Away from tanks for 2 weeks.

epiphany · 06-12-2012, 11:01 PM

Hey, I'm going to be going on a vacation for 11-13 days near the end of august and want to get this figured out now so I'm not rushing at the last minute to get it figured out. I have a 10g tank which has 4 celestial pearl danios, 3 white cloud mountain minnows and 5 cherry shrimp, one nerite snail and some MTS. The tank is lightly planted. I also have a 35g tank which has 2 dwarf gouramis, 7 gold barbs, 3 otos, 7 marble hatchet fish, 3 nerite snails, 1 flower shrimp, 2 amano shrimp and an ABN pleco. Both tanks are planted and I'll be getting timers for the lights, the 35g is quite overfiltered and the 10g is understocked, so I'm not worried about the water quality.

My question is feeding, this would be too long for the smaller fish to go without food, right? I could toss one of those fish food blocks into my 10g and I think it would be ok, but in the larger tank my barbs would devour it in the first day. I don't have anyone that can come take care of my tanks while I'm gone, so would getting an automated fish feeder be needed? Will one of those work with glass tops?

Thanks.

pejerrey · 06-12-2012, 11:17 PM

Hi, I think the best bet is to throw some live food and hope for the best. Massive water change (80%) before you leave. Leave the timers for 4hrs of light.

How r you gonna do it for the h2o evaporation?

A lil personal story.

I used an hydor automatic feeder for 1 week I was out. I tried it for a day it two by throwing the daily food in a plate and regulating the amount that way. Something went wrong and it was dumping way more while I was away.
Aside for the unwanted visit of mr. Mega Algae Bloom, I lost a bunch of fish due to the ammo.

I decided to go automated that time because the time before I asked a friend to go every 3-4 days and feed a lil bit. I even left a sample of how much food.
He decided to just go once instead of several times and dump all the food in the tank at once... I lost most of my fish.

Conclusion, no more fish. I keep shrimp now. I can go away for a long time without feeding.

Michiba54 · 06-13-2012, 12:00 AM

Your fish will be fine without food for 2 weeks.

Steve001 · 06-13-2012, 01:13 PM

Do you have a neighbor, friend, family member to keep an eye on things ?

epiphany · 06-13-2012, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pejerrey

Hi, I think the best bet is to throw some live food and hope for the best. Massive water change (80%) before you leave. Leave the timers for 4hrs of light.

How r you gonna do it for the h2o evaporation?

Unfortunate with your fish, makes me not want to do anything during that time. With my glass tops I lose very little water, maybe half an inch over a week.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michiba54

Your fish will be fine without food for 2 weeks.

Even the smaller ones?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve001

Do you have a neighbor, friend, family member to keep an eye on things ?

I have a neighbour getting any mail and keeping an eye on the house, but I don't trust them well enough to have them in the house and feeding the fish.

Michiba54 · 06-13-2012, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by epiphany

Unfortunate with your fish, makes me not want to do anything during that time. With my glass tops I lose very little water, maybe half an inch over a week.

Even the smaller ones?

I have a neighbour getting any mail and keeping an eye on the house, but I don't trust them well enough to have them in the house and feeding the fish.

Yes, even the small ones.

**Complexity** · 06-14-2012, 04:49 AM

Agreed, your fish will be fine without food for 2 weeks, including the smaller ones.

CatB · 06-14-2012, 04:56 AM

perfectly fine for two weeks.
they would probably be fine for more, too.
remember, there's also always some microfauna living in the tank already, naturally occurring.

flight50 · 06-14-2012, 05:32 PM

Whether or not they'd be fine without food I'd construction some type of auto system for both food and water if vacating is frequent. There are already off the shelf systems for both but you could tailor one for your needs. Now two weeks without water changes is more feasible. I have gone as far as 3-4 weeks at times without deaths. Although humans are a different species, how would you like to go.......lets say 3-4 days without food. Nature is different when food supplies can vary but in a home aquarium most fish are use to routines. Plus you pay to keep them happy, in nature you have no responsibility to them. But this is just my .02 cents.

06-12-2012, 11:01 PM	#1
epiphany Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Canada Posts: 237	Away from tanks for 2 weeks. Hey, I'm going to be going on a vacation for 11-13 days near the end of august and want to get this figured out now so I'm not rushing at the last minute to get it figured out. I have a 10g tank which has 4 celestial pearl danios, 3 white cloud mountain minnows and 5 cherry shrimp, one nerite snail and some MTS. The tank is lightly planted. I also have a 35g tank which has 2 dwarf gouramis, 7 gold barbs, 3 otos, 7 marble hatchet fish, 3 nerite snails, 1 flower shrimp, 2 amano shrimp and an ABN pleco. Both tanks are planted and I'll be getting timers for the lights, the 35g is quite overfiltered and the 10g is understocked, so I'm not worried about the water quality. My question is feeding, this would be too long for the smaller fish to go without food, right? I could toss one of those fish food blocks into my 10g and I think it would be ok, but in the larger tank my barbs would devour it in the first day. I don't have anyone that can come take care of my tanks while I'm gone, so would getting an automated fish feeder be needed? Will one of those work with glass tops? Thanks.

06-12-2012, 11:17 PM	#2
pejerrey Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (12/100%) Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Oakland, California Posts: 1,912	Hi, I think the best bet is to throw some live food and hope for the best. Massive water change (80%) before you leave. Leave the timers for 4hrs of light. How r you gonna do it for the h2o evaporation? A lil personal story. I used an hydor automatic feeder for 1 week I was out. I tried it for a day it two by throwing the daily food in a plate and regulating the amount that way. Something went wrong and it was dumping way more while I was away. Aside for the unwanted visit of mr. Mega Algae Bloom, I lost a bunch of fish due to the ammo. I decided to go automated that time because the time before I asked a friend to go every 3-4 days and feed a lil bit. I even left a sample of how much food. He decided to just go once instead of several times and dump all the food in the tank at once... I lost most of my fish. Conclusion, no more fish. I keep shrimp now. I can go away for a long time without feeding. __________________ *A heavily planted shrimp tank is possible!*

06-14-2012, 04:49 AM	#7
Complexity Pelvicachromis Lover! (View User Tanks) PTrader: (34/100%) Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 5,058	Agreed, your fish will be fine without food for 2 weeks, including the smaller ones. __________________ Vicki —Rena Filstar pimp #142 (four XP4s/three XP2s/one XP1) • Eheim pimp #301 (Pro II 2128) • Victor pimp #27 (VTS-253B-320) • 90g - Journal Pelvicachromis taeniatus 'Moliwe' —— • 75g - Journal Pelvicachromis pulcher 'Lagos Red' Better Pics 8-24 • 29g - Journal Pelvicachromis pulcher 'unknown' —-- • 29g - Pelvicachromis taeniatus 'Moliwe' • 5g - RCS colony —————————————————— • 2.5g - Journal Retired

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06-13-2012, 12:00 AM	#3
Michiba54 Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (3/100%) Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Florida Posts: 190	Your fish will be fine without food for 2 weeks.

06-13-2012, 01:13 PM	#4
Steve001 Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Baltimore Maryland Posts: 1,033	Do you have a neighbor, friend, family member to keep an eye on things ?

06-14-2012, 04:56 AM	#8
CatB Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 1,013	perfectly fine for two weeks. they would probably be fine for more, too. remember, there's also always some microfauna living in the tank already, naturally occurring.

06-14-2012, 05:32 PM	#9
flight50 Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: dfw Posts: 395	Whether or not they'd be fine without food I'd construction some type of auto system for both food and water if vacating is frequent. There are already off the shelf systems for both but you could tailor one for your needs. Now two weeks without water changes is more feasible. I have gone as far as 3-4 weeks at times without deaths. Although humans are a different species, how would you like to go.......lets say 3-4 days without food. Nature is different when food supplies can vary but in a home aquarium most fish are use to routines. Plus you pay to keep them happy, in nature you have no responsibility to them. But this is just my .02 cents.