How long without food?

[2xtheman]

I will be leaving for 11 days and need to know if my fish can survive that long without food. I have an upsidedown catfish, and 4 glass catfish. Its a planted tank with a small snail infestation. I'm pretty sure I don't have to worry about the udc, but the glass catfish are smaller. Can I get away with no food for 11 days?

[mac]

Hi,
I have managed 1 week away from my fish with out feeding them. But IMO I would make sure you give them a good feed up, and I think they would be fine, for 11 days.

mac

[jono]

wow i should stop worrying about going away for 3 days

[mac]

IMO a 3 day trip is nothing for a fish. From time to time I skip a day with feeding my fish. Not to often but occasionally.

mac

[2xtheman]

I usually feed them every couple/few days. Some flakes or freeze dried blood worms for the glass catfish, and algae discs for the upsidedown catfish. Should I increase feedings to daily for the few days before I go? Sort of fatten 'em up?:fish:

[Sharon]

Feeding daily sounds like a good idea...

[Wild Turkey]

Thats really pushing it. IMO 1 week is nothing to worry about, 2 weeks is a little much. The good news is since you only have cats, you can leave one of those vacation feeder blocks or tabs in there for them and they will be happy little campers. I like the ones that grow the grass and stuff, they are neat.

[LORENZO]

feeder blocks... i use for a couple of days. i then remove what is left of them. Usually i get someone in... never leave too long or you might find your ph levels changing. have to be careful with those blocks. I am going to give mine a good feeding before I go and leave the lights on timers. That way they won't think anything is up and stay de-stressed. :fish: :fish:

[Wild Turkey]

Yes, you need to make sure you get a quality block, that isnt going to fall apart. Again thats another reason i love the ones that grow the grass, the block really isnt what the fish eat, its the vegetation that grow on them. I cant remember the name to save my life....im trying lol

The best option by far is to have someone take care of the tank for you, but of course leaving the fish alone for so long really isnt an option either, and i have a hard time trusting people. Theres maybe one person i trust enough to follow instructions and really, that person doesnt know much about fish either. Hes more of a reptile guy. An auto feeder is a decent investment if this is commonplace for you.

[LORENZO]

think of the name of that feeder ??? The one you say grows the grass. I would not leave my fish alone for two weeks. Bad enough going for 5 days thinking there could be a power outage.Wild Turkey do you like Rena filters? Ever try one of those? IT is an expensive one. Hard to find one that will clamp on correctly to the tank:fish:

[Wild Turkey]

think of the name of that feeder ??? The one you say grows the grass. I would not leave my fish alone for two weeks. Bad enough going for 5 days thinking there could be a power outage.Wild Turkey do you like Rena filters? Ever try one of those? IT is an expensive one. Hard to find one that will clamp on correctly to the tank:fish:

Im not a big canister filter guy actually, im always on a budget :D

If you are having major problems with blocks affecting ph, it means the block is rotting and you need to find a better brand/use less. I only used a portion of my block last time, i tried to save the rest but eventually it got moist so i tossed it, now i wish i hadnt so i could remember the damn name...im looking on the internet now youve got me on a mission lorenzo :D

As long as the cats get some food in the first week, they will be totally fine, less is more here IMO

[LORENZO]

Tetra has a ring out but my fish did not like that one. ARe Nutrifin really poor???:fish:

[Wild Turkey]

Tetra has a ring out but my fish did not like that one. ARe Nutrifin really poor???:fish:

Most nutrafin stuff is, in my opinion. But i cant say for sure yes just because of that, hey there are some top fin stuff i really like, i never judge somethings effectiveness just by the brand name, everyone hits or misses sometimes.

[LORENZO]

you better watch that brand for their sinking pink pellets ohhh the phosphate problem I had with those. I am now trying omega and i have noticed a big difference. I will cut the block in half then i am only going for 5 days otherwise I would have an anxiety attack thinking of those discus deprived of their bloodworms. What is a good food for fry...I am going to get some New Life Spectrum .... i am trying their food now.

[Wild Turkey]

you better watch that brand for their sinking pink pellets ohhh the phosphate problem I had with those. I am now trying omega and i have noticed a big difference. I will cut the block in half then i am only going for 5 days otherwise I would have an anxiety attack thinking of those discus deprived of their bloodworms. What is a good food for fry...I am going to get some New Life Spectrum .... i am trying their food now.


yea most of the time their food is not something i like, theyre freeze dried foods arent too terrible though (some of them)

I always hear good things about NLS, but like i said before about brand names....

I always check the ingredients and pick using that along with lots of opinions from where-ever i can get them. As far as foods go i kinda BUY BUY BUY because the worst thing that happens is im left with a huge variety :D Right now im in love with hbh's wafers. You really have to know how to feed them though, they do not stay together like some of the more expensive brands.

Fry food, live foods are always the best, its really, really easy to culture your own micro organisms and feed them to the fry, just look it up there a tons of tutorials around, basically all you need is a water bottle and sunlight from what i remember. Otherwise, i grind up a mix of foods, and feed fry that.

Im also partial to omega one's freeze dried foods esp bloodworms. They are a little tough for my smallest tetras to get down sometimes though, gotta cut em in half or so

[LORENZO]

The grinding up seems good. OHHH I have a freezer full of foods. Like you Wild Turkey i have to keep it all varied. Hard to tell with fish they would eat and eat until they exploded. Nothing like the appetite on a few clowns!!! Discus are gentle feeders but they can eat! I just have like 20 cats in there with them. REally have to watch that tank i do not overfeed. I wonder though what fillers are in foods like wardley. Well they sell them cheap as well.. wonder if it gets even more expensive to feed a saltwater aquarium.

[Wild Turkey]

Well they sell them cheap as well.. wonder if it gets even more expensive to feed a saltwater aquarium.

Theres one i cant answer for you, kinda wondering myself now

[LORENZO]

:goldfish: :fish: I think though discus are colourful enough... i have heard many a story about the rocks in those saltwater tanks. I can't imagine the time it would take to get one up and running. I always found them to get so filthy though but maybe that is just the stores. You have like a red melon discus as much as a yellow tang. Just as stunning. The way the disucs glide. Now i can get a yellow discus but well ha i would have to order it. NO room for that now. Time for a bigger bigger tank. The halides on those salt water tanks are more expensive to run. I was asking around. Do you have a clown??????:fish:

[Wild Turkey]

Loach? no, i dont have any tanks big enough atm, they get alot bigger than some might suggest.

I only have two tanks with fish right now, two ten gallons. Another 20, ten, and 20long are in the works right now, the ten im experimenting with different types of cycles in, and im gonna put a bigger fw tank in after xmas, maybe a 40 breeder or i might just hop right to that bar situation. My 29 is going reptiles, and so is another 20long. I have too many empties.. this is all in my livingroom by the way lol

Can i tell you something? Never, ever trust a breeder, no matter what, never trust a pet shop, no one. Always Q your fish, examine them well. TB is what has left me with so many empty tanks...i missed it in the first few weeks in a one dollar fish, because he was too small to notice. That one dollar fish cost me in the thousands of dollars in stock, plants, substrates and equipment that had to be throw away, or was lost in the intense bleaching process.

[LORENZO]

:fish: :fish: OH don't worry I do my homework. I stick to one fishmann here. oh yes. I would not dare buy anything from those petsmarts or other places. nope. ohhhi know well what can happen. You know thinking of the loaches yes that is true they sell them and they do get too big. The clowns will out grow this huge tank. And then what will happen to them. I should get a huge tank and just fill it with tetras and cats etc. You get very attached to a fish and then well what happens to the saucy angel that just has to go. i had to bring a huge one back the other week. They just begin to breed and then look out. i am still treating one that got bruised. The discus had a fight one week and i came down to find it full of what looked like fungus but it was fluff from the wounds. Melafix cured it though but what a fright. But I will not buy any fish except from this one place. It has water parameters close to what mine are which is an advantage. The baby harequins i bought last week are doing really well.

[Red]

I would never use a vaction block ever... They are very very bad for your fish.. I think 11 days is fine, just feed well for a couple of days and then do a W/C before you go..

[Sharon]

I don't use vacation blocks either...I left my fish for eight days last month, and I don't think I'll do it again. They lost weight while I was gone, one fish died in the 55gal, and I had a nitrate of 40ppm! Next time, I think I'll measure food into little cups, and have someone feed them at least once during an extended period of a week or more...

[2xtheman]

thanks sharon. Think I'll do that.

:spam: lorenzo, turkey, can you stay on point and not have a chat on my thread?:spam: