Feeding your Fish while on vacation ????

[weber518]

I have a blue tang a clownfish and a yellow tail damsel, any suggestions on how to feed them while on vacation ????

 

[beatlesfan]

measure out all there food for each day and put them in little dixie cups. All someone has to do is come up and dump the food in.

 

[sharkboy13]

Originally Posted by Beatlesfan
measure out all there food for each day and put them in little dixie cups. All someone has to do is come up and dump the food in.
yup, just make sure they kno what theyre doin

 

[pokey]

Yep, I'm away right now and have my g/f taking care of them. They also have those timed self-feeders that some people use, but I don't know too much about them.

 

[big-fish]

i have heard stories about them over feeding the tank :scared:

 

[myrtle beach]

Gradually feed them less, if you are only leaving for a day or so. Measuring it out sounds good, it's not that tough that a gf couldn't figure it out, just feed them a pinch every minute or two, that's what I told my gf when I left for a week and everyone survived.

 

[reefforbrains]

Same as personal accident info, type out careful instructions, and use basic terms and keep it as simple as possible.
Most people are honored to take care of someones fowler/reef, intimidated as heck but they feel proud watching it while your gone. Also if its a long trip odds are it infects them to get thier own tank by being around it everyday for a few weeks.

 

[miami298]

I would be more concerned with things like, topping off with fresh water to make up for evaporation and emptying the collection cup on your skimmer. If you will only be gone a few days your tank will be fine without food if you can't get someone reliable to help you out (Think of how long all your fish went without food after they were caught in the wild and shipped until they made it to your LFS)
Good luck

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by Miami298
I would be more concerned with things like, topping off with fresh water to make up for evaporation and emptying the collection cup on your skimmer. If you will only be gone a few days your tank will be fine without food if you can't get someone reliable to help you out (Think of how long all your fish went without food after they were caught in the wild and shipped until they made it to your LFS)
Good luck
I was thinking the exact same thing.

 

[puffer32]

Yeah, i would be more concerned about topping my tank off.

 

[lesleybird]

Get some of those little plastic bags from The Container store and have one for each day for someone to come and feed one bag per day and put in some pre-determined amount of top off water in the tank. If your fish need two feedings per day then have a feeder do the other feeding. You may get by with the mechanical feeder and someone comming in every other day for top off water. Make sure it is someone that you trust and have a number of a fish person handy in case of problems. Also, you could turn off the skimmer for a week while you are gone if you feed lightly. I have run a fish and invert only tank for years at a time without a skimmer without problems. I would do a partial water change before you go to make sure the water quality is high.
Lesley

 

[weber518]

thanks again for all of the great advice.

 

[cowfishrule]

im going away for a week in may and im not going to have anyone feed them while i am gone.
evap and salinity changes i would be really concerned about. (skimmer cup as well)

 

[triga22]

When I got to NY I get my friend to take the food outa the freezer and put it in the tank. As for the skimmer I told him that if it gets full to unplug it. And water changes I have him fill a half gallon jug and add it.

 

[garnet13aj]

Honestly, when I go home for a week they do fine on their own. They do a bit of grazing on the LR but none of them die. Also, if when you leave if you keep the salinity a little lower and some of it evaporates you should still be in the right range when you get back. For example, if the sg is at 1.022 when you leave and it goes up to 1.025 by the time you get back it will have been a gradual change and the fish should be just fine.

 

[mombostic]

One time I used one of those little pill dividers that has the days of the week on each compartment. The seven compartments open separately--you know what I'm talking about? Put the amount of food in each days spot, then that simplifies the amount of food for each day. Now I have an automatic feeder, but honestly it does put quite a bit of food in there. I do a couple of good water changes when I get home. Even for a week you could get by with maybe two or three top offs is someone is willing to do it.

 

[fish1031]

yeah i have had people kill fish... i am gone all the time

 

[flcandy]

I went out of town for 9 days and had a friend come and feed my tank. I don't know how much she fed them but when I got back it was literally covered in Algae

. Thank gawd I have no LR. The hermits were well fed for a while and then I took all the rocks out and cleaned it. Now they eat the scraps and what little does grow. Scary now tho because I have more stock.
Does anyone reccommend an auto feeder? I am very worried about those as I don't trust the timers either.
Thanks :notsure:

 

[chub]

Im gone at least 5 days at a time all I do is have someone feed them 1 time and top off the tank a couple times Never had a problem

 

[flcandy]

I gave instructions and everything. I dont think the light got turned off and I think they were deff over fed. I only had 2 damsels and 3 hermits in there at the time. I mean it was covered, I could not see in the glass and had to scrub my rocks to get the algae off as it was actually pulling itself off it was so thick. (2.5 hours of cleaning!)

Any auto feeders that are okay to use, no real issues? And as for timers for the lights what is recommended?
Thanks