30 Gallon Tank Vacation killed my fish

Be careful your instructions for the fish! I really did not realize how much I did all week to my tank. I told my neighbor to feed my fish a pinch of floating food and a pinch of sinking food every day. Maybe it was too much or maybe my platy were more dirty than I thought, one thing I did know was they were older. One died, and that was all it took it put my tank in an ammonia cascade. It took out my Gourami and two of my Rainbow fish.
I had changed my filter And water cleaned the tank out all before I left. That filter lasts 3 months between changing and I do weekly or biweekly changes with bacteria replenish because of the platy, and catfish I have

 

Non-fish people have no real idea of what a "pinch" of food means. The best bet is to either show them in person, or plan ahead and actually package up or separate the individual portions of food. Also when going on vacation if someone else is feeding your tank you can get them to do it less than you do (e.g. every second day) if it's only a short trip.

Sorry to hear about your fish. A combo of overfeeding and a dead fish is definitely not good. Be wary of over-cleaning but hopefully it all comes good for you again now.

 

Thanks StarGirl,
I heard that tip before and of course forgot before vacation! So much on your mind, my poor babies it’s always the ones you name. I have so many platy I cannot keep up. After quarantine that might be another reason they took over tank and overwhelmed it! I had to do the unthinkable and Euthanize a few. This was worse I didn’t want them to be Tortured

 

Sorry about your fish Thats the worst thing to come home to.

A lot of people use those pill containers with the days on them for when other people feed them. Then its only the amount you want then, no extra.

You should not change the filter either. You throw out most of your cycle when you do this. I would guess this had more to do with the spike than the food in the tank.

 

You are probably right! I tried to replace with the fresh start bacteria every filter change but I guess it was not enough and did not give the bacteria time to cling!