Going on holiday and need advice.

[Irishlad123]

Im going on holiday for 2 weeks and im a noobie ive research and say fish can last a week. I have bought a auto feeder but it will only feed the food to my top and middle dwellers. I have corydoras and i dont know what to do with them. The pet store employee said about feeding blocks but i wasnt sure about them. I only have some1 to feed them 4 times while im gone will this be enough

 

[Naughts]

If your fish are adults they will be fine without food for two weeks, especially if you feed them up for two weeks before you go with live or frozen foods. This is what I do and I have corys, tetra, betta and barbs (not in the same tank!).
The benefit of this is that the water will not have a build up of nitrogen whilst you are away.

Feeding blocks and well meaning friends can add too much food at once and pollute the system which could kill the fish.
If someone is going in a couple of times a week ask them to check the heater and filter are working. Some people leave a tablet dispenser with the right quantity of food in each section but I just don't feed while I'm away.
Have a good holiday!

 

[Irishlad123]

Thanks for advice

 

[seangee]

Definitely don't use feeding blocks. They cause far too many issues. My last holiday was 2 1/2 weeks. Even though we had house sitters (aka the in-laws) I told them not to feed the fish - and hid the fish food. Fish were all fine and I even came home to some new fry.

 

[Irishlad123]

Ok thanks for advice

 

[fish48]

i advise doing a water change at least 50% day before you go

 

[Irishlad123]

Ya i was going to do about 70% if i put in some cucumber before i go is that a bad idea or ok

 

[Essjay]

Don't feed cucumber and leave it in while you are away. Any uneaten cucumber should be removed after 24 hours or it will go off in the tank.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Agree. Cucumber will mold and raise the ammonia. I leave some Indian almond leaves in mine. They will grow some Infusoria on them which the fish can nibble on. You can use other leaves such as Oak. Just wash them and be sure they are pesticide free.

 

[AbbeysDad]

If it was me I'd use an Eheim feeder as pictured below with both flake and sinking pellets.

Note: Some think feeders are a bad idea...and they can be if not setup correctly. You need to setup the delivery rate to ensure that sufficient food is delivered, but not in excess as it could cause an ammonia spike! Having 'said' that, I know of some breeders that use auto feeders routinely on fry and grow out tanks to better ensure a routine delivery of food.