Going On Holidays For Two Weeks

[tgo]

I was looking for some advice from fishkeepers who have experience going on short holidays and leaving their tank in other's hands. I have somebody who can come and feed the fish once a day and check up on the hardware and make sure everything is working, but I don't know about the weekly water change. Would it be ok to miss the weekly water change on a three month old cycled tank? I could probably get my dad to do it for me, but unless its necessary I don't want to put him through the trouble. Would it help to do a really large water change just before I left?

I am sort of worried because when I was young we came home from holidays to dead fish and polluted water. I don't want to worry about all my hard work going down the toilet, so any advice is appreciated.

 

[ellena]

What would make it easier for your dad, and keep the tank in better shape, would be to feed them less often, maybe every other day? Then there would be less waste.
I'm a newbie, so don't take what I say as gospel but, from what I've read on here, I'd say missing one change won't hurt. Do your usual wekkly change just before you go.

 

[dthoffsett]

If you have someone around to feed the fish, the easiest way is to put the correct amount of daily food into separate sealable bags and label them with days. You will be ok missing a water change just make sure you do it ASAP when you get back, some members on here only do a waterchange in there tank once every two weeks anyway so I cant see a problem with that.

Mike

Agreed, and feeding them every other day as ellena suggested would help to keep it cleaner and won't hurt the fish at all. I'd also suggest hiding the food containers, there have been plenty of people on here who have had their fish babysitter add more food to the tank because they looked "hungry", only to overfeed them and cause an ammonia spike.

 

[tgo]

all very good points, I'll tell him to feed them every other day a set amount I leave behind. I remeber my parents let my uncle feed the fish when they were gone and he fed them so much the tank was a mess and the fish were all bloated and deformed lol. Now I can relax in Cost Rica knowing my fish will be o.k. Thanks!

 

[rdd1952]

The fish could also easily go 2 weeks without feeding. I have left mine for a week on several occassions. If you do have someone come by, I would agree with eery other day and also with having the food in premeasured containers so they don't over feed. And as dthoffsett said, hide the rest of the food. Water changes aren't an issue unless you are keeping fish like discus that require pristine water.

 

[Schmill]

I went away recently and bought one of these (from my local Asda!) and it was ideal for storing food portions in

http/www.healthinajiffy.co.uk/safe-sound...ser-p-1606.html

 

[pauly]

I'd feed them every other day the week before you go, then ask your friend to continue with every other day for the first week, then not feed them for the second week (assuming no water change). Then once you've done a big water change on your return, start with every other day again for about another week.

Pauly.

 

[rdd1952]

pauly's schedule sounds good. I would make those feedings smaller than normal also. One thing to keep in mind is less food=less ammonia in case of a filter malfunction that your friend may not be able to fix. The pill organizers that Schmill linked to work great.

 

[gaz gun man]

what size is your tank? might be worth leaving a few bottles of treated water near the tank, so who-ever feeds the fish can top up the tank if theres any condensation loss.

Also measure out the food and leave it aside. I'd aim for 3 feedings a week, just enough to keep the fish ticking over.

 

[tgo]

the tank is 10 gallons and I think thats a good idea to top off the water lost to condensation, can't hurt anyway. Perhaps I'll also leave the second week open to a starve week, thats a really good idea.

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[joncairns]

I would suggest doing a water change immediately before you go,and then one immediately on your return. Get your friend to feed them once during the first week( in the middle of the week) and again during the middle of the second week.Barring any accidents they should be fine until you return. Leaving the portions ready prepared sounds like sound advice also.

Good luck,

Jon