Going out of town on vacation

You should be fine to go two weeks without a water change. Your tank isn't really overstocked, and since it's planted, the nitrates shouldn't get too high for the fish. There's no hard and fast limit we can give you, but the safe range is generally considered to be under 40 ppm.

 

I've gone on trips up to 3 weeks without feeding my fish or doing water changes (but I wouldn't recommend much longer). I think you'd be fine to do a large water change right before you leave and do one when you return, and not have your neighbor feed - usually people who don't know anything about aquariums feed fish way too much, and that'll pollute the water and potentially make the fish sick or kill them. Since she won't be doing water changes, I wouldn't ask your neighbor to do anything with the fish.

3 weeks without feeding? Wow, I thought I was pushing it feeding on alternate days. What kind of fish? Interesting.

You should be fine to go two weeks without a water change. Your tank isn't really overstocked, and since it's planted, the nitrates shouldn't get too high for the fish. There's no hard and fast limit we can give you, but the safe range is generally considered to be under 40 ppm.

Thanks

Thank you for both of your replies. My mind has been calmed. I can start concentrating on important things now, like my wardrobe. Lol
I’m going on safarI to South Africa and Swaziland. Took me two years to save for the trip. Yippee

 

Sounds amazing! I went to SA (I was about to say a few years ago, but it was almost a decade ago! Time flies..) and loved it.

 

I grew up an Air Force brat. Lived on 3 continents have traveled extensively, but SA was The experience I wanted. At 47 I’m finally going! I’ve heard so many stories of people’s travels there.
Thanks so much for you input.

 

I wouldn't leave fish 3 weeks without food, especially small fish. When I go on holiday for more than a weekend I portion out food for my tanks in the weekly/daily pill portion containers. That way whoever is feeding my cats can just pop open the portion for that day and put it in the tank. No chance of them over feeding the fish, and everyone still gets fed. Still wouldn't feed them every day, maybe like once every 3rd day or so.
Enjoy your holiday! My family is from SA, it really beautiful.

 

When I went on vacation for three weeks what I did about 4-5 days before I left I did a big water change. The reason why I did this was that I was able see how the tank was in terms of any problems. Hence the change 4-5 days prior to leaving.

I also started feeding light. This way it keeps pooping down thus reducing ammonia risk.

Tell your neighbor to feed maybe once a week. I told my brother in law to feed twice a week. Just a pinch.

When you get back do a water change and get back to the normal schedule.

 

Eh, I had small fish and 3 weeks was no issue. Like I said, I wouldn't go longer, but 16 days is definitely doable.

 

Thank you for both of your replies. My mind has been calmed. I can start concentrating on important things now, like my wardrobe. Lol
I’m going on safarI to South Africa and Swaziland. Took me two years to save for the trip. Yippee

Congrats! That is a really big accomplishment! I hope you have fun!

I wouldn't leave fish 3 weeks without food, especially small fish. When I go on holiday for more than a weekend I portion out food for my tanks in the weekly/daily pill portion containers. That way whoever is feeding my cats can just pop open the portion for that day and put it in the tank. No chance of them over feeding the fish, and everyone still gets fed. Still wouldn't feed them every day, maybe like once every 3rd day or so.
Enjoy your holiday! My family is from SA, it really beautiful.

That is kinda what I did, except I made little paper packets that my brother could just tear open.

 

I’m doing a fishless cycle in my 55 gallon tank. My vacation is three weeks away and I’m a week into the cycle. What can I do while I’m gone to keep the ammonia so I don’t lose the bacteria if it’s not cycled by then. I’ll be gone for 10 days

 

Maybe this would be a good use for those vacation feeding blocks most folks don't recommend using for feeding fish. Maybe they would slowly add enough ammonia to keep your bacteria fed.

 

Or simply fishfood.

 

A frozen shrimp in a media bag. A dead fish. Just about anything that decomposes would work. I like the vacation feeder idea. Toss it in a few days before you go and it will release plenty of nastiness .

 

Wow that’s not a bad idea what about a cheap auto feeder? I didn’t think of that. I haven’t heard much about the blocks what’s the downside of those I have two other tanks that have fish I need to feed while I was gone I was going to get an auto feeder for them

 

I've never used them but have read the results of some folks using the feeder blocks and coming home to cloudy fouled up tanks. That shouldn't be a problem in a cycling tank since no lives will be affected.

An auto feeder might be a good idea for the tanks with fish but fish can go a lot longer without being fed than some folks think. Is it possible for someone to come in and feed them at least one time during your time away? Maybe just feed them on the 5th day you are gone and then you can feed them right before a water change when you get home.

 

I’m going to try to get someone to feed them but if not imma go with the auto feeder set to every 3 days. I only feed them every three or four days not anyway to keep the ammonia down while the tank is cycling. I realized with with my two small tanks that fishless cycle is the way to go. It has been a nightmare doing a fishin cycle

 

Maybe this would be a good use for those vacation feeding blocks most folks don't recommend using for feeding fish. Maybe they would slowly add enough ammonia to keep your bacteria fed.

A frozen shrimp in a media bag. A dead fish. Just about anything that decomposes would work. I like the vacation feeder idea. Toss it in a few days before you go and it will release plenty of nastiness .

That's a great idea; I knew those feeder blocks had to have some redeeming qualities. "Controlled timed-release ammonia pollution"...what will they think of next?

Having someone feed the fish once or twice, if possible, is a good idea. If you do this, make sure you pre-package the portion size you want fed. Failure to do this invites overfeeding by well-meaning but over-enthusiastic aquarium sitters.

But if you can't do this, I wouldn't worry. Ten days is a good long fast, but there will be some natural stuff for the fish to graze on, especially if the tank is planted. A bit of heavy feeding for the last few days before you leave, a big water change just before you leave and another right after you get back, and I'll bet you won't have any losses. Hopefully you have no fry you are raising, as they might suffer from this long without food. Adult fish? Not a problem.

I'm not very trusting of gadgets...especially cheap ones! If you decide to go the auto feeder route, buy it as soon as possible and test it for a few days to make sure it works as intended. Honestly, I would worry more with one of those gizmos dumping food into my tank than I would with the fish going hungry. Right before you leave for a trip is not the time to start experimenting with anything new or different.

 

Yea I have never messed with them before. I have two guppies and two peppered Corys and two netra snails in one tank and a Betta two peppered Corys and two more snails in the other. No fry though.

 

Very soon, I am leaving on vacation for a while. I have hatchets, an angelfish, corys and tetras and not sure of what tablets to drop in the tank for the fish, especially with the hatchets always at the top.

 

Very soon, I am leaving on vacation for a while. I have hatchets, an angelfish, corys and tetras and not sure of what tablets to drop in the tank for the fish, especially with the hatchets always at the top.

How long are you doing on vacay for?

 

How long are you doing on vacay for?

A month but someone will be checking the tank 1-3 times a week.

 

No vacation feeder blocks are good.

Look into Eheim automatic feeders.

They are programmable to feed 1-3 times a day at the times you choose. Also, each feeding event can be individually programmed for the barrel to rotate one time or more.

The opening on the barrel also has a sliding door, so you can control how much food comes out.

I have 3 and they work very well.

Will someone be able to perform a water change while you're gone?

 

Agree with Islandvic on the Eheim feeder. Make sure you get it weeks in advance and test it out to make sure it works and will hold your food. Since fish can go up to 2 weeks without food, there should be plenty of room in the feeder for once a day feeding. But... test it out.

 

A month but someone will be checking the tank 1-3 times a week.

If somebody comes in to check on them, can they feed and do a water change? You're fish can probably live being fed 1 -3 times a week, if you could use tetra weekend if they can only check on then once a week. I find then quite good and they are not terrible for the water if a water change can be done. I use them when I got away for usually 10 days to 2 weeks, I'll get somebody to put them in a few days into my holiday for me

 

What type of tetra?

 

No vacation feeder blocks are good.

Look into Eheim automatic feeders.

They are programmable to feed 1-3 times a day at the times you choose. Also, each feeding event can be individually programmed for the barrel to rotate one time or more.

The opening on the barrel also has a sliding door, so you can control how much food comes out.

I have 3 and they work very well.

Will someone be able to perform a water change while you're gone?

Someone will change the water halfway through the month yes.

Agree with Islandvic on the Eheim feeder. Make sure you get it weeks in advance and test it out to make sure it works and will hold your food. Since fish can go up to 2 weeks without food, there should be plenty of room in the feeder for once a day feeding. But... test it out.

I will look into them shortly thank you.

If somebody comes in to check on them, can they feed and do a water change? You're fish can probably live being fed 1 -3 times a week, if you could use tetra weekend if they can only check on then once a week. I find then quite good and they are not terrible for the water if a water change can be done. I use them when I got away for usually 10 days to 2 weeks, I'll get somebody to put them in a few days into my holiday for meView attachment 543955

I use those to feed my catfish at some times, but I never see the other fish going near it. I moved to sinking pellets after that.

What type of tetra?

Neon Tetra

 

HI everyone. I have a very ill family member, and it’s possible I will need to go out of town for several days (less than a week). I read on the site that my fish can go a few days without food. Is that true is a newly setup tank? I have only had the fish (8 black skirt tetras) for two weeks. (Fully cycled to process 4 ppm ammonia before fish were added)

What about the lights? I have anubia and java moss planted in the tank.

I will do weekly maintenance before leaving.

If you recommend getting an automatic fish feeder or light timer, please recommend a brand or include a link. I am a bit pressed for time trying to gather everything for this unexpected trip and could use help.

I appreciate any advice you have! Thanks

 

Your fish will be okay without food for some days. I'd use a timer for the light (sorry no brand/link cause I live in Europe.

Best wishes for your family member.

 

Century Indoor 24-Hour Mechanical...

These are the timers I use for my lights

 

I've had fish go 2 straight weeks without food (sitter failed to show, I didn't have the $$$ for 7 automatic feeders at the time).
They were fine, only lost one, but she was battling a severe bacterial infection when I left, so I wasn't too surprised
None died from a lack of food.
And hey, best wishes for you and your family.

 

Maybe you buy some vacation feeders if you’re worried about it? Pet stores make these big blocks of food that sink to the bottom of your tank and will release slowly. But if it’s just a few days, you should be fine!

 

Maybe you buy some vacation feeders if you’re worried about it? Pet stores make these big blocks of food that sink to the bottom of your tank and will release slowly. But if it’s just a few days, you should be fine!

I wouldn't recommend those, they never work right for me and have only caused massive ammonia spikes and bacterial blooms.

 

Any cheap timer from walmart or a hardware store will work just fine.

 

Idk why I was thinking the timer for the lights was something special- I have those for the holidays! I guess my mind is just elsewhere right now.

Thanks everyone!

 

I would probably recommend an automatic feeder as well, this is the one I used -

It takes a little bit to get it all figured out, but you can feed 1 to 3 times a day, if you have a ton of fish you can do multiple rotations each feeding, and if you only have a few fish you can adjust the output to as little as you want.

My recommendation is to play with it a bit and adjust accordongly because of the potential to over feed and cause an ammonia spike or under feed and starve. I took a pinch of food that I would normally feed them, and then filled the dispenser and kept adjusting it until they were about the same

I agree with everyone else in regards to the light timer. I keep my lights on a timer anyway to ensure it's consistant.

If you can avoid leaving them without food, I would, they may be fine, but they may not and it wouldn't be a good way to go haha.

I'm sorry for the sick family member by the way.

 

A couple of days, the fish will be fine.

If your getting close to a week being gone, consider the Eheim automatic feeder.

I own 3.

Never failed on me yet.