WHEN SHOULD I CLEAN MY TANK??? GOING ON A TRIP HOW LONG CAN BETTA LAST??

[bayaan.bawab]

hey y'all! ok i'm going to florida for a week tomorrow (wednesday) and coming back next thursday. the problem is i normally clean my tank on sundays. i have a 5 gallon tank with one betta a few moss balls and a plant that has the roots in the water and the leaves outside the tank. so i last cleaned my tank 3-4 days ago. how long can my tank go without being cleaned because i absolutely love my betta boy, and i REALLY don't want him to dide

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

It's good that you're concerned, and want to make sure he''s okay
I err on the side of doing more changes than strictly needed, rather than skipping a change - because you never know if something might happen when you get back that forces missing another change, and then you might be in trouble, especially with a smaller tank.

So I'd recommend doing his water change tomorrow, a few hours before you leave. Then you can change it again when you get back, and the following Sunday if you'd like to go back to a Sunday schedule.

 

[bayaan.bawab]

thanks! i'll wake up early tomorrow and do the change

 

[Colin_T]

Do a water change the day before you go and feed him before you go and leave him alone. He will be fine for a week.

 

[UnknownFishies]

Maybe get like one of those food discs to put in there that lasts a week. Just in case you are worried.

 

[Essjay]

Those feeder blocks can cause more trouble than they are worth.
Many of them dissolve quickly dumping a lot of food in the tank at once = poor water quality.
Some have a high chalk content so you get home to find the tank under a layer of white - and poor water quality.

 

[UnknownFishies]

Those feeder blocks can cause more trouble than they are worth.
Many of them dissolve quickly dumping a lot of food in the tank at once = poor water quality.
Some have a high chalk content so you get home to find the tank under a layer of white - and poor water quality.

true...

 

[Abaddon]

Maybe get like one of those food discs to put in there that lasts a week. Just in case you are worried.

No need. A well-fed healthy betta can easily go a week without food. Also, feeder blocks tend to mess up the water quality, and that's way more harmful to fish than a few days without food. You can add a long-term water purifier like Tetra Easy Balance which will help a little bit with the lack of water changes. That said though, if the tank is mature, stable and heavily planted, it will cope, as will your fish. And you certainly won't have anything to worry about if you do a water change right before you leave and right after you get back.

 

[eatyourpeas]

I just got back from ten days and my Betta was fine except for chewing half of his tail off (only fed him before I left and did not leave food blocks). Chirpy and happy to see me otherwise.

 

[Colin_T]

I just got back from ten days and my Betta was fine except for chewing half of his tail off

maybe he has separation anxiety

 

[eatyourpeas]

maybe he has separation anxiety

Ohhhh, nobody has ever done that for me before!

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Agreed on the feeding. People think fish can go without food for only 3-4 days, but they can go weeks.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Ohhhh, nobody has ever done that for me before!

Oof. ?