Urgent: Going Away For 3 Days

[sunrise]

I'm going to be gone for 2 nights and 3 days, and I want to make sure my fish are okay while I'm gone.

1. Do I need to set up an automatic timer for the aquarium light so it turns off every night?

2. Do I need to buy an automatic fish feeder?

3. Is there anything I should do for the fish and tank before I leave? (I have 3 platys, 3 Black Skirt Tetras in a 20 gallon tank.)

 

[K.J.]

1. Might be a hassle, if you don't have live plants you could probably just leave it off.

2. No, fish can survive for 2 weeks without food. It's good for them to have a couple days of fasting, even.

3. Just feed the fish and clean the water.

 

[Mako Man111]

I'm going to be gone for 2 nights and 3 days, and I want to make sure my fish are okay while I'm gone.

1. Do I need to set up an automatic timer for the aquarium light so it turns off every night?

2. Do I need to buy an automatic fish feeder?

3. Is there anything I should do for the fish and tank before I leave? (I have 3 platys, 3 Black Skirt Tetras in a 20 gallon tank.)

1. Nope, just leave the lights off for the 3 days you are gone.

2. No, your fish will be fine for 3 days, even over a week.

3. Just feed the fish, do a partial water change if you haven't done one, and your good to go.

 

[K.J.]

I'm going to be gone for 2 nights and 3 days, and I want to make sure my fish are okay while I'm gone.

1. Do I need to set up an automatic timer for the aquarium light so it turns off every night?

2. Do I need to buy an automatic fish feeder?

3. Is there anything I should do for the fish and tank before I leave? (I have 3 platys, 3 Black Skirt Tetras in a 20 gallon tank.)

1. Nope, just leave the lights off for the 3 days you are gone.

2. No, your fish will be fine for 3 days, even over a week.

3. Just feed the fish, do a partial water change if you haven't done one, and your good to go.

I beat you by 3 seconds.

 

[sunrise]

Thanks! I have live plants, so should I really leave the light off for 3 days?

I'm surprised fish can go so long without eating!

 

[K.J.]

If you have live plants that's a problem. Leaving the light on all the time is risking an algae bloom, so I would suggest rigging a timer.

 

[sunrise]

OK thanks for your help!

 

[vinylman]

Thanks! I have live plants, so should I really leave the light off for 3 days?

I'm surprised fish can go so long without eating!

They can often go for much longer than that in the wild. When you come back, just feed them as normal, don't give them extra because you think they might be starving. Don't worry about it.

 

[mark.w.jones]

Thanks! I have live plants, so should I really leave the light off for 3 days?

I'm surprised fish can go so long without eating!

Your fish will happily scavange your tank for left overs when no new food is coming. In fact, that's what they do in the wild all the time. I have left my tank for 8 days without feeding but don't know if I'd go for 2 weeks.

Your plants will do fine without light for just 3 days as long as they are low light level species. High light level species won't kick up much of a fuss for 3 days but for week or more you may get problems with them dying back.