Vacation and water change

[FishLover]

I'm scheduled for a 5 weeks vacation in May. I wonder what are the water change options I have for my discus. Having someone over to change water for me is not an option. There are so many things can go wrong and I just don't see it happen.

That said, I'm thinking of two possible options:
1. Condition my Discus for less water changes. I'm doing 40% water change every 5 days. I can slowly increase the days to one week, then two weeks, then three weeks before May. Maybe this way the two extra weeks are not going to be too hard on them.

2. Another option is keep doing the 40% water change till one week before vacation. Then doing 30% water change everyday righ till one day before I leave. That way the water is going to be really fresh. Maybe that will help them to pass the 5 weeks.

Any advise?

I'm going to use an auto feeder with some flake food. It willl feed the fish twice a day and they are used to eat some flakes. I used this before for my other fish without any problem for 5 weeks. Never tried on Discus.

My current set up:
125 g tank with a Fluval 304 and a 404.
11 3" Discus
3-4 small cories
3 small ottos
PH 7.2
Temp 88
Lightly planted
Some driftwoods

[seecuta]

5 weeks is an awfully long time, maybe grab some Nitra-Zorb http://www.aquariumpharm.com/aqfilter.html to remove some of the nasties while ur away. im pretty sure there are many similar products available.

[sammigold]

I would say that you would be taking a HUGE risk leaving your fish 5weeks without w/c especially with autofeeder. (what if something goes wrong with feeder and it keeps feeding and feeding?) (what about if heater breaks down or something else goes wrong.... risky!!! :( )
the build up of waste will be incredible...and could be toxic to your fish...

Is it possible to get your fish babysat by your local aquarium... ours offer that service and also I know of one that will go out to your house and perform feeding and w/change duties...(they are people who know what they are doing so safer than just a friend)

Just a suggestion.... :wink:

[jim from sydney]

5 weeks is too long, get a friend to assist you. You are unkind to our little swimming friends otherwise....Jim

[Merrilyn]

Hi fishlover, I agree with all of the above comments. Five weeks is way too long to leave discus without water changes. I think you may come home to a putrid tank full of dead and dying fish.

Ask at your local aquarium shop if they will take your fish and mind them for the duration of your vacation. A lot of shops will do this for a fee.

I'd remove all your fish, and add a dead green prawn (shrimp) to the tank to keep adding ammonia to feed your bio filtrer. When you return, simply removed the rotting prawn, do a big water change, and you tank is ready to take your fish again.

Alternatively, start teaching a friend how to feed and maintain your tanks. So long as he can call in and check your tank once or twice a week, to see that the auto feeder is working, and perform water changes, things should be fine.

[FishLover]

Thanks guys for the advise. I'm going to try to talk to my LFS. Last time I saw he had some Discus, they were really unhealthy. I'm not sure he knows how to take care of them. The problem is mostly the water PH in our town. We have 8.3 at our area and unless it is treated, Discus would not like it.

I traet my water and bring the PH down to about 7.2. If I let the LFS set my Discus, most likely he will have ph 8.3 water and that PH shock could kill them right away.

Asking a friend coming over for water change is almost impossible. There are so many things can go wrong at water change because the way I treat my water. I think there is a very high chance that my fish will be killed due to the water change.

I used to have other fish and they lasted the 5 weeks vacation without any problem. I know Discus are different and I was hopping there is a solution to my problem.

I'm thinking of having the 44 g aged/treated water ready for my friend. Then ask him to do a 11 g water change every week and I will do the 5th week change when I get home. That way he does not have to treat the water and 10% of water change is not going to shock my Diacus (I have a 125 g tank) in terms of water temp and PH level. I know, 10% a week is not enough but better than nothing.

[sammigold]

you could also give him the forum address so that he can refer here if he has any questions or something happens that he is worried about....