How long can they go without food?

[crazy_cat]

Ok looks like we are going to get hit head on by this hurricane which means we will evac and leave the fish tanks behind. I plan on bringing all three tanks into my server room and hooking them to the ups which powers 14 computers for 6 hours if we loose power so it should run three tanks for quite a while with the computers off. Now comes the problem, if we leave how long can my babies go without food? I can get a feeding block for the Tetras and the Pl*co will be fine but I have my ADF, my Betta and two Oscars to worry about. The frog only eats bloodworms and well the Oscars are on pellets, no feeders so I am at a loss as to handle food for the three mentioned. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[KeepingTheBeat]

Fish can go for as long as a week without food. I would never go that long without feeding them under normal circumstances, but they should be okay. I think the frog and the betta will be fine as long as you feed them before you leave. I am not sure about the Oscar. Hope all goes well for you!

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Where are you located......i am in SC and looks as though we are gonna get hard too.

Fish can go for about a week....^ or i have heard of them going for a week without food.

Good Luck!

 

[AndyL]

Give them a big water change before you go - turn down the temps (mid 70s) slowly of course. And they should be fine.

Andy

 

[crazy_cat]

I am in NC and it looks bad for us as well. Just went out to get the batteries, candles, etc.

Temps may be a problem if we don't have power, no air so the home, if it is still here, will be hot. Does anyone know about the Oscars? I know they will eat 24/7 if you let them but we have the guys on pellets as they are young. Just not sure if going without food for days will cause them to get an attitude or will they be ok?

Thanks for all the previous advice. It has helped a lot!!

 

[fishman0]

I'm sure they'll get very aggresive I would if I didn't eat for a week and lived

 

[Pag-dizzle]

How big are your oscars ? I had oscars and sometimes they went weekends 3 or 4 days without food. Oscars are a seriously tough fish and should have to problem going the week once u feed them alot prior to the hurricane. Good luck.

 

[crazy_cat]

One is about 2 1/2 inches long the other is not quite 2 inches long. We've had them about 2 1/2 weeks now. They generally eat 3-4 pelletts 3 times a day with an occasional blood worm treat, yuck! They get along so well I would hate for something like this to cause them to be really mean to each other.

 

[KIDRR]

Originally posted by crazy_cat
One is about 2 1/2 inches long the other is not quite 2 inches long. We've had them about 2 1/2 weeks now. They generally eat 3-4 pelletts 3 times a day with an occasional blood worm treat, yuck! They get along so well I would hate for something like this to cause them to be really mean to each other.

Enjoy your oscars while they are small. Mine was 1.5" about 9 months ago and now is about 6"!

 

[crazy_cat]

Well I don't know what I will do about the ADF and the Oscar's. I have pellets for ADF's but he only likes worms. I can leave some in the top floating and I guess if he gets hungry enough he will eat that and not the Tetras. As for the Oscars I don't know. Maybe a feeder. That won't ensure they both eat the same amount but atleast something will be in the tank and the little guys are smart so it won't take them long to figure it out. We are going to put all the tanks on the floor and put furniture around them. Will run an extension cord from the ups into the living room for the filters to run off of. The Betta will be fine without his top filter so I will leave that off, take the top of his hex off and put some plastic mesh over it so he won't jump out. I need all the battery juice for the other two tanks as they cannot be without the filters. Thanks everyone for your help and I hope anyone in the path of this thing stays safe!!