Help!!!

[Carlos05]

Hey guys...sorry to bother you but I need some help by tomorrow. I'm leaving for spring break home and I can't take the fish with me so I'm leaving them in the apartment. I bought a timer for the light so they should be getting that for the week or so I'm gone. HOWEVER...i'm concerned about feeding. I went to walmart because I had planned to buy one of those automatic feeders that they were selling but I get there and they're out. So I ended up buying one of those vacation feeders. I know this isn't a great option or food source but I don't know what else to do. On a side note, I have been cycling for I believe 8 weeks and my ammonia is still there and no nitrates or nitrites.. I don't know what else to do...Thanks for the help...

 

[SaraB]

Hi Carlos

What fish do you have in your tank?

My suggestion would be to do a large water change and feed them before you leave (just a normal amount), then don't worry about the feeding for the rest of the week. I think the ammonia build up will do far more harm to anyone in your tank than going without food for a few days. And adding a feeding block is only going to filth up the water all the more, adding to your ammonia issues.

No doubt people with far more experience will have better ideas than me - I'm just a newbie too - but that is what I'd do.

 

[Roan Art]

Actually, SaraB is correct.

Don't use automatic or vacation feeders. You could come home to a messed up tank and dead fish.

Do a massive water change before you leave and feed the fish a *really* good meal.

When you get back, feed very lightly for the first day. Your fish will be fine for a week with no food.

The ammonia is the huge concern. At 8 weeks you should not be showing any ammonia at all, so something is amiss.

Repost when you get back -- assuming your levels don't build up while you are gone and kill your fish -- and we'll help you find out what's going on.

We'll need your ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH readings, along with your water change routine: how much and how often.

Roan

 

[Carlos05]

Well i'm down to 4 fish....2 of them have already died unfortunately. I have one zebra danio, one black mollie, and 2 tetras (not sure what breed). I can do a massive water change again...I've done them more than once already but i'm just concerned I'm not doing it correctly. Do you just suck the water only or do you "vacum" the gravel as well? As far as levels....my pH won't go down even though i've put half a bottle of pH down (over a week, not at once) its reading around 8, ammonia wont go away no matter what I do. Nitrates and nitrite have never been present ever. I'm about ready to give up and use the bio-spira that people have mentioned....its not that I can't keep doing the changes and care...its just that i don't want more fish dying or suffering because of the ammonia...Once again, sorry for the long post but I'll go ahead and do another water change, condition the water, add pH down, and feed them before i take off....thanks for the responses...

 

[Galaxie]

The best way to kill your cycle is to (1)change filter media often, instead of just rinsing it in tank water. And..... (2)changing water without dechlorinating.

Also, as Roan has said many times, stop trying to adjust your ph. If it comes out of the tap at 8.0, your fish will adjust.


(by the way, I have 7 days vacation in June & 4 tanks of fish to worry about. I've been dry-experimenting with auto-feeders to see if they are reliable. Otherwise, I'm not sure what to do. The community fish will be fine with a couple dissolving blocks, but I have an oscar and a pleco with more diverse diets and feeding requirements.)

 

[Roan Art]

(by the way, I have 7 days vacation in June & 4 tanks of fish to worry about. I've been dry-experimenting with auto-feeders to see if they are reliable. Otherwise, I'm not sure what to do. The community fish will be fine with a couple dissolving blocks, but I have an oscar and a pleco with more diverse diets and feeding requirements.)

Nod nod. That's one reason why I took the pufferfish back to the LFS. We go on vacation in May and I would have to have had someone come in to feed him. Young puffer can't go a week without food.

Anyone you can trust to feed your oscar and pleco, Jon? I think you're gonna need help with that.

Roan

 

[Galaxie]

There is another thread going on this topic
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71064

But....this one seems to be on topic too.

The weird thing about my Oscar...he's 3 yrs old and eats about 15 pellets, 1 fd shrimp, and a tubifex cube per day. But, he'll only eat the pellets 2-3 at a time. If you dump them all in at once, 12 won't get eaten. He's like me. We DON'T like the Soggies! So, I have to feed him like a baby....3 at a time until he's done. If I can find an auto-feeder that could drop tubifex or shrimp for 7 days, he'd be fine....because he loves this stuff. An auto-pellet dropper is just going to make a lot of waste. I doubt he'll eat any pellets since he won't know its feeding time. So, if I can find a feeder that can do this, I'll have till June to make sure its reliable.

The Pleco takes 4-6 sinking pellets per day. Maybe I'll just drop in about 12 before I leave & a chunk of cucumber. I'd really rather have a controlled feeder though...since a cucumber rind shouldn't stay in the tank for 7 days. Or does it matter? Not sure if ammonia could build up that fast; enough to cause a problem.

I may have to train a neighbor I guess.

 

[dr_sudz]

WHY ARE YOU FEEDING YOUR FISH SO MUCH???? fish are pigs for the most part, they will feed all the time if you let them, but going a day or so will not harm the fish, its actually more benefical! Cuts down on the waste produced in your tank, and keeps them from getting fat. you can get away with feeding fish for the most part with a few exceptions every few days. I just need to know why are you feeding so often?

 

[Carlos05]

The best way to kill your cycle is to (1)change filter media often, instead of just rinsing it in tank water. And..... (2)changing water without dechlorinating.

Also, as Roan has said many times, stop trying to adjust your ph. If it comes out of the tap at 8.0, your fish will adjust.



Well i've never changed the filter media in since I bought it and I always use a water conditioner when I change the water. As far as the pH, its actually at 8.4ish...which I thought was too high so thats why I tried to lower it. In fact, i've noticed more activity once i put the pH reducer....seemed to have helped.

Since I have never used bio-spira before....does anyone know if it works this late in the cylce?

 

[Galaxie]

WHY ARE YOU FEEDING YOUR FISH SO MUCH???? fish are pigs for the most part, they will feed all the time if you let them, but going a day or so will not harm the fish, its actually more benefical! Cuts down on the waste produced in your tank, and keeps them from getting fat. you can get away with feeding fish for the most part with a few exceptions every few days. I just need to know why are you feeding so often?

My fish are 12 inches long though. ..and they don't have a guppy mentality. That is, when they aren't hungry, they don't eat.

Oscar:
12-15 medium pellets, one tubifex cube, and 1 small freeze dried shrimp ......once a day......is a very normal diet. When he's done eating, he refuses the food, so I do the same the next day at 5:30 pm.

Pleco:
2 algae tabs and 2 spirulina tabs per day, and 1/4 cucumber every few days probably has him on the edge of starvation actually.

These diets are based on information I've collected and debated here at AC for the past year, so they aren't up for debate. "What to do on a 7 day vacation is debatable though."