Going Out of Town for 2 Weeks

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bkgodfrey

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Jun 3, 2007
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I have two tanks in my apt at school but I am leaving for two weeks starting this Friday for Christmas break and a ski trip. I have a 29 gallon with contents listed below as well as a 5 gallon with a male betta. Lights in both tanks are on timers so that is not a problem. I also have an automated feeder on my larger tank that seems to work pretty efficiently.
My first question is about water changes. I religiously change water in the tanks on the recommended weekly basis and have done so since starting the tanks in February of this year. Would it be bad for the tanks to go two weeks without a change?
Second, I don't have an automatic feeder for my betta, one would not work on the tank I have for him. Can anyone recommend any tablets that work. I've tried Top Fin Vacation Feeder Tablets and they work fine in my larger tank, but the betta doesn't seem to eat them and they begin to rot in his tank since there is less water movement than in the 29 gallon.
I will be having someone come about every other day to check on making sure there haven't been any technical problems and to make sure everything is running properly. However, the problem is it is my girlfriends roommate and I don't want to have to ask her to do the water changes, especially on the 29 gallon b/c it is a bit tricky with the siphon and the 5 gallon bucket does get pretty heavy.
Please let me know what you all think. Thanks in advance for the advice.
 
I would just do a large water change before you leave and you should be fine aslong as you do another as soon as you get back.If someone is going to check on things every other day have them do a light feeding while they are there. You could measure out how much to feed each time they come so as to not overfeed. Feeding lite will also help keep water in better shape so it wont get out of hand before you return.
 
I've heard folks recommend a pill holder... like the ones elderly folks use to sort out their pills for each day of the week. Just put in your fish food for each day/every other day. Or, you can just put the food in sandwich baggies. I'd partition it out tho, I've found that you can't really trust people that don't keep fish to feed an appropriate amount of food. I made that mistake once and came back to flakes floating ALL OVER my tank lol. Just don't use feeding blocks. IMO it is easier to portion out the food and tell the caregiver about it than to risk rotting feeding blocks in your tank (at least, they always used to rot in my tanks). At any rate, your tanks should be ok for 2 wks with no water change, provided that you don't use feeding blocks and the caregiver doesn't overfeed. Instruct her to feed every other day and you'll be fine.

Good luck!:)
 
I've used an ice cube tray to store measured doses of food when I've been out of town. Just put one serving in each "cup" to cover the amount of time your gone. If you have someone stopping in every other day, that will be sufficient and you don't have to worry about problems caused by the weekend feeders.

As others mentioned, a large H2O change right before leaving and when you get back should do it.
 
PS--I would also drop temp a few degrees (75??) to slow metabolism too.
 
I use the pill boxes. They work wonders. If you were to feed for the first week and skip the second week, your fish would do fine. Every other days is plenty for the fish.
 
i agree with what is being said. if you having someone come in every couple days just let them feed them. i use plastic baggies for when i go out of town but to each his own. i was out of town for 10 days and for some reason they thought i didnt have fish in one of my tanks. water a little low but everyone was fine.
 
thanks so much for all the advice, especially about dropping the temp, i'll be sure to do that.
 
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