What About Vacations?

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biondoa

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Feb 6, 2015
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Is it ok to go away for a week and leave the fish without food? I have heard that those so called "weekend feeders" are not good and make the water cloudy. I know it will be ok to leave my betta for that long, but what about a community tank? Is there such a thing as an auto feeder?
Thanks for your help.
 

Rbishop

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Dec 30, 2005
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What's the mix/size of the tank? There are auto feeders.. good and bad reviews...in general, I say fast them for a week.
 

JackLantern

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there are auto feeders, but they can be touchy to get working right.
i have used them and like them. but i wouldn't get one in a hurry for a vacation. i'd get one when i'm around to tweak it for a while until i can trust it.

main issue i had is the drum type ones dump erratic amounts, the rotary types don't do that, but they have limited capacity.

but rbishop is right, a week shouldn't hurt.
 

FreshyFresh

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If you are not home to supervise the tank and perform weekly water changes, you're better off not feeding them or having someone feed the tank out of pre-portioned containers that you set up, every few days.
 

jpappy789

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Feb 18, 2007
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I've gone 2-3 weeks without food or water changes. Most fish aren't all that picky, to be honest.

Just stop feeding maybe a day or so ahead of time and do a large water change as close as you can before leaving.

Auto-feeders are a disaster waiting to happen in my opinion.
 

biondoa

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I am mostly worried about my very small galaxy rasboras , aka celestial pearl danios. They are so small, not even an inch, and I wonder how long they can go without food. Do you know if they will eat algae? I really don't have anyone that I trust to come and feed them.
 

FreshyFresh

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Your CPDs would be fine for 2 weeks or so I'd think.

I've got 8 CPDs in my planted 10g shrimp tank. I never see them. They stay in the java fern forest, low in the tank and only dart out to grab food.
 

MChambers

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Jun 5, 2009
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I am mostly worried about my very small galaxy rasboras , aka celestial pearl danios. They are so small, not even an inch, and I wonder how long they can go without food. Do you know if they will eat algae? I really don't have anyone that I trust to come and feed them.
I think they'd be fine, based on my experience
 

tanker

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Feed them well for about a week before leaving, do a large WC, and lower temp by few degrees (assuming that you are in the mid to high 70s). They will be just fine.
 
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