holiday time

[Darth_discus]

just wandering what i should do with my fish in terms of feeding for a week because of a holiday:

2 discus
a bn
10 neons
3 golden barbs
11 assorted tetras
a black angelfish
algae eater

[DR.V]

The best way is ask your relative/friends/neighbour to feed them every two days. They will survive with one food every two days.

Other way is to get an Automatic Feeder that sets the feeding time. Maybe twice a day, its up to you.
I tried those cube "holiday feed" that pet shop got, that could feed up to 1 week. I personally dont like that. Because they're not a good quality food and mess the water so much.

When Im going overseas for 1 months, I do a 50% water change before i leave. Make sure every thing is working alright. Temp, pH , timer for lights , etc. I use automatic feeder on all my tanks, and ask my lovely neighbour to come over every two days and check all the tanks and feed them ^^ but I guess not everyone got a friendly neighbour.

[goldenpigeon]

what i like to do is get 1 of those automated feeders and put in the dry foods that suit all the fish etc: flakes, breeders premium, algae wafers.... and leave them with that. but incase the batteries run out or for some reson they are not recieving food from the automated feeder i put some vacation blocks in there just in case :D

HTH

[DR.V]

but incase the batteries run out or for some reson they are not recieving food from the automated feeder i put some vacation blocks in there just in case :D

HTH

Now that you mention it goldenpigeon, buy a high quality battery, like the silver energyzer !! Long lasting !!

[dreamer]

im going for holiday tmr. im leaving all my fish to my cousin and friend to look after ....im sure they will do fine ...they managed to kept them fine last time so hopefully this time will be the same :)

[DR.V]

get your friends to to feed them. Thats what a friends for right ?? LOL

[Andrew Soh]

:) Hello Darth_discus and friends,

My opinion is that you should not feed your fishes whether they are discus or tetras or etc when you are on holiday or outstation for a week or 10 days. In general, if you have been feeding your fishes well, they will not starve to death within that period.

Automatic feeder is good if you are out from morning till late evening. Such feeder will ensure your fishes are fed regularly. When you come back in the evening and if you feel that there is something wrong ..like too much leftover due to whatever reason, you can save the day by certain sequence of actions like Water change or stop the feeder.

When you are out for more than a day, it is not advisable to use as some fishes for whatever reason may feel unwell and too much uneaten food. This will foul the water...and if the feeder keeps feeding in food, that will cause ammonia buildup thus resulting in ammonia poisoning.

An alternative is to ask someone else to look after for you...but it is important that he must have knowledge about fishes you are keeping. Don't get your granny to feed for you as granny will spoil her grandson and try to pamper his love by excessively feeding them. Also, not your little cousin......don't you think that feed fish is the best part of keep fish??

Just a Thought!! :wink:

Best regards,
Andrew :angel

[Littlefish]

Andrew, thanks for your EXCELLENT advice!

I will print it and hang it on the wall to show all the people who have accused me of cruelty and indifference when I have gone away and told them NOT to feed my fish, they will be FINE, and I don't want ANYBODY (especially the neighbour's kids) touching my fish while I'm away!!

Fred :D :D

[goldenpigeon]

with the automated feeder i try it out before going away and set it to disperse only a very small amout of food. then they get small meals enough to last them until you are back. an i set it to 2 feeds a day.

HTH

[Andrew Soh]

:D Morning Fred,
Thanks for accepting my view.

HTH, I know an auto-feeder is good and of course you can adjust the dose of feed per day. But here, we are talking about discus. They are basically very sensitive and unpredictable. One day they are alright and the next , they are sick........so if one is going out for more than a day, better don't feed.

This will not harm the discus as the water itself, the trace elements could support the functioning of their system for that period. We humans are different as that once we stop drinking and eating for a period, we are totally deplete of any nutrient.

Just a thought :!:

Andrew :angel