Going On Holiday

[daveheard]

I am off on holiday next week, Mon to Fri, I was going to get one of those holiday blocks to put in the tank, but my concern lies with the 2 African Butterfly fish i have, as they live at the surface how will they get fed, is there anything i can get to cater for surface dwellers???

 

[NoDeltaH2O]

Well fed fish can last for 4 days without food. I would forego the feeding block and instead plump them up with extra feedings leading up to your vacation. They will be fine. Some fish are opportunistic feeders and in nature don't eat everyday, so they will be fine.

 

[FroggyFox]

Usually when I go on business trips (anywhere from one to 4 nights usually) I ask my roommate to throw the easy ones some food...but if she forgets its totally ok. Like Delta said, most fish can last 10+ day's w/o food. In the wild fish frequently go w/o food for several days and then eat really well for a day etc. (of course there are some, esp fry who need food constantly through out the day) No one feeds them once or twice a day. Now of course the fish we have are conditioned to those regular feedings...so I make a point of feeding them some extra the few days before I leave, and making sure I skip a day or two every week or every other week so they're familiar with picking up all the extra food off the bottom or out of the plants etc.

So, I'd second the "dont worry about the feeder block" sentiment. There are also automatic feeders you can buy at the lfs...I've never tried one, but some people have said that they're really nice to use, you might take a look at them. Oh, and also last time I went to buy a feeder block I actually read the package and it says that feeder blocks may not disentigrate at a good pace except under certain conditions...and the temperature/pH where I keep my tanks is not in those certain conditions. So if you go for those blocks...make a point of reading the package.

 

[Stevie]

yea,I agree with all said above.I have gone on 7 day trips and my fish have been fine.Like Delta and Froggy said feed them up a bit first.

 

[JWright]

If you do go for having somebody feed your fish for you, I would reccomend you pick up one of those daily pill dispensers that you pre-stock with food, so there is no confusion on the part of your volunteer fish feeder...

Something like this:

 

[twoluvcats]

that's what I do jwright...it works so great!!! you are able to vary your food, get special stuff to certian fish on certain days...and all without confusing your fish-feeder

 

[FisheyLisa]

Mine went probably about a week and a half without food, after some forgetful fish feeder planning and bad snow. Stock them up on food though, before hand.