next week, ill be leaving for 2 weeks.

Previously, I've been gone for the weekend which wasn't to bad, i just fed them a little more than usual the day before.

But 2 weeks I am starting to get worried.

I will clean my tank the day before I leave, but will this be enough for 2 weeks. I usually clean my tank 1 a week, but 2 weeks is gonna be pretty dirty.

Also, about the feeding...

Lots of people that i live near will be gone as well, so there is no one I can really ask, withouth them making a 30 min drive every other day.

Do you think an autmatic feeder would be ok, and just feed them every other day?

any ideas?

hmm... u shouldnt ''feed them more the day before'' you should slowely feed them less and less then they will get used to not haveing food, but not for two weeks! i would think about a electronic feeder man

i dont see how that would help really, i'd just be really hungry..

I'm going away for two weeks too (today afternoon in fact ). Here's what I've done:

- A friend (who knows something about fishkeeping and thus knows not to overfeed) is coming over a few times to feed them and check that everything's okay.
- I've fed the fish a bit more than usual for a few days.
- A water change the day before I leave.
- A timer for the lights.

It worked well the previous time, all the fish were healthy and normal when I got back.

I also usually do a waterchange every week, but since they won't get much to eat for two weeks, the water won't get as dirty as usual. When I get back I'll do two smaller waterchanges than normal in one week, that way the difference between new and old water won't be very big.

I haven't used an automatic feeder, but I hear they should be fine if you get a quality one. Usually it's recommended that you test the feeder for a week or two before leaving, just to get the amount of food right and make sure it works.

are those cheap rotating feeders for about 25$ worth it?

as long as it doesnt get clogged and still feeds a little bit a day would be fine, but im not sure, they dont seem to "high-quality"

What fish do you have? small fish that pick at the substrate, fish that eat large meals every once and a while, or fish that like to have a big chunk of food every other day?

i have rummynose, cardinals, zebra loaches and similar fish.

all small fish, my largest is a bolivian ram

Those fish would probably be better without two weeks of food Just give them a decent meal before you leave

I don't know which feeders you mean, but not getting clogged is what I mean by "high quality". I've heard the ones that heat up the food a little just before the food is dropped in are good, as they don't get clogged so easily. But this is just hearsay, haven't tried any myself.

Then again, as some people pointed out, if the fish are healthy and none of them growing juveniles, they might not need a feeder at all.

This post has been edited by Morrgan: Dec 22 2004, 10:42 AM

I used a feeder when I went away and it worked great! The kind I bought feeds twice a day. Since I only feed once a day I just set the slot to a very small opening so that the meals would be smaller. I let it run for 3 days prior to my departure on a paper plate o I could test out exactly how many flakes were falling into the water. It never clogged up and delivered food at 9am and 9pm every day. I would use it again when travelling!

z.

could they really survive 2 weeks without food?

I have done a whole weekend without food and i wasn't worried at all, but 2 seems to much.

I actually did find a friend to add some food and fertilizer for the plants.
and ill seperate the food into dixie cups, and leave about 5-6 cups out for the whole 2 weeks, just enough to make sure they a can survive.

I have heard that those pill schduler things work good for setting up for fishsitting. You know, those things divided into 7 seperate containers with a lid for each one? Dixie cups are definatly cheaper though and if you already have them, then great! If he/she is inexperienced in fishkeeping, you might want to make up a basic list of things to look for (such as diseases and water conditons) and what to do in those cases just incase something happens, and make sure they know how to contact you if there is any questions they may have, but I am sure you have already covered the contact part. I know I would worry about my fishie buddies if I was to go away for 2 weeks!

Maybe, but are you sure you can't get someone to feed them once at the end of the first week? Most of the fish would be ok, but I would ecpect some unhealthy ones, or even dead ones at the end of the vacation

so you think 1 feeding throughout the 2 weeks would be fine? i guess it could work, and it would lower the waste produced.

i might just lower the dixie cups to a total of 3-4 and put very little.

i hate going to vacation!

well i came back a coupel days ago.

and i lost 1 rummy, 1 cardinal in my 46g, and 1 platy in my 10g.
plus my plants look horrible.
my 10g didnt look to bad, as it only has 2 fish, but my 46g was covered in algae and about 3 inches low in water.
my bolivian ram looks like he has a bladder problem, as he is tilting a little bit.

i really need to find a person who actually fish keeps next time.