Going on holiday

[Travis]

I have a tank with 10 pristella tetras in it (approx 1" long small
tetras). Water quality etc is ok. There are no plants. A backup
airpump-driven filter complements the main filter which needs manual
restarting after a blackout.

What I'm more concerned about is feeding. If I give them a good feed
before I go, how long before they start starving to death?

Travis

[Charles]

On 5 Jan 2006 21:49:39 -0800, "Travis" > wrote:

>I have a tank with 10 pristella tetras in it (approx 1" long small
>tetras). Water quality etc is ok. There are no plants. A backup
>airpump-driven filter complements the main filter which needs manual
>restarting after a blackout.
>
>What I'm more concerned about is feeding. If I give them a good feed
>before I go, how long before they start starving to death?
>
>Travis


Two months is the longest I have gone for fish in an indoor aquarium.

[Jürgen Exner]

Travis wrote:
[vacation story]
> What I'm more concerned about is feeding. If I give them a good feed
> before I go, how long before they start starving to death?

Actually that well-meant "good feed" is likely to do more harm than good.
The uneaten, rotting food will drive amonia and nitrite levels up and nobody
will be home to do an emergency water change.

If you can't get someone to feed the fish (premeasured amounts, otherwise
people will always overfeed because the fish look so hungry) then why not
getting an automated feeder?

Otherwise a few days shouldn't be any problem.

jue

[Travis]

Jürgen Exner wrote:
> Travis wrote:
> [vacation story]
> > What I'm more concerned about is feeding. If I give them a good feed
> > before I go, how long before they start starving to death?
>
> Actually that well-meant "good feed" is likely to do more harm than good.
> The uneaten, rotting food will drive amonia and nitrite levels up and nobody
> will be home to do an emergency water change.

I know that overfeeding isn't going to help, by that I meant only that
I should ensure that they are well fed (as much as they will eat
without leaving food to rot in the tank) for the week prior to me
going.
>
> If you can't get someone to feed the fish (premeasured amounts, otherwise
> people will always overfeed because the fish look so hungry) then why not
> getting an automated feeder?

Frankly I'd rather buy some new tetras than spend that kind of money.
As callous as this sounds, when I was considering getting an autofeeder
I took into account the replacement costs of the fish. If these were
discus or cichlids or something then it would be another matter, but
these are just little tetras...

> Otherwise a few days shouldn't be any problem.

How about two weeks?

Travis

[NetMax]

"Jürgen Exner" > wrote in message
news:B_nvf.2429$q26.1363@trnddc03...
> Travis wrote:
> [vacation story]
>> What I'm more concerned about is feeding. If I give them a good feed
>> before I go, how long before they start starving to death?
>
> Actually that well-meant "good feed" is likely to do more harm than
> good.
> The uneaten, rotting food will drive amonia and nitrite levels up and
> nobody will be home to do an emergency water change.
>
> If you can't get someone to feed the fish (premeasured amounts,
> otherwise people will always overfeed because the fish look so hungry)
> then why not getting an automated feeder?
>
> Otherwise a few days shouldn't be any problem.
>
> jue


Exactly :o). I can leave my fish for a couple of weeks (auto-feeder on
each tank). Longer than that and I might want to move some fish
together, double the auto-feeders per tank, and instead of the current 2
feedings per day on each feeder, change it to a single daily serving each
(for redundancy, longer battery life and longer interval before needing
to be refilled). This arrangement might go months, but I need to keep a
low fishload as there's no one to do water changes.

The only drawback is that small tetras get fed flake food, and
auto-feeders do pellets great, or pellet/flake mixtures. Straight flake
food clogs more easily, from humidity or oversize flakes (break them up
so you have a uniform size before filling the feeder). hth
--
www.NetMax.tk

[Koi-lo]

"Travis" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>I have a tank with 10 pristella tetras in it (approx 1" long small
> tetras). Water quality etc is ok. There are no plants. A backup
> airpump-driven filter complements the main filter which needs manual
> restarting after a blackout.
>
> What I'm more concerned about is feeding. If I give them a good feed
> before I go, how long before they start starving to death?
===============================
How long will you be gone? Why not get a relative or neighbor to come in
and feed them every other day? There's not just starvation to consider,..
what about evaporation? If you're going to be gone for more than a week you
can always give them to a pet shop or ask your favorite store (or a fishy
friend) to "hold" them for you. A store I know did that for a friend of
mine while he moved. It took him a week to move and get his tanks set up
again. He then picked up his fish........
--

Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
NEW PAGE: Aquariums:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy/Aquarium-Page4.html
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[Koi-lo]

"Travis" > wrote in message
oups.com...
How about two weeks?
===========================
For the sake of kindness - please have someone come in and feed them at
least every few days while you're gone. As someone else suggested, have
pre-packaged amounts for them to add to the tank. Also a jug of water in
case there's a lot of evaporation while you're gone.
--

Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
NEW PAGE: Aquariums:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy/Aquarium-Page4.html
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[Elaine T]

Charles wrote:
> On 5 Jan 2006 21:49:39 -0800, "Travis" > wrote:
>
>
>>I have a tank with 10 pristella tetras in it (approx 1" long small
>>tetras). Water quality etc is ok. There are no plants. A backup
>>airpump-driven filter complements the main filter which needs manual
>>restarting after a blackout.
>>
>>What I'm more concerned about is feeding. If I give them a good feed
>>before I go, how long before they start starving to death?
>>
>>Travis
>
>
>
> Two months is the longest I have gone for fish in an indoor aquarium.

Two months? How large were the fish? Were the tanks planted? I'd love
to not have to worry about having a friend come over and feed the fish
but my cardinals, guppies, and Espei rasboras seem awfully small to go
more than a few days without food. I'd also be afraid of losing the
cardinals to the angel or M. altispinosa in the community. The guppies
would probably be fine in their little tank eating tiny ramshorn snails,
plants, and algae.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[Marco Schwarz]

Hi..

> but these are just little tetras...

Really? What makes them different to discus or cichlids?

>> Otherwise a few days shouldn't be any problem.
> How about two weeks?

Two weeks without food are no prob to the most heathy and
well kept fish!

> Travis

Of course! :-)

--
cu
Marco

[Marco Schwarz]

> heathy
+l
--
cu
Marco

[Elaine T]

Charles wrote:
> On Fri, 06 Jan 2006 18:53:14 GMT, Elaine T >
> wrote:
>
>
>>Charles wrote:
>>
>>>On 5 Jan 2006 21:49:39 -0800, "Travis" > wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>I have a tank with 10 pristella tetras in it (approx 1" long small
>>>>tetras). Water quality etc is ok. There are no plants. A backup
>>>>airpump-driven filter complements the main filter which needs manual
>>>>restarting after a blackout.
>>>>
>>>>What I'm more concerned about is feeding. If I give them a good feed
>>>>before I go, how long before they start starving to death?
>>>>
>>>>Travis
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Two months is the longest I have gone for fish in an indoor aquarium.
>>
>>Two months? How large were the fish? Were the tanks planted? I'd love
>>to not have to worry about having a friend come over and feed the fish
>>but my cardinals, guppies, and Espei rasboras seem awfully small to go
>>more than a few days without food. I'd also be afraid of losing the
>>cardinals to the angel or M. altispinosa in the community. The guppies
>>would probably be fine in their little tank eating tiny ramshorn snails,
>>plants, and algae.
>
>
>
> Trying to remember what I had at the time. I always have guppies, it
> seems, I had swordtails, gouramies, a stray tetra (from a batch, one
> lived for years). Oh, and cory cats.
>
> I always have plants in my tanks, I wouldn't call them planted, to me
> that strikes of the more modern aquatic decorative gardening, mine is
> a more primitive survival of what survives.
>
> Yes, I think your angels would get hungry and do something about it.
>
> I was on foreign travel, had scheduled someone to come look after
> things and they didn't show up.
>
> In the pond, I've let the goldfish go for a couple years, breaking
> them of the habit of coming up to any disturbance in the water, had a
> cat problem at the time.

Thanks! So the smaller fish can do OK without food for quite a while in
a tank with plants and no obvious problems like angels with cardinals.
;-) That's good to know in case of emergencies.

I don't sweat feeding my outdoor fish either. Everything I have out
there will eat algae, plants, snails, or any small insects that hit the
water. The only one I think really needs extra food is a 4" shubunkin
in a half barrel. I feed the rest of the fish a couple times a week for
my own enjoyment.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[Flash Wilson]

On Fri, 06 Jan 2006 20:20:45 +0100, Marco Schwarz > wrote:
>Two weeks without food are no prob to the most heathy and
>well kept fish!

I'm coming late to this debate, having been away from newsgroups for
a year or so :) but I would concur. As it goes I do get a friend in
to feed my fish when I'm away, but I only feed my fish every other
day in any circumstances, unless they are juveniles when they can
eat smaller amounts once or twice a day. This applies equally to my
small tetras, my malawi cichlids, my betta and my axolotls.

In fact this summer my friend couldn't get my axolotls to eat
for the 8 days I was away (no idea if they didn't like eating from
his hand or they just weren't hungry) but no harm came to them.
In fact they refuse food more often than every two days. The others
don't seem hungry or to expect it either (well, apart from the cichlids,
who like my dog are always begging :)

And I'm ashamed to admit that sometimes I forget to feed them for
a couple of days too (e.g. lots of work and then wine in the evening)
so my fish do go 3 or 4 days semi regularly. No harm comes to them.
The cardinals are about three years old, which seems a reasonable age
for them.

And there's even an angel in with the tetras ;)

Dunno if I'm doing it _right_ but it works ok.

So, I would say a week is fine, and two is probably fine but if you can
get a friend or neighbour in to top up water and feed, that's great.

Happy fish are a lot tougher than they seem!
--
Flash Wilson - Web Design & Mastery - 0870 401 4061 / 07939 579090
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Work: www.wdam.co.uk Personal: www.gorge.org

[Dick]

On Fri, 6 Jan 2006 10:51:05 -0600, "Koi-lo" >
wrote:

>
>"Travis" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>>I have a tank with 10 pristella tetras in it (approx 1" long small
>> tetras). Water quality etc is ok. There are no plants. A backup
>> airpump-driven filter complements the main filter which needs manual
>> restarting after a blackout.
>>
>> What I'm more concerned about is feeding. If I give them a good feed
>> before I go, how long before they start starving to death?
>===============================
>How long will you be gone? Why not get a relative or neighbor to come in
>and feed them every other day? There's not just starvation to consider,..
>what about evaporation? If you're going to be gone for more than a week you
>can always give them to a pet shop or ask your favorite store (or a fishy
>friend) to "hold" them for you. A store I know did that for a friend of
>mine while he moved. It took him a week to move and get his tanks set up
>again. He then picked up his fish........

Koi, I have the opposite reaction from reading this thread. I would
say "no food" is safer. Considering that most people have problems
feeding in the beginning, plus not knowing how reliable the helpers
might be, I am encouraged that the fish can be left for awhile with no
handling. Several posts this last year dealt with the woes from
helpers.

My school tax collecter ended up with a "river tank" at the end of a
school year. It had a lot of plant growth growing out of the top.
There were 2 small fish in the tank. The woman did not have any food
so she didn't feed them. I first was aware when I went to pay my
annual taxes. By that time she hadn't fed the fish for 3 months.

I gave her some food and eventually the tank was reclaimed by the
teacher.

Obviously, I am not suggesting we not feed our fish, but given a need
to be away for a week or 2, I am inclined to let the fish be on their
own.

dick

[Gill Passman]

Dick wrote:
> On Fri, 6 Jan 2006 10:51:05 -0600, "Koi-lo" >
> wrote:
>
>
>>"Travis" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>>
>>>I have a tank with 10 pristella tetras in it (approx 1" long small
>>>tetras). Water quality etc is ok. There are no plants. A backup
>>>airpump-driven filter complements the main filter which needs manual
>>>restarting after a blackout.
>>>
>>>What I'm more concerned about is feeding. If I give them a good feed
>>>before I go, how long before they start starving to death?
>>
>>===============================
>>How long will you be gone? Why not get a relative or neighbor to come in
>>and feed them every other day? There's not just starvation to consider,..
>>what about evaporation? If you're going to be gone for more than a week you
>>can always give them to a pet shop or ask your favorite store (or a fishy
>>friend) to "hold" them for you. A store I know did that for a friend of
>>mine while he moved. It took him a week to move and get his tanks set up
>>again. He then picked up his fish........
>
>
> Koi, I have the opposite reaction from reading this thread. I would
> say "no food" is safer. Considering that most people have problems
> feeding in the beginning, plus not knowing how reliable the helpers
> might be, I am encouraged that the fish can be left for awhile with no
> handling. Several posts this last year dealt with the woes from
> helpers.
>
> My school tax collecter ended up with a "river tank" at the end of a
> school year. It had a lot of plant growth growing out of the top.
> There were 2 small fish in the tank. The woman did not have any food
> so she didn't feed them. I first was aware when I went to pay my
> annual taxes. By that time she hadn't fed the fish for 3 months.
>
> I gave her some food and eventually the tank was reclaimed by the
> teacher.
>
> Obviously, I am not suggesting we not feed our fish, but given a need
> to be away for a week or 2, I am inclined to let the fish be on their
> own.
>
> dick

I totally agree about the dangers of fish being overfed by fish-sitters
being potentially worse than not feeding having just experienced this
myself. We were only away for 5 days and even in that short time all of
the fish in my Hex tank (my gobies and pandas) were wiped out and all
but one of the other tanks had a nitrite problem. It took quite a few
days to stabalise things. I'd left strict instructions but obviously not
strict enough (plus I suspect the hand of a nephew giving a Christmas
Day present)...If I leave them short term again I see no reason for them
to be fed - anything over and above a few days and I will leave measured
packets out for them.

Gill

[Mariachi]

Hi Guys I'll be leaving my mollies + crayfish for around 15 days at the
end of january. I was thinking of using vacation feeding blocks? the
kinds that last like 7 days and is suppose to keep the water clean. I
just read this whole topic and no one mentioned it...does that mean
it's a big NO NO??? I was going to get my friend to come change the
block over and do a water change maybe twice while i'm away..or maybe
just once. My tank is realatively newly established (by the time I
leave only 3.5-4 months old) which is why I am worrid about the water
quality while i'm away.

Anyay so i'm wondering of the vacation blocks would be ok?

[Flash Wilson]

On 7 Jan 2006 03:45:02 -0800, Mariachi > wrote:
>Hi Guys I'll be leaving my mollies + crayfish for around 15 days at the
>end of january. I was thinking of using vacation feeding blocks? the

In my experience most of their content is ash or plaster of paris
(which is adding nothing, and may cause a pollution issue I guess)
and then the plaster of paris is holding small pieces of food in it.
Which the big fish quickly take, and the little ones don't get near.
I tested a 7 day one in my tank once, it lasted about 2 days and
was next to useless.

I haven't looked at vacation blocks since then, it may be that they
have improved but the ones I tried were a waste of money.

--
Flash Wilson - Web Design & Mastery - 0870 401 4061 / 07939 579090
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Work: www.wdam.co.uk Personal: www.gorge.org

[Gill Passman]

Mariachi wrote:
> Hi Guys I'll be leaving my mollies + crayfish for around 15 days at the
> end of january. I was thinking of using vacation feeding blocks? the
> kinds that last like 7 days and is suppose to keep the water clean. I
> just read this whole topic and no one mentioned it...does that mean
> it's a big NO NO??? I was going to get my friend to come change the
> block over and do a water change maybe twice while i'm away..or maybe
> just once. My tank is realatively newly established (by the time I
> leave only 3.5-4 months old) which is why I am worrid about the water
> quality while i'm away.
>
> Anyay so i'm wondering of the vacation blocks would be ok?
>

I only used one once - around 15 years ago - for some goldfish. Came
back to cloudy water and dead fish so will never use one again. Others
may have had better experiences though or the technology may have
improved. The only thing that I would consider now would be an auto-feeder.

JME
Gill

[Jürgen Exner]

Gill Passman wrote:
[...]
> improved. The only thing that I would consider now would be an
> auto-feeder.

My talking.
The simple auto-feeders may not be as good as a 80$(US) Grässlin Rondomatic,
but for 15-20$ you get one that get's the job done.
If you are not willing or able to invest that little money for the
well-being of your fish, then maybe you got the wrong hobby.

jue

[Gill Passman]

Jürgen Exner wrote:
> Gill Passman wrote:
> [...]
>
>>improved. The only thing that I would consider now would be an
>>auto-feeder.
>
>
> My talking.
> The simple auto-feeders may not be as good as a 80$(US) Grässlin Rondomatic,
> but for 15-20$ you get one that get's the job done.
> If you are not willing or able to invest that little money for the
> well-being of your fish, then maybe you got the wrong hobby.
>
> jue
>
>
Please re-read my post and you will see that this was 15 years ago...not
now...this experience all those years ago was enough to convince me that
these block type of feeders were not good for the fish...although I do
see that they are still on sale...I would NEVER purchase one again - my
fish are too important to risk it. As I said in my post if I were ever
to try an automated method of feeding it would be with an "auto-feeder"
NOT a block...(by this I am thinking the £50 electronic ones currently
on the market)

Maybe it got lost in the translation...

Gill

[Jürgen Exner]

Gill Passman wrote:
> Jürgen Exner wrote:
>> Gill Passman wrote:
>> [...]
>>
>>> improved. The only thing that I would consider now would be an
>>> auto-feeder.
>>
>>
>> My talking.
>> The simple auto-feeders may not be as good as a 80$(US) Grässlin
>> Rondomatic, but for 15-20$ you get one that get's the job done.
>> If you are not willing or able to invest that little money for the
>> well-being of your fish, then maybe you got the wrong hobby.
>>
>> jue
>>
>>
> Please re-read my post [...]

Hold the flame thrower, I was supporting you, not attacking you!
I absolutely agree with you.

Sorry if that did not come across, poor wording on my part.

jue

[Gill Passman]

Jürgen Exner wrote:
> Gill Passman wrote:
>
>>Jürgen Exner wrote:
>>
>>>Gill Passman wrote:
>>>[...]
>>>
>>>
>>>>improved. The only thing that I would consider now would be an
>>>>auto-feeder.
>>>
>>>
>>>My talking.
>>>The simple auto-feeders may not be as good as a 80$(US) Grässlin
>>>Rondomatic, but for 15-20$ you get one that get's the job done.
>>>If you are not willing or able to invest that little money for the
>>>well-being of your fish, then maybe you got the wrong hobby.
>>>
>>>jue
>>>
>>>
>>
>>Please re-read my post [...]
>
>
> Hold the flame thrower, I was supporting you, not attacking you!
> I absolutely agree with you.
>
> Sorry if that did not come across, poor wording on my part.
>
> jue
>
>

No worries - I reread it. I think it was the "snipping" that made it
read the way I saw it...

:-)
Gill

[Koi-lo]

"Dick" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 6 Jan 2006 10:51:05 -0600, "Koi-lo" >
> wrote:
>
>>
>>"Travis" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>>>I have a tank with 10 pristella tetras in it (approx 1" long small
>>> tetras). Water quality etc is ok. There are no plants. A backup
>>> airpump-driven filter complements the main filter which needs manual
>>> restarting after a blackout.
>>>
>>> What I'm more concerned about is feeding. If I give them a good feed
>>> before I go, how long before they start starving to death?
>>===============================
>>How long will you be gone? Why not get a relative or neighbor to come in
>>and feed them every other day? There's not just starvation to consider,..
>>what about evaporation? If you're going to be gone for more than a week
>>you
>>can always give them to a pet shop or ask your favorite store (or a fishy
>>friend) to "hold" them for you. A store I know did that for a friend of
>>mine while he moved. It took him a week to move and get his tanks set up
>>again. He then picked up his fish........
================================
> Koi, I have the opposite reaction from reading this thread. I would
> say "no food" is safer. Considering that most people have problems
> feeding in the beginning, plus not knowing how reliable the helpers
> might be, I am encouraged that the fish can be left for awhile with no
> handling. Several posts this last year dealt with the woes from
> helpers.

To a point I agree, and I also have had problems with "helpers" in the past.
I lost some beautiful bettas to the person who was feeding them. I showed
her and explained to her,... and she still overfed them. I should have
written it down and measured out the food. I think she misunderstood or
didn't remember what I said. The safest way is to leave MEASURED food for
the keeper to feed them - AND NO MORE! Don't even leave the food where the
helper can see it. ;-) It's not just the food but if a filter stops or
there's some other problem they can either call you for advice (if possible)
or restart the filter etc. Show them how this is done.

> My school tax collecter ended up with a "river tank" at the end of a
> school year. It had a lot of plant growth growing out of the top.
> There were 2 small fish in the tank. The woman did not have any food
> so she didn't feed them. I first was aware when I went to pay my
> annual taxes. By that time she hadn't fed the fish for 3 months.

Three months? They had to be living on something?!?!?!?! I think it would
depend on what type of fish they were and what else was in the water with
them. I'll leave mine for a long weekend. Longer than that and I have
someone come over to check the filters to make sure they're running ok, and
to feed them a little. Again PRE MEASURED because people do overfeed
thinking they're being kind and doing good.

> I gave her some food and eventually the tank was reclaimed by the
> teacher.
>
> Obviously, I am not suggesting we not feed our fish, but given a need
> to be away for a week or 2, I am inclined to let the fish be on their
> own.
--

Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
NEW PAGE: Aquariums:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy/Aquarium-Page4.html
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[Mariachi]

Hi, Thanks for the advice on the holiday blocks...it's just what the
pplz at the LFS told me when i said i was going away soon. I think i
might go buy a "weekend" block and test + observe in my tank before I
got away and see how it all goes etc etc. I have 3 weeks before I go so
plenty of time to test and buy something appropriate. I will test the
water while using the block and see how it all goes.

[Dick]

On Sat, 7 Jan 2006 12:13:33 -0600, "Koi-lo" >
wrote:

>
>"Dick" > wrote in message
...
>> On Fri, 6 Jan 2006 10:51:05 -0600, "Koi-lo" >
>> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>"Travis" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>>>>I have a tank with 10 pristella tetras in it (approx 1" long small
>>>> tetras). Water quality etc is ok. There are no plants. A backup
>>>> airpump-driven filter complements the main filter which needs manual
>>>> restarting after a blackout.
>>>>
>>>> What I'm more concerned about is feeding. If I give them a good feed
>>>> before I go, how long before they start starving to death?
>>>===============================
>>>How long will you be gone? Why not get a relative or neighbor to come in
>>>and feed them every other day? There's not just starvation to consider,..
>>>what about evaporation? If you're going to be gone for more than a week
>>>you
>>>can always give them to a pet shop or ask your favorite store (or a fishy
>>>friend) to "hold" them for you. A store I know did that for a friend of
>>>mine while he moved. It took him a week to move and get his tanks set up
>>>again. He then picked up his fish........
>================================
>> Koi, I have the opposite reaction from reading this thread. I would
>> say "no food" is safer. Considering that most people have problems
>> feeding in the beginning, plus not knowing how reliable the helpers
>> might be, I am encouraged that the fish can be left for awhile with no
>> handling. Several posts this last year dealt with the woes from
>> helpers.
>
>To a point I agree, and I also have had problems with "helpers" in the past.
>I lost some beautiful bettas to the person who was feeding them. I showed
>her and explained to her,... and she still overfed them. I should have
>written it down and measured out the food. I think she misunderstood or
>didn't remember what I said. The safest way is to leave MEASURED food for
>the keeper to feed them - AND NO MORE! Don't even leave the food where the
>helper can see it. ;-) It's not just the food but if a filter stops or
>there's some other problem they can either call you for advice (if possible)
>or restart the filter etc. Show them how this is done.
>
>> My school tax collecter ended up with a "river tank" at the end of a
>> school year. It had a lot of plant growth growing out of the top.
>> There were 2 small fish in the tank. The woman did not have any food
>> so she didn't feed them. I first was aware when I went to pay my
>> annual taxes. By that time she hadn't fed the fish for 3 months.
>
>Three months? They had to be living on something?!?!?!?! I think it would
>depend on what type of fish they were and what else was in the water with
>them. I'll leave mine for a long weekend. Longer than that and I have
>someone come over to check the filters to make sure they're running ok, and
>to feed them a little. Again PRE MEASURED because people do overfeed
>thinking they're being kind and doing good.
>
>> I gave her some food and eventually the tank was reclaimed by the
>> teacher.
>>
>> Obviously, I am not suggesting we not feed our fish, but given a need
>> to be away for a week or 2, I am inclined to let the fish be on their
>> own.

The woman had no reason to lie. I assumed the 2 fish lived on algae
and bacteria. The fish had poor color, but I think one was a Raspora
and the other a Zebra.

dick

[Flash Wilson]

On 8 Jan 2006 02:40:21 -0800, Mariachi > wrote:
> I will test the
>water while using the block and see how it all goes.

Also test how much food each fish gets... As I said, there was
barely any actual food in the blocks I tried, and what there was
was taken by the dominant fish, when it's the others that really
needed a decent meal.

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[Mariachi]

I've already given up on the vacation blocks idea. I really don't want
my crayfish to die! So i've decided to give my mollies to my friend to
look after in her tank and get a automatic feeder for the crayfish and
set it for once a day or once every other day coz he doesn't always
eat when i feed him. I have to remove the mollies since i have a
divider in the tank .. Anyway I'm off to check them out tomororw.

What should I look out for..what traits are good and what traits are
back in auto feeders?

[Daniel Morrow]

Bottom posted.
Mariachi wrote:
> I've already given up on the vacation blocks idea. I really don't want
> my crayfish to die! So i've decided to give my mollies to my friend to
> look after in her tank and get a automatic feeder for the crayfish and
> set it for once a day or once every other day coz he doesn't always
> eat when i feed him. I have to remove the mollies since i have a
> divider in the tank .. Anyway I'm off to check them out tomororw.
>
> What should I look out for..what traits are good and what traits are
> back in auto feeders?

Generally there are a couple of different types of auto feeders. There are
the "clocks" - which are analog clocks powered by a battery, instead of arms
there is a drum which turns and when the one hole in it reaches the downward
pointing position gravity pulls the food out and it falls on the surface of
the water. The nutrimatic is one of those and the daily double is another.
They feed twice per day, I prefer the penn-plax daily double as it seems to
hold a little more food. You have to mount these high above the tank or else
water will evaporate (unless you have a tank with a still water surface but
even then....) and condense on the autofeeder and clog the feeder. Also -
with these types of feeders you must powder the food you put in them as
regular flakes will easily clog them. The nutrimatic supposedly will handle
pellets though. These types are not programmable as far as I know so will
feed no-more and no-less than twice per day if it is working properly. I
find these feeders are totally reliable after considering the previous
faults. The other-more expensive feeders are programmable (the rondomatic is
the best but really expensive) and have different delivery methods. I'd stay
away from the lazy susan feeder as it relies too much on gravity and the
food rarely even falls through it to the aquarium's waters surface even if
it isn't damp/moisture effected. Good luck and later!

[Travis]

For those who are wondering, I returned from my ten day trip and found
all the fish alive and well, though rather more enthusiastic about
their first feed than usual!

[Koi-Lo]

"Travis" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> For those who are wondering, I returned from my ten day trip and found
> all the fish alive and well, though rather more enthusiastic about
> their first feed than usual!
==============================
That's good news! :-) I hope you enjoyed your vacation.
--
Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Troll Information:
http://tinyurl.com/9zbh
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[Gail Futoran]

"Travis" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> For those who are wondering, I returned from my ten day trip and found
> all the fish alive and well, though rather more enthusiastic about
> their first feed than usual!

I'm glad to hear that worked out for you
and your fish. :)

Gail