doktorstick Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Howdy. With the holidays upcoming, I might have a few days of travel TBD. Since this will be my first away-from-home since I setup my fish tank, I need to know general guidelines about the care and safety of my critters. For instance, should anything be done leading up to the trip? What about survival time without foodstuffs for fish? And so on. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 I've had my fish go sat/sun w/out food, but I fed them friday late and fed them again monday am early. I always do a water change two days before I leave and I make sure my top off is full, skimmer is clean and empty, etc before I leave. Depending on how long you are gone, check out sea clearly tank service. She does good work and will leave you with peace of mind while you enjoy the holidays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzobob Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Or you can cheat like I did. Once I was in the hobby I got a couple of friends addicted (Zarathrusta2 and LSK) so I always have someone to watch my tanks:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Or you can cheat like I did. Once I was in the hobby I got a couple of friends addicted (Zarathrusta2 and LSK) so I always have someone to watch my tanks:) For sure. I have my own "ARC posse" that I call on when I leave town. Rest assured I'll be calling them again once the baby comes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doktorstick Posted December 1, 2009 Author Share Posted December 1, 2009 Gah. I was hoping the answer was "4 or 5 days." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reybeast Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 my two cents: cleanup saltcreep (if any) when you do the water change. I once had saltcreep cause my icecap ballast to arc and smelled like burning plastic. Had I not been home, I'm not sure what would have happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexKilpatrick Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 I have heard healthy fish can easily go 1-2 weeks without feeding. It isn't the same as a dog or more typical pet. They can forage around the tank for stuff as well. Personally, I would prefer to take my chances with that than to have someone who doesn't know what they are doing feed my fish. You can also get one of those automatic feeders for flake food. Not the best food, but you can control the portions. A controller is great too. I was able to monitor my tank from afar during the recent Thanksgiving holiday. I was thinking it would be nice to build up an "emergency contact" list for ARC. That way you could use a normal pet sitter -- friend, neighbor, whatever to watch over things. But if you some kind of emergency popped up you they would have someone to call. That would get over the weirdness factor of having some random ARC-er in your house because they would be there with your trusted pet sitter. But they would be someone who would know their way around a tank and could probably quickly spot problems than a non reefer pet sitter wouldn't notice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Gah. I was hoping the answer was "4 or 5 days." Depending on the fish load, and maturity of the tank, this is definitely possible. In fact, I regularly, um, "forget" to feed my fish for a couple of days in a row (yes, I hear Mark's Tank Protective Services on their way ), and things are fine. The tangs forage for algae on the rocks and glass. I see the other fish scanning the rockwork for food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzobob Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Years ago (pre reef) when I'd leave town I'd put daily feedings in zip lock bags. That made it a lot easier for my friend who was cichlid sitting and limited any risk of overfeeding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 I bout a pair of ice trays from walmart for $2. I put a mix of mysis, phyto, pellets, etc in it, then top off each "cube" with tank water and then freeze them. My neighbor checks on the cat once a day and drops one ice cube into the tank. Done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caferacermike Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 I've gone several weeks without adding food to the tank with no ill effects on the fish or critters. I will point out that the fish were clowns, small tangs, blennies. I did not leave any sort of large predator fish in a bare fish only. The worst part about leaving, and I'm sure others feel this way, is evaporation. I've found it to be much more of a pain than missing a few feedings. If you have an ATO you are set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 I have used Sea Clearly and she's the best. I have also had fellow reefers watch over my tanks too. I would not let my neighbor or family memeber watch over the tanks, but a fellow reefer you bet. Dave- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Simon Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Before I travel I: -Feed the tank once or twice more then I normally do -Clean the skimmer a couple days before -Do the normal water change I might miss -Verify all my parameters are in line -Make sure my topoff reservoir is completely full Also healthy fish can go a week or two without being fed without issue so don't worry about that. Also a good idea to leave a set of keys with someone who can check on things if you are going to be gone longer then you plan or if something goes wrong. I also usually have a webcam and my rovio (mobile webcam) setup so I can check up on things while I am out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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