Holiday feeding while trying to starve bladder snails

[Youthquaker]

I am going on holiday for 8 nights soon and am wondering if it is OK to leave my fish this long without food? I have a 180litre tank, sand substrate, two java fern, and floating salvinia, predominantly fake plants. 6 albino bronze cory, 3 gold gourami, 4 swordtails, 2 otos, 5 amano shrimp, 2 nerite snails and currently removing approx 4 or 5 bladder snails a day. The tank has been running for nearly a year and the first time i was away i came back to find 6 of 12 cardinal tetra dead. The second time i was away i came back to no cardinal tetra left and a dead gourami. I didnt have the swordtails then and only 3 amano. Both times i used disolving blocks from the pet shop that said they would last for a week but both times i came back they werent fully disolved so i am not sure if these were affecting the parameters. I am currently feeding once every 2 days to help control the bladder snails and am considering a 50% water change the day before going and then a feed on the morning. Will this be ok? My history of returning to dead fish is making me cautious about any option.

 

[PeterFishKeepin]

for me i just give them an extra good feed before leave, for me 7 days(1 week) is fine no food, ive done 1.5weeks before and only came home to some slightly melted plants you should be fine, i dont trust those food blocks for holidays and personally i think the ingredients are pretty poor. drop an extra algae wafer for the bottom feeders and crush a couple of those pest snails when they get hungry they will eat the snails.
best of luck hope all goes well!

 

[Flyfisha]

My adult fish have done 10 nights - 11 days without food without death.

In truth I think it’s harder on the human?

 

[ruud]

Mine 14 days without loss.

"I am currently feeding once every 2 days" This is pretty much what I do by default - especially during winter time.

 

[FishDin]

I wouldn't hesitate to let them go unfed for 8 days. I've gone much longer than that with my tanks many times.
I always do a water change the day before I leave. I doubt that the fish deaths you experienced were due to starvation.

No mater what you do, the snails will increase while you are away. Feeding during that time will just make it worse.

 

[smee82]

Don't feed before you go away your fish will be fine. Remember theres a heap of stuff in your tank your fish will graze on so you not feeding doesn't mean they're not eating.

Just Make sure you do a big water change the day you leave or the night before.

 

[Youthquaker]

Thanks everyone, hopefully they will all be ok when I come back this time and the snail population wont rocket. Someone had suggested I get a yoyo loach to deal with them but at 3ft long I dont think the tank is big enough long term and i dont have scope for upgrading. I'm not sure that creating one problem in the future to solve one now is really the way to go