Overfeed fish before long vacation?

In one week I am going on a 3 week holiday. I have someone who will turn the tank lights on and off each day and will feed the fish according to my instructions which will be every 4 days. My fish-sitter will not be doing any water changes during that time which is why I'm not having her feed them every day.

Should I over-feed my fish for the next week? I can do daily water changes to take care of the extra waste so that's not an issue.

I'm quite nervous about the restricted meals and no water changes as they're fairly pampered fishies and shrimp.

Opinions happily accepted!

 

I would not. I would just feed as normal and they will do fine fed every 4 days or so.
Though if theyre doing the lights they have time to drop in some food too.

But id keep it to every other day tops if you aren't having water changes done in 3 weeks for sure.

 

Don't overfeed your fish before you go on vacation.

When you increase the feeding, you increase the ammonia production. Ammonia is your worst enemy when you're on vacation. Fish can go a long time without any food added to the tank without suffering any harm. If you overfeed before you go, you're going to either have an ammonia spike or nitrate spike. Overfeeding will have the same effect on your tank as adding a bunch of new fish just before you leave.

If it was two weeks, I'd say don't feed them at all while you're away. Three weeks is a little long. Feeding every few days is probably a good solution. However, keep the feedings very small. It will sustain the fish, but if you try to catch up on their feeding, you'll get into the ammonia problem again. Portion out the feeding amounts. It's almost universal that someone stepping in to feed your fish while you're gone will massively overfeed your fish because they want to do the best job they can, and more is better. Feeding tiny portions will solve the problem without fouling the water.

 

Best bet is an auto-feeder. I have an Eheim model that you can set to feed 1-2 times per day. It just spins and deposits food into tank, only difficulty is if you have variety of food you want to drop. Make sure to test first as it will overfeed if slider is not set right.

 

Get a pill box so you can ration out exactly how much for them to feed .
Leave them 5 or 6 feedings so they really understand ..Do not leave them with all your food at their disposal ..

 

Get a pill box so you can ration out exactly how much for them to feed .
Leave them 5 or 6 feedings so they really understand ..Do not leave them with all your food at their disposal ..

^^^^^ Do this.

I started using a pill box to ration food a few years ago. I learned the lesson the hard way by coming home to a tank full of decaying food.

 

I already have the pill boxes ready with pre-measured food! I don't want any "accidents". Thank you for the replies - I won't overfeed them and just maintain my normal feeding schedule for the next week.

 

Get a pill box so you can ration out exactly how much for them to feed .
Leave them 5 or 6 feedings so they really understand ..Do not leave them with all your food at their disposal ..

This times 1000. Your fish sitter will over feed them 100% hands down. This is exactly what I recommend.

 

I like the pill box ideas
For in the future you should get a timer for your lights. Then and auto feeder for vacations.

 

I don't really trust autofeeders. I prefer to have someone here, twice a day, to check on the fish/tank/heater/filter etc.. She's also taking care of my birds (see profile pic) so she'd be here twice a day anyway.

The only thing I'd like to have different is somebody who understands and has experience with water changes. I do have an emergency number for the fish-sitter to call if something happens and she just doesn't know what to do. I will be on the other side of the world, so I won't be any help.

 

Get a pill box so you can ration out exactly how much for them to feed .
Leave them 5 or 6 feedings so they really understand ..Do not leave them with all your food at their disposal ..

I even left a two week pillbox with food ONLY in the days I wanted them fed. That way if they can’t remember and they check that day of the week they know it’s too soon.

I even left a two week pillbox with food ONLY in the days I wanted them fed. That way if they can’t remember and they check that day of the week they know it’s too soon.

So you could do a month one or label week one week two on three of them. I also had the person dose with prime a couple of times to be safe.