[marciemp]

Hi,
In a few weeks I am going on vacation for a week. My husband will be out of town but is supposed to be back right around when I leave. There is a chance that he will be away a few more days, so our fish could be alone for a couple of days.

I will do a water change right before I leave. Should I do anything about feeding them before I go, like get an automatic fish feeder? How many days can they go without being fed?

We have a 92 gallon tank with about 90lbs live rock, 2" of sand, medium cleanup crew, 5 shrimp, tiny red starfish, blue tang, yellow tang, 2 clownfish, 2 damsels and a yellow watchman.

The tank seems stable and the water is always good. I will put the lights on timers (I am a stay at home mom so I just manually do the lights now).

On another note, we also have a 10 gallon tank with 2 small fantail goldfish, are those feeder blocks OK to use when we're gone for the goldfish?

Thanks,
Marcie

[chappy]

i have feed my tank 2 to 3 times a week for 10 years

[pogodzib]

I prefer to use a fish feeder when I'm gone more than one night, but the fish can survive a few days without any problems as long as they are healthy to start. I typically don't like doing water changes or making any other changes right before vacations just incase any of my fish or corals doesn't adjust to the change and needs special attention. The main thing that I always worry about when I'm going to be gone is making sure that my tank doesn't evaporate too much water so I add a little extra water into my tanks and topoff reservors.

[marciemp]

Thanks. I will do the water change a day or 2 before I go, as we leave early in the morning, and changing the water myslef will be a bigger job than I am used to (hubby usually carries the buckets for me, and helps pour them). I think I will get an automatic feeder since hubby could be gone longer and the fish would be alone for a few days to a week then.

[200g+guy]

they can go up to 2 days with out feeding with a feast before though

[muttley000]

Your fish may have gone 30 days without feeding during the trip from the reef to where ever you purchased them. A few days is no problem if they have been cared for properly in the recent past. I would be reluctant to add the autofeeder now right before you leave (what if it malfunctions) I do like the idea of autofeeders, but wouldn't set it up and walk out the door without being able to observe for a couple of days at least.
Matt
tankless for now

Updated...I disagree with 200+ guy's response. A feast will only put more waste in the tank. most people are overfeeding their fish already!

[PalmDesert]

Feeding a feast before going on a trip can only cause problems by spiking the tank with no one to do a water change!!