Hypothetical Vacation Questions

Thankfully I just have a tank in the middle of establishing a cycle. Nothing is in too great peril right now. Though my father keeps aspiring about going on a vacation out to some vague beach and that usually means long-distant travel.

Basically I am wondering what's the best option for leaving a fish when you go on vacation? Especially when you cannot leave anyone with your fish. I just don't think I can trust anyone who doesn't keep aquariums themselves.

 

how long will you be gone for? what would your tank be stocked with, and how big is it?

 

I am not sure. It could be a few days to a week. My tank will be stocked with a singular betta. It's a 5.5 gal.

 

bettas can last for up to 1 week without food, so i think you'll be fine. just feed him/her more before and after

 

To solve the trust issue, just put the amount you would normally feed your fish in a sandwich bag or plastic baggy. Then tape it to the aquarium and tell the person to only feed one bag per day or every other day. You can even write the day on the bag so there is no room for error.

 

Alright, thanks for the insight!

 

To solve the trust issue, just put the amount you would normally feed your fish in a sandwich bag or plastic baggy. Then tape it to the aquarium and tell the person to only feed one bag per day or every other day. You can even write the day on the bag so there is no room for error.

. . . and make sure you tell him or her that if a day gets skipped to absolutely not feed double the next day.

 

For the upcoming vacation, i would personally wait to get a fish til you get back, especially if the vacation is a week or two after the tank is finished cycling.

 

I am planning to go on vacation. A young girl who lives across the street will come over to feed the cats, clean out the litter box, and water the plants. As for the aquarium, I plan to leave a few jugs of RO water for her to use to top off any evaporation. I will only be gone five days, so there is no need to feed the fish during that time. Once you get past a week, then at least one feeding might be a good idea.

When I had saltwater reefs, I had to have someone attend to them while I was gone. Freshwater tanks are more forgiving in that regard.

 

I am planning to go on vacation. A young girl who lives across the street will come over to feed the cats, clean out the litter box, and water the plants. As for the aquarium, I plan to leave a few jugs of RO water for her to use to top off any evaporation. I will only be gone five days, so there is no need to feed the fish during that time. Once you get past a week, then at least one feeding might be a good idea.

When I had saltwater reefs, I had to have someone attend to them while I was gone. Freshwater tanks are more forgiving in that regard.

i wouldnt worry about evaporation, and you dont want the "young girl" to fill the tank up with more more then needed like past the filter release. im in the same boat im about to go on a 5 day vacation in about 5 weeks and im debating on even having somebody come over. fish can survive 7-10 days without food.. just perform 2 50% water changes 48 hours before you go and feed them well the days before you go. maybe look into time released foods (which im looking into). good luck my friend

 

When we travel, I have someone come by daily to check on the fish. I leave them a net to get any who may have passed so I don't get an ammonia spike from a decaying fish (luckily, I haven't ever lost a fish while out of town but I want to be prepared just in case). I also put food pre-measured in tiny little Dixie cups for them to pour in once a day. I have my light on a timer (even when I'm home for consistency sake).

 

I havent fed my tanks in a month.... And Im not even on vacation...

Keeping your tanks heavily planted and lowly stocked will help a lot!

 

You can use those pill separator boxes (those that go from Monday to Sunday) with premeasured food amounts, that should make it easy for anyone coming and checking on your fish to dose the food correctly and without too much risk. An alternative would be an automatic feeder but that costs some money. It may be better to have a friend come every 2-3 days and pour in a bit of food.

As for the tank, if it is heavily planted and not overstocked, you should be fine to go for 1-2 weeks without a water change - just to be safe, check your nitrate levels before doing a water change, and if those levels are low, try and see how high up they go after 2 weeks. This is doable if the tank has lots of live plants and is a bit understocked.

 

Fish will be fine for 2+ weeks without being fed in an established tank. If your going away for longer you can add live daphnia or copepods for them to hunt while your away.

Personally as i will go away for a month or 2 every year is also keep a large colony of shrimp going in my tank at all times for fish to hunt while im away.
Touch wood but ive never lost a fish while im away and my tank always looks better when i get back.

 

i wouldnt worry about evaporation, and you dont want the "young girl" to fill the tank up with more more then needed like past the filter release. im in the same boat im about to go on a 5 day vacation in about 5 weeks and im debating on even having somebody come over. fish can survive 7-10 days without food.. just perform 2 50% water changes 48 hours before you go and feed them well the days before you go. maybe look into time released foods (which im looking into). good luck my friend

In my 55 gallon tank, I have to add about 1 gallon of water each day to replace evaporation. The teenager is responsible enough to add a pitcher full of water to the tank each day. If she weren't, we would not trust her taking care of the cats. She could feed the fish as well, but I know they will be OK while we are gone.