Home made vacation food

I doubt they will be needed for one weekend. Red cherry shrimp can survive quite well for a weekend or longer on algae and microorganisms they find in the tank.

YES you can make plaster of paris feeder blocks. I make them and have for several years I buy DAP brand plaster of paris at home depot. all you do is mix it to directions on the carton and add what ever flake/dried foods you want. I use generous amouts of food to my mix and the snails fish and what ever critters else are in the tank love it.
I bought 12 plastic ice cube trays BUT styrofoam 12pk egg cartons work great maybe even better than ice cube trays. I fill the ice cube trays full but on the egg cartons i only fill 2/3rds way full since they are larger. just allow several days to dry all the way thru i sit mine in front of a small fan and it speeds up the drying process by a day or so.
if these dont dry all the way thru when you drop a cube in the tank it will sort of melt and turn the water all white but its not dangerous just makes the water messy until your filter cleans it up.
But when done properly there is no mess no cloudy water in fact you will notice your water gets even clearer by the time the cube is consumed.
this is a very easy DIY project and very cost effective compared to what they charge for those tiny weekend feeders.
I make the entire 5 pound box of plaster of paris at one time but you can make any amout you want at a time. i think i paid like 5.49 for the last box of DAP plaster of paris at home depot last month when i made a batch up. Its in the paint dept. on the shelf looks like a milk carton container.
one tip on drying. the plaster of paris will kinda shrink up a bit and pull away from the ice cube/egg carton tray. I dry mine for a full week under a fan and then store them in zip lock bags.