How long can they go w/o eating?

[SueB]

Hi,
I'm going away for 1 and 1/2 weeks and I will have a neighbor stop in to feed my fish.
She's elderly, and little things confuse her, so I will just have her give flakes and I'll pre-measure them in little packets for her.

So my question is: What is the maximum number of days they can go between feedings? Would every three days be ok, if I fatten 'em up a bit before I leave, and do a water change right before I leave? They'd be fed on the 21st before I leave, then on the 24th, 27th, and the 1st (leap year, no 30th). I'll be home on the 3rd.

My tanks are the following:


37 Gallon
Pleco 1
Clown Loach 4
Rainbow 2
Flag Fish 2
Tetras 6



55 Gallon
Upside Down Cat (synodontis) 1
Featherfin Cat (synodontis) 1
Bristlenose Pleco 1
Lamprologus 2
Julidochromis ****************feldii 6
Haplochromis ovatus 4 males
Pseudotropheus demonsoni 4 (1 male, 3 females)

Thanks,
SueB

[Chrispy]

i think they will be fine. just fatten them up nice before you go. but not too much. also be sure you leave enough food so the little guys at the bottom get fed. flakes dont fall too fast. i have gone a week without feeding them and mine stay fine. push comes to shove, just make the packets of food a little larger. if your doing a water change right before you leave and then do one once you get back all should be well.

[emc7]

I wouldn't overfeed them during the trip. Packets are an excellent idea, petsitters alway overfeed fish. A normal meal once every few days sounds good. Crispy is right fish can go a week of no food without even getting skinny. Do a water change before you leave, but not immediately before. Early enough that if there is any bad effect, you are there to see it (and remove any corpses). Also check all your filters and make sure they are flowing strongly. Putting lights on timers works well. Otherwise you can have the petsitter turn the lights on, feed the fish, wait 15 mins. and turn the lights off again. I've also had sitters turns the lights on and off on alternate visits.

[SueB]

Thank you both for your replies! That's good news, now I'll be able to go without worrying.

Sue

[Gourami Swami]

Originally Posted by Chrispy

i think they will be fine. just fatten them up nice before you go.

actually it would be best to feed the normal amount before leaving, because if you overfeed their stomachs will slightly stretch, and they will be even hungrier when you are gone.

If im going to be gone for say 4 days, I throw a few feeders in the tanks and leave them alone. But for over a week or so, I put the right amount of food in 3 small bowls. On, say, monday, wednesday, and friday, the sitter just has to dump the contents of the bowl into the tank.

[Chrispy]

yeah. well i dont overfeed, just leading up to yuor trip give them extra so they get meat on thier bones just in case. i have fish that are shy when it comes to eating so i worry about them starving. also like he said dont do a water change right before you leave. thats too risky. but do it in general before a trip.

[Obsidian]

One of the best ways for a pet sitter to feed fish was given on this board. I can't remember who said it but I will repeat it, it was ingenious!

Measure how much food you want the fish to eat on the days you want your tank sitter to feed. Put that in an empty ice tray. Fill with water and freeze in the freezer. Then tell the pet sitter... feed X cubes on X days. There is none of the mess with the feeder blocks sold at stores, and you know your fish are getting exactly what you want them to get. And with 1-2 ice cubes you will not be making the water too cold.

[oliesminis]

obsidian that is an amazing idea, just test that the fish like them before you do it otherwise it could have problems

[Gourami Swami]

also, especially with large pellets, they would become saturated and kind of "mushy" i would imagine.