Away for 5 Days! Feeding Dilema

Hi Guys

I'm going away for 5 days and am concerned about some of my fish, specifically my Peacock Spiny Eel and my Apisto's:

Both these guys are VERY fussy and only eat bloodworm, ox liver and brine shrimp (Apisto's only). I am therefore not convinced that the 'weekend' or 'holiday' blocks that are popular will be accepted by them??

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to ensure that my fish don't starve?

Thanks

 

Hey Kiazer,

I've been wrecking my brain trying to come up with a solution to your dilemma, but alas nothing, i'm assuming the food is pretty much frozen food...thats the hard part, you are going to have to get someone to feed them...good luck with that man...hey, i know its possible not to feed your fish for 3 days and they will be okay, so maybe just get someone to come in and feed once out of the five days...just a thought...

 

Thanks JesseG for the response! I think thats probably what is going to end up happening The only problem is convincing someone to come and feed them!

I just wanted to see if anyone had any bright ideas??

 

do research some fish can go upto 7 days without food, it depends on the fishes size and its nature , if its predatory or needs constant feeding .

feed them well before you leave and if you can't get someone to feed them , then feed them full full , then drop some small feeder fish for them in between plants etc so that they hide. when they get hungry they will go all predator.
that's what i would do .
but id first do research .
cheers

 

What if you get some small fish and put a lot of them in the tank so the others can eat
them when hungry?

 

Kaizer, maybe one of the members here can help feed them?

 

where about are you situated Kiazer? PM your details, maybe we can work something out...

 

that's what I said vis! maybe some baby neons?
my only worry is if the eel has not been fed fish he might not go for them , they are picky eaters !

I searched the net spiny eels can go upto 2 weeks without food in the wild so in captivity I think a week will be safe? google it
secondly you could place small amounts of blood worm in clever hiding spots or just under the gravel so the fish can find them .

lastly I do this with my eel he loves earth worms , I feed him from hand . but sometimes I give him a larger worm that he can't just suck up whole . he takes the worm everywhere he goes and nibbles on it every now and then like a dog with a bone. maybe clean some larger earth worms and stash it around the tank for them to find as well .

what you think?

 

maybe get one of those timer feeders and fill it with australian blackworms. They arent frozen

 

Nor is any of the other freeze dried products one can buy - like the OmegaOne range of freezedried products :ridinghorse:

 

yeah you get freeze dried blood worms !

 

Brads I was typing same time you where

 

Why not use an auto feeder? Sera makes one, Juwel makes one, and there are a few others. They shouldn't cost more than R400.

Then you can add your food, and it will feed your fish every day, twice a day, and you don't have to do anything.

Otherwise, just feed the fish well for a week or 2 before you leave and I can guarantee you, they will be fine when you return.

 

Most fish can survive 7 to 14 days without food. I wouldn't OVERFEED the day before you feed, but maybe give lots of little feeds during the course of the day before you go.

 

I'd also say you should be able to leave them for the 5 days without feeding. Well that's what I do with my herbivore and omnivore fish, maybe it's different for carnivores?

 

herbivores eat the plants when you away though, they still have a food source .
@ vis I was just saying that we where thinking the same thing.
@ zoom , where did you get that info about feeding? im not doubting or anythng what you said. would like to check it out, does it say wich species? I only found how long the fish can go without feeding in the wild.
does this change for captive fish?

 

I had, at one stage, 27 tanks running. Most with fish. In September I went to The Kruger Park to get married. I was away for 9 days and had nobody to feed my fish. On my return, every single fish was still alive. Granted, my Discus looked a little skinny, but they were fine.

 

Brad's, I've actually read it a few times on the net.... can't direct you anywhere specific tho. Just google it.

And speak to some of the guys here on the forum. As you have seen many people have had success over extended periods.

Even Dolphin goes away for a week at a time and leaves his fish, and they also alwys fine.

 

Thanks guys for the info, judging from your guys and my researtch it seems that fish can go for extended lengths of time with no food.... I've done water changes and have my timers set so have left it at that! I put 4 of my MANY sunset platy fry in just incase they get hungry (felt VERY bad about it though)

@Jesse - thanks mate for the offer, appreciate your kindness and willingness to go out of your way.

 

wat about electronic feeder and throw in some freeze dried blocks ito the resiviour