Jennifer Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 I am relatively new to these boards. I have had tropical freshwater tanks for 15 years but still feel so uninformed....especially after reading so many of these great posts! :roll: Anyway, I am very careful not to overfeed - and check my chemistry often to be sure - but how much should I be feeding? How much is too little? I have heard so many conflicting stories over the years it is hard to know what is right. Also, I was reading the posts in the Freshwater forum about feeding ice blocks and was amazed to hear that some fish can live so long without food. Are there any rules on this? Over the years I have often heard that I can just leave my tanks for a few days and they will be ok, but I always 'chicken out' at the last minute and call someone in to feed while I am away. Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carznkats Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 hello and welcome to the forums jen! Once you have an established tank it is quite safe to not feed your fish for a week if you are going away. You are welcome to come to our fish club meeting (ChCh totally tanked) this saturday at 5pm. We are a social group that get together to talk fish and get help from our members if needed, details for the meeting are here: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=38075 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 if you were hungry you would eat anything wouldnt you? Thats why most will suggest plants of some sort... I prefer Java moss(not for me to eat but for the fish if they really get desperate) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 Or ther gunge that collects on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted April 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 Oh thanks, I would like to attend the meeting! I see why it would be important to add Java Moss...I have live plants and wouldn't want them to be eaten too much. So, what is the 'proper' amount to feed when I am not on holiday? I have heard so many differing opinions... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 The simple answer is as much as they can eat in 5 minutes. When breeding the rules change and it becomes---feed as much as you can get away with, but there are a lot of conditions that go with that. The biggest single mistake people new to fish keeping make is over feeding. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carznkats Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 how much to feed while on holiday depends on how long you are planning to be away , if you have someone you trust you could always get them to come in daily (or every second day), I find it best to make up daily portions to prevent being overfed. Look forward to meeting you on saturday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted April 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 Thanks all, much appreciated for your good advice. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 Oh thanks, I would like to attend the meeting! I see why it would be important to add Java Moss...I have live plants and wouldn't want them to be eaten too much. So, what is the 'proper' amount to feed when I am not on holiday? I have heard so many differing opinions... NOTHING If they really need something they will find something to eat Give a normal feed when your going to leave and a normally feed on your return, if your away for more than a week and a half, then by all means ask someone to give the fish a normal feed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 Feeding while you're at home: In part depends on what kind of fish you have and how many of each. But the basic idea is there should be no food left over so watch your fish while they're eating and, as Alan said, make sure all the food has been eaten in five minutes. For slow-release sinking pellets you can leave them in there longer. Read the instructions on the package for guidelines. Feeding while you're on holiday: I have never, in the many years I've been keeping fish, got someone to feed them while I'm away. Long ago I decided that the risk of a non-fish-person feeding them was much higher than the risk of leaving them unfed. I have never lost a single fish by doing this. Generally if I'm going away for more than a week I take extra steps before I leave. I make sure the fish have been getting a generous diet of high-nutrient foods for a couple of weeks in advance: mosquito larvae, frozen shrimp and/or shrimp pellets. While I'm doing this 'conditioning' I increase the frequency and size of water changes to ensure water quality is the best possible (but I don't clean the filters before leaving! That's another story) Then I just wave goodbye to the fish and walk out the door for a couple of weeks at a time. Like I said, I have never lost a fish with this method, and never seen them looking skinny or sick when I get home. They are always glad to see me though! :lol: My current tank is 1200mm (4ft) long and well planted, so if you have a smaller tank or fewer live plants you may need to take other advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted May 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2009 Wow ...do you have much attrition? I mean, my loaches look ready to take out the tetras at the best of times. The last time I went away for 5 days I had someone come in on the 3rd day to feed half a cube of frozen brine shrimp but otherwise didn't feed them. When I came back my Borneo suckers were gone (no, I am not getting more of those takeaways for the loaches)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted May 1, 2009 Report Share Posted May 1, 2009 Wow ...do you have much attrition? I mean, my loaches look ready to take out the tetras at the best of times. The last time I went away for 5 days I had someone come in on the 3rd day to feed half a cube of frozen brine shrimp but otherwise didn't feed them. When I came back my Borneo suckers were gone (no, I am not getting more of those takeaways for the loaches)! What kind of loaches do you have? I have clown loaches and they have never shown any signs of aggression to another fish in my tank. (Although they do squabble amongst themselves quite a lot! :roll: ) Like I said, I have never lost a fish while I have been away, despite having a mixed community tank. At various times I have had tetras, barbs and danios in there with the loaches and they have never touched them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted May 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2009 Zebra loaches. I have a tetra that has one eye and the loaches always try to come up on his blind side to bite him (I am pretty sure they are trying to bite him - they make this clicking noise when they bite their frozen food and they make that same noise when they come up to the tetra)! Very strange....the loaches don't seem agressive at all, but they do constantly try to approach other fish in the tank. All the fish in the tank are very active. In this 70L tank I have: 2 x gold zebra danios 2 x pearl danios 3 x black neons 1 x tetra (looks like an emperor but not sure, he was a 'rescue' case :roll: ) 2 x zebra loaches 1 x CAE (temp replacment for the beautiful gold bristlenose I lost) Here's a close up pic: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkles Posted May 1, 2009 Report Share Posted May 1, 2009 If you want to leave food for someone to feed them, get one of those 7day pill boxes from the $2 shop, the ones with 28 tiny boxes, and put there food for each feeding into a box. Then you don't have to worry about them being overfed. I get someone to feed mine if i'm away more than 2 days, and just write the days onto the boxes so there's no confusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.