Vacation Feeding Question

[starlitsunrise]

Hi guys,

I have another question haha. Tomorrow I'm going to be going on vacation for a week, my grandparents have said they can come by every other day to check on my pets. But I was wondering would it be better to have them feed my betta a day's worth of ppellets every other day or to buy one of the disolving vacation feeders? I know the dissolving one will produce more waste but my tank (10 gallons) is fully cycled, I was also thinking the dissolved food could help keep the bacteria alive until I get some more fish.

Anyways, I just wanted some different opinions.

 

[fish48]

fish will be fine without  food,   for a week or 2

 

[Gvilleguy]

Every other day is fine for a week. Just have them feed the regular amount of food for one feeding. Should not be a problem.

 

[fluttermoth]

I would also measure out the food, and hide the rest. It's very easy for inexperienced or non fishkeepers to overfeed, and you don't want that happening when you're not there to do water changes.

His normal daily ration will be fine for every other day feeding; don't be tempted to leave extra! As fish48 rightly says, healthy adult fish can easily go without food for a couple of weeks, so minimal feeding is the best way to make sure your tank stays healthy while you're away.

 

[Byron]

I agree.  Healthy fish can manage for a week or more without food.  Having said that, if you can measure out a very small amount, individually, and ensure that someone responsible with feed only this measured amount maybe twice during the week, it will be more than sufficient.
 
I would not recommend any of the automatic feeders as I have heard horror stories of these malfunctioning and this can easily cause real trouble and sick or dead fish.
 
On the nitrifying bacteria, these are not the delicate critters some think.  They can go into what we can consider dormancy and for several weeks according to studies reported in PFK.  Even if not, it would be much safer and wiser to not risk over-feeding.
 
Byron.

 

[starlitsunrise]

Thanks for all of the valuable information guys!