas on how to care for the fish over this period. Firstly I have often heard it said that fish will survive with no food at all for a week. My options however are automatic feeders or food blocks. I have gone with the blocks, even though I have bottom dwellers the guy at the shop seems sure that all will be fine for a week with the block. But what if it's eaten in like half an hour by the Mollies that I have!

Any opinions on this would be great. I am going away in a week.

Cheers,


Kit

 

[MonsterMinis]

If there will be no one there to check up on your tank, I seriously reccomend not feeding them at all. week long feeder do 1 of 2 things... rot in your tank because the fish won't eat it. or get eaten real fast and the waste screws up the water. I usually have someone stop by mid-week to feed pre-measured food to my tanks when I'm gone more then a few days.

 

[AaronCombs]

Do not use the blocks, they can raise your ph...

 

[geronimo69]

I say leave them for a week. Do a water chnge before the week, and one right after you feed when you're back.

 

[m1ste2tea]

yeah, I think you're better off not trying to feed them while you're gone. I have taken a few vacations for 10 days and not fed my fish and they were fine. give them a big meal before you go and they'll be fine. then you can give them a big meal when you come back.

I would also recommend that you do your water changes right before you leave as well.

 

[Chicklette]

Do you have a neighbor that will come over and feed them? You could pay them if you trust them.

 

[cichlid_fever]

Yes i agree to do a water change before you go ......i say get a feeder,hook it up to your most agressive tank,set it up.Your oyher smaller tank as said hold them off for a lil.when you arrive give them a nice meal .....good luck,im a commercial fishermen i leave for days or weeks at a time...i'm lucky too me & my fiance share the same love for the hobby....

 

[NatashaAliza]

Do you have a neighbor that will come over and feed them? You could pay them if you trust them.

I just say don't worry about feeding your fish. But if you let someone watch them make sure you either leave very detailed instructions or portioned out baggies for them. I've had really bad experiences from letting people who aren't fish people care for my fish.

 

[DMD123]

I use the larger pill boxes that are marked with the days of the week on them. I ask a friend to put that days amount of food in once a day and to pick up my newspaper, mail, etc...

I do agree that the fish can survive without food for this amount of time, but if you raise aggressive fish that are not getting any food for over a week this may cause some issues. An example is my Midas who when hungry will sometimes attack my silver dollars and eat the scales that fall off of them!