went away for ten days

river rock · 05-22-2008, 09:15 PM

i put my roommate in charge of feeding my American chiclids. i got home and everything was good there bellys were full...thank god he helped me out

nyrmel · 05-23-2008, 12:21 PM

Yah i am looking at being gone for a week leaveing in about a month so I am going to wait until after i get back before getting my second set of additions to my tank I am not sure yet how I will assure that my current freinds are ok I did buy a auto feeder and am looking at lighting timers after i am sure they are doing well I will start testing each and seeing how that works

never hurts to plan ahead

orb4me · 05-23-2008, 04:24 PM

Im going on vacation for 9 days, I plan to ask the neighbor to feed the fish, that part will be easy, but Im not sure what to do about w/c's, or how much to change. I plan to change 50% in the well established tank, but what about new tanks. One has been cycled and doing well for about a month, with 9 gorims in it. the other one is still cycling. suggestions are really really welcome on this topic. Im leaving June 3. 5am.

missfish · 05-23-2008, 10:12 PM

If it was me i wouldn't worry about water changes. If your neighbour is not a fish fanatic with his own tanks, hes not going to be confident enough to do a change on someone elses tank. Id just do them when you get back.

orb4me · 05-24-2008, 02:45 PM

Thanks for suggestions. Glad I dont have plants.

Splash Spooky · 05-24-2008, 10:56 PM

Hi, I too am going on holiday for 5 days. So I thought I would get in the swing of things by doing water changes every 5 days so when I am gone I will ask my daughter to just feed them once a day instead of twice a day. I thought I would measure out the feedings for the cichlids so she wouldn't be distracted by their hungry look and give them too much.

orb4me · 05-28-2008, 04:22 PM

Im going to get the plastic bags. Even I feed some of my fish too much, poor little things, they are starvingggggggggggggg, they look soooo pitifullllll. Now Im wondering about not feeding them at all. One of the mods said something about gut feeding. I think that means over feeding. Do a good w/c, over feed, fill the tank higher than norm, set AC for 80 degrees, and go on vacation. Im not sure if I need a vacation from work or from the fish at this point. 4 tanks seemed like a good idea at the time

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nyrmel · 05-28-2008, 05:31 PM

Orb you know you cant just let them gut feed you would worry continuously about them the whole time you where gone I got a little auto feeder and it feeds on a 12 hour cycle not sure yet what to do about lights i think i need to get moving on getting a timer right now i am running the feeder into a bowl just to check that amounts are consistent and it doesnt randomly stop day 3 so far. I will most likely go to the bigger and better ones I saw at the true LFS but that is an issue for a different day

missfish · 05-28-2008, 06:00 PM

I use a timer for the lights on my tanks all the time. I find that the fish are able to get used to when it is day and night and can ajust thier body rythms to it. My discus thomas always puts himself to bed (behind a sword plant) about 10mins before the lights go off!

nyrmel · 05-28-2008, 07:18 PM

My guppy just about gives me kittens everytime the lights have been out and the room is dark when the lights come on he is laying on his side in the gravel and the tetra left is inside the bubble shipwith his nose out also laying on the gravel I guess fish sleep too but i had a fit first time i cought him at it and did an emergency test all water a water change and prayed that i wasnt losing them. I know better know after about 5 to 10 min of lights on he is telling me it is dinner, or breakfast time. I dont know what good ranges are for them but i turn on thel lights around 6am when I get up and then off around 1 when i come home for lunch and on at 5-6 when I get home that way the plants get light and I get to see my fish when I am home and until i go to bed. With a timer I would prolly set first light at 6 last at 9 with a break during the day (rom really isnt dark during the day) though tank doesnt get direct sunlight. well there are my ramblings for today