Vacation Feeding

On Mon, 07 Jun 2004 09:03:30 GMT, Charles
wrote:

On 5 Jun 2004 18:00:14 -0700, (Ashi) wrote:

Hi,

I am going on vacation for about six weeks, and trying to figure out a
way to feed my five goldfish (2"-3") in a 55 gallon tank running one
Emperor 400 and one Emperor 280 filters. This is the first time I
will be away for this long. I have asked a friend to look after my
fish, but the best he can do is to come by once every two weeks. I
currently have a Eheim feeder, but it doesn't work very well. My fish
only eat flakes (I tried palettes, but it just accumulates on the
aquarium floor), and the feeder seems have problem dispensing flake
food. So, here are my questions:

1. Can anyone recommend a good feeder that can possibly feed for two
weeks on one fill?

2. Should I be using any of the white pyramid things?

I will be running the light and filter using a UPS. I would
appreciate any other comments and suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

Ashi


I would not feed. I've left my fish for two months without feeding
them (out of country trip, the person who was to take care didn't show
up)

I let the pond fish go for two years, breaking their habit of coming
to the top when they saw something. I had a cat problem at the time.

Interesting. What kind of fish? Goldfish? If so any idea how
tropical fish would react to long periods without food?

I have a large angelfish that is my pet. I practically feed her by
hand. Once, for over a month, she did not come for food. Otherwise
she appeared fine. One day she was back looking for a hand out.
Also, I have a Harlequin that developed a float bladder problem and
swims at a 45 degree angle all the time. I moved it to my quarantine
tank over a month ago. The fish even tries to get a flake of food in
its mouth. Again, I wonder what the fish is eating to stay alive?

Others have mentioned long periods of time without feeding. I wonder
what is keeping them alive and is it reliable enough to trust for
short vacations? My lights are on timers, so lighting is not a
problem. My filters go for months without attention. I only change
water once a week so evaporation is no problem.

Your post raises interesting questions. Thanks.

Dick