Frequency For Feeding

I realize this is way to far in the game for me to be asking a very simple question but my week of holidays and disaster aftermath from the feeding pucks has caused a few comments both in the forum in the few people I’ve talked to that keep their own tanks and work in the fish stores. I was told in the beginning that fish need 2 feedings a day to stay healthy and now I’ve been told that once or twice a week is actually better for them. What is the ACTUAL best thing? I’m not home for at least one weekend a month so I’ve been going out of my way to come back to make sure they get at least one feeding every day while I’m away but it’s a huge wad of time and gas if they’d be more than fine going the 2 days without, and I have another week of holidays in August and no one to feed my fish 2x per day. HELP????!!

 

Fish will be fine without food for 1 week.

Just feed a bit more before you leave and do a 50% WC.

 

I feed twice a day everyday except sundays. Not feeding them one weekend a month is fine unless your fish require it (typically juvenile fish). Your fish will also be fine without food for the week of your holiday. Typically, fish can go without food for two weeks.

 

My tanks are in my work rental, 4 hours from my home. I go home at least 3 weekends a month so they don’t eat from Friday morning until Sunday evening.

No losses in 5 tanks in the last 4 months.

I just took a vacation and was gone or 9 days. I had a co-worker feed pre measured food twice while I was gone so they ate twice in 9!days.

But they were happy to see me.

I know I over feed when I am here but not a lot. I justify it my telling myself that I want to make sure the corys get fed. But they are fat lil buggers.

 

In your situation, the fish are fine going without food for the weekend. I wouldnt drive just to feed the fish.

Generally, fish can go up to to weeks without food. The exceptions are fry (baby fish) or sick fish. The larger the fish, the longer it can go without food.
What a lot of people do is feed once a day and fast one day a week. So 6 feedings in 7 days. There actually benefits to adding a fast day, and "feed 2-3x a day" is usually just the food companies trying to get more money.

In my tanks, I feed any fry or juveniles 2-6x a day, community tanks 1x a day (1 fast a week), specie tanks 1x every other day, and if I'm breeding then depends kn the species. But as you can see, leaving fish for a weekend with no food isn't a problem. (I once had my livebearers have fry right before I left on a 2 week vacation... expected all the fry to be dead or eaten when I got back, but nope! Counted 8 when I got back and they were fat little things lol)

 

And there is food in most tanks.

Like fjh, I was gone for 4 days over New Years and when I got back, I had 3 baby red wag platys, easy to spot and eat.

I noticed my fry spend a lot of time near/on my sponge filters. That’s where they eat.

 

I realize this is way to far in the game for me to be asking a very simple question but my week of holidays and disaster aftermath from the feeding pucks has caused a few comments both in the forum in the few people I’ve talked to that keep their own tanks and work in the fish stores. I was told in the beginning that fish need 2 feedings a day to stay healthy and now I’ve been told that once or twice a week is actually better for them. What is the ACTUAL best thing? I’m not home for at least one weekend a month so I’ve been going out of my way to come back to make sure they get at least one feeding every day while I’m away but it’s a huge wad of time and gas if they’d be more than fine going the 2 days without, and I have another week of holidays in August and no one to feed my fish 2x per day. HELP????!!

I would recommend once a day.

 

There is a very wide range of opinions on this subject. In my experience, it comes down to a number of factors that only you can answer.

Fish can certainly survive (and I dare say thrive) with feedings every 2-3 days (so no need to go out of your way to make that drive!!).

If you are intending to breed and want to keep them well fed, to avoid eating the fry, you may want to consider an automatic feeding machine.

 

Aquarium fish in general are overfed. In the wild, fish go for days at a time, sometimes a week or more, without eating. They're not like dogs or cats, where you have to feed them at the same time every day. And they certainly won't starve unless they go for 2 weeks or more without food. As many have pointed out, the exception to this is baby fish, and actively breeding pairs. I feed my fish 4 or 5 times a week, and I still think I'm over feeding.

 

Good question, and good answers. Thanks for the info! I too was wondering how often to fees my guys. Since I give them almost exclusively frozen food, it’s a little more inconvienent so they get fed once a day with a few fasting days here and there. The exception is my bamboo shrimp/fry tank, who get food 1-2 times a day without missing days. Luckily baby brine shrimp defrost faster than bloodworms.