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Hi all,

I am going away for 2 weeks and have a very reliable, yet inexperienced, friend who will be feeding my fish for me.

I will give her strict instructions on portions and method, but was wondering how often I should get her to come to keep my fish happy and healthy.

Do you think that every 3 or 4 days would be sufficient for them for 2 weeks?
Cheers

I'd go with every three days, there shouldn't be any problems on that schedule. Even if she misses once and doesn't come but every 4-5 days, they'd still all be fine...

PM/email/msg me if you have any questions/comments regarding me or my knowledge or if you want me to read a thread.

When my girlfriend, her family, and I went away on a trip, we put food in little dixie cups and labeled them for every other day of the trip while we were gone. That way, we know she is feeding the right amount, and the bioload stays down.

HTH

Racso

yup, very important Charlotte, measure out the food and hide the main jars, friends can be overly 'kind' sometimes and really stuff up your water.

does she have a contact number for you?

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Feeding every 3 days would be fine. Just label the jars with food & tell her to feed the portions you prepaired only. Hide any other fish food & tell her that it's worse to overfeed.

You can do a water change before you leave & another one when you come back.



http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

Along with the premeasured ammounts and all....I left very clear instructions to my fishsitters for when I was away (was going to isreal for 3 weeks and didnt' know if I'd have internet access) that it was more better to skip a feeding than to add too much food (feel free to mention that even a bit too much food can KILL the fish ).

I'd also suggest a picture head count to have them check to make sure everyones present and accounted for. If they don't know what the fish look like get pics of everyone and print them out with how many of each you have. That way a fish won't go missing for 2 weeks causing problems in the tank.

^_^

Thanks for that all of you...

I thought it would be OK every 3 days. Yes, I will measure out portions and explain it all, we're having a special training session before I go!

A head count is a great idea, thanks Babel! That was my biggest fear, one dying and her not realising and messing with my water quality.

Thanks also Callatya, she will be able to contact me, I am only going to Melbourne.

Thanks again

on numerous occasions, i have left fish unfed for 2 week periods with no ill effect. all of the tanks were well established (lots of unintentional micros for the fish to eat),i did several water changes in the week prior to my vacation, and i added lots of feeder white clouds, guppies, and ghost shrimp the day of my departure.

this is not cruel- fish in the wild do not eat on a reguler schedule. also, most aquariums set up for a length of time do contain alternate food sources that have bred over a period of time. i have read many threads on many different sites bemoaning the death of their fish while they were in the care of inexperianced caretakers. extended feeder blocks are a joke, but the timed feeder machines seem to work well (at least they give the fish keeper peace of mind). although the dixie cup method sounds like an excellent idea.
advanced preperation equals unintentional frustration.