Vacation Feeding

[fishwish34]

I will be away for about 12 days. What should be done in terms of feeding my fish? I was thinking about a vacation feeding block, or having someone feed them every couple of days...I know they can go awhile without food, but almost 2 weeks seems like a long time.

Thanks.

 

[littletankbigworld]

You can buy a really cheap automatic feeder for $20.00. It would be much healthier than those blocks. I've never used the blocks before, but if you go on vacation enough, the feeder would be a really useful investment.

 

[FishGeek]

If you are only gonna be gone for 12 days I would just leave them. You do more damage to your tanks by using those white things and the auto feeders arent very reliable. I used to work in pet stores and had way to many people coming in complaining about them, either they didnt work at all or they dumped randomly or what have you. Feed them good before you leave and then when you get back. 12 days wont kill them at all and they will even clean up anything throughout the tank that may have been missed.

 

[lauraf]

If you could have someone come in a couple of times while you are gone - that you trust - that would be best. He/she can check that your power is on and thus your filter/heater are working and that everything looks in order - i.e., no dead bodies, etc. Just put out a teaspoon or something to show them how much/little to feed. Do you have your lights on a timer?

 

[FishGeek]

If you are gonna have someone else feed the best thing to do I have found is to get one of those weekly medicine containers with the days of the week labeled and put the food for the day in there. This way there is no over feeding while your gone.

 

[lauraf]

If you are gonna have someone else feed the best thing to do I have found is to get one of those weekly medicine containers with the days of the week labeled and put the food for the day in there. This way there is no over feeding while your gone.

That's a really good idea! I usually put out a 1/16th tsp measurer with either the pellets or flakes, and don't complicate things but asking our housesitter to mix up different kinds of food. Then when I come home, I feed a treat of frozen bloodworms and do a big water change.
Anyway, if one is going to be out of town I would still worry about the unforeable disaster of a power outage, burst tubing, etc. that if left unattended for more than a day or two could cause the entire tank to die off.