Holiday Disaster

[cmcpart0422]

So i went to NY for four days for the holidays to visit some family and my girlfriend said she was going to have a friend come over and feed her cat. I asked if she could ask her friend to give my fish a pinch of food when she came over to feed the cat. Well i get back and the water in my tank is so dirty and green you can almost not even see to the back of the tank. I then open up my fish food to notice that she gave them an entire thing of flakes in just four days! I have been doing daily water changes for the last couple of days but it is still pretty dirty. Guess ill never have her friend feed my fish again.

 

[maddog10]

That is why I give a 2 day fish feeding seminar to whoever watches over my fish when I am gone.

The first day I demonstrate how and what to feed the fish and I write it on the glass with a wax pencil.
The second day I watch the person feed the fish.
I do this EVERY time I am going away for more than 3 or 4 days.

Your fish would have survived for 4 days without food (unless you have sensitive fish).

 

[dogofwar]

I agree with Mike: 4 days without new food is a walk in the park for just about any cichlid. I used to regularly go 5-6 days when I traveled a lot for work.

When we were gone in Uruguay (for 2.5 weeks), a buddy of mine (non-fish person) volunteered to take care of the fish. I showed him how much to feed and gave him the guidance that "less is more" when feeding.

He came every 3-4 days and fed a little NLS or flake to each tank. Didn't lose a single fish (other than some new babies).

Do 20-30% water changes every day (or twice a day) until your tanks back to normal.

Good luck,
Matt

 

[Pat Kelly]

When I used to go away for any length of time I had my daughter (who has fish) take care of them. The one time I went away for 12 days I had the manager of a LFS stop by 2 times to check on her.
For the last couple of years though I just don't feed.
I have been gone for 7 days with out much problem. Fry are a concern. I have, in the past, put a little bunch of java moss in every tank with fry. I figure there must be something swimming or crawling on the moss that they can snack on.

I did loose 3 fish while at the ACA this year. But not because of food. One got stuck in a cave. Not sure on the others but they were L260 plecos and had plenty of food in the gravel. worms.

 

[Sonny Disposition]

Yeah, I've done the same thing. In fact, I've left them for two weeks. If it's not too cold when you go away, unplug your heater. If the species you're working with can withstand temperatures in the low to mid sixties, so much the better. As fish cool down, their metabolism slows down, and they don't need to eat as much.

On that note, I've cold treated black banded sunfish by keeping them in a two gallon tank in a refrigerator for a month. At 45 degrees, they didn't eat, but they didn't get thinner, either.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pat Kelly @ Dec 31 2008, 11:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

When I used to go away for any length of time I have my daughter (who has fish) take care of them. For the last couple of years though I just don't feed.
I have been gone for 7 days with out much problem. Fry are a concern. I have, in the past, put a little bunch of java moss in every tank with fry. I figure there must be something swimming or crawling on the moss that they can snack on.

I did loose 3 fish while at the ACA this year. But not because of food. One got stuck in a cave. Not sure on the others but they were L260 plecos and had plenty of food in the gravel. worms.

[/b]

 

[cmcpart0422]

Yeah i just figured since she was gunna be there feeding the cat might as well get her to feed the fish. Well i learned my lesson. Next time ill just wait till i get back to feed them. I just did another water change and things are starting to look a bit better. Would it be a bad time to change my filter media? They are just caked in slime from all the flakes that it sucked up.

 

[dogofwar]

I'd change your media...and add some fresh carbon as well. I don't regularly use carbon but in cases where there's been something stinky or nasty that's occurred, it can do wonders.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (cmcpart0422 @ Dec 31 2008, 11:30 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Yeah i just figured since she was gunna be there feeding the cat might as well get her to feed the fish. Well i learned my lesson. Next time ill just wait till i get back to feed them. I just did another water change and things are starting to look a bit better. Would it be a bad time to change my filter media? They are just caked in slime from all the flakes that it sucked up.[/b]

 

[Pat Kelly]

I agree Bob. I also have bumped the temp down a little. When I go to the OCA I usually turn the heaters in the fish room from 77-78 down too 75-76. Not enough to harm but maybe slow them down a little.
On some tanks I also have turned the lights out while I am gone.

 

[longstocking]

I rarely have anyone come over and feed my fish. I was gone this past Nov. for 2 weeks.... not 1 fish died. When I leave for that amount of time I try and sell all the small fry that would be affected.

I normally only do this once a year... but in the summer time I'm gone on the weekends. I don't worry about it and usually I come home to breeding fish.

I do how ever turn the lights off and do large water changes before I leave.

One time I had someone come over while I was in the Bahama's. She was a club member so I didn't have to worry about a thing !! She fed lightly and the water quality was still outstanding because of it. But, normally I don't worry about it. That time it worked out for both of us to have her here.

 

[Sonny Disposition]

Along those lines, it's probably a good idea to clean the filters before you go on a long trip.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (longstocking @ Dec 31 2008, 12:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

I rarely have anyone come over and feed my fish. I was gone this past Nov. for 2 weeks.... not 1 fish died. When I leave for that amount of time I try and sell all the small fry that would be affected.

I normally only do this once a year... but in the summer time I'm gone on the weekends. I don't worry about it and usually I come home to breeding fish.

I do how ever turn the lights off and do large water changes before I leave.

One time I had someone come over while I was in the Bahama's. She was a club member so I didn't have to worry about a thing !! She fed lightly and the water quality was still outstanding because of it. But, normally I don't worry about it. That time it worked out for both of us to have her here.[/b]

 

[cmcpart0422]

I'd change your media...and add some fresh carbon as well. I don't regularly use carbon but in cases where there's been something stinky or nasty that's occurred, it can do wonders.

ill do that today then. thanks

 

[Andrew]

One thing we recommend to our customers is to buy a 7-day pill organizer from the drug store. Measure out the food for each day that the fish need to be fed.

Then lock up all the fish food in the house so no one gets creative while you're gone!!!

 

[Pat Kelly]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Andrew @ Dec 31 2008, 05:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

One thing we recommend to our customers is to buy a 7-day pill organizer from the drug store. Measure out the food for each day that the fish need to be fed.

Then lock up all the fish food in the house so no one gets creative while you're gone!!![/b]

I like that Andrew.

 

[dogofwar]

But then all my pills will be in a jumble. Just kidding.

One thing we recommend to our customers is to buy a 7-day pill organizer from the drug store. Measure out the food for each day that the fish need to be fed.

 

[cmcpart0422]

Andrew, that is a really good idea and thats how its gunna happen next time. I wish I though of something that good. Well this is a good excuse to pay even more attention to my tanks.

 

[marge618]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pat Kelly @ Dec 31 2008, 04:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Andrew @ Dec 31 2008, 05:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

One thing we recommend to our customers is to buy a 7-day pill organizer from the drug store. Measure out the food for each day that the fish need to be fed.

Then lock up all the fish food in the house so no one gets creative while you're gone!!![/b]

I like that Andrew.
[/b][/quote]

Andrew: A pill organizer is a Great idea! The one I have even locks...so you can only get to the contents for one day at a time when you press the button. Pricey though.. At $4.50 each X (how many tanks do you have?)

 

[tash]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Andrew @ Dec 31 2008, 04:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

One thing we recommend to our customers is to buy a 7-day pill organizer from the drug store. Measure out the food for each day that the fish need to be fed.

Then lock up all the fish food in the house so no one gets creative while you're gone!!![/b]

When I was in middle/high school and my parents wanted to go on vacation my grandpa would come over to take care of the animals (cats and horses, the dogs actually went to his house while we were gone). I would just take little plastic cups. I think they might have been medicine measuring things that come with cough syrup. I don't know how I got so many of them though. anyway I would line those up on the hood of each tank and he would just dump one in every day.

now I have 3 auto feeders (for two tanks) which basicly work the same way except it's a battery instead of a human.

For this past Christmas we were planning on 3 days and I already had the auto feeder set up (it's easier for me, especilly when I feel sick) for the fish and we just gave the cat a whole bunch of food (she eats dry) and made sure her water was full (she has one with the extra bottle on the back). and everything was fine. I think with cats and fish the worst thing about leaving them alone (barring a disaster like the electric is out for days or something) is cleaning. but as long as you are back before a litterbox or water change is needed everyone should be fine. (assuming weekly changes for everyone).

 

[Charlutz]

One of the neighbor kids feeds my fish. I buy a sleeve of dixie cups and put a day's worth of food in each and set them out by the appropriate tank. Then I have them come by every other day. Works like a charm. I like the pill organizer idea.