Eheim Automatic Feeder

[battered]

I don't have anything against it - I'm sure it's fine for feeding and everything. I just meant, if a betta eats 7 pellets every day, he'll need a water change at least every week. This is simply not possible if a person is gone for a week+ long vacation and has no one to perform the water change. The fish then runs the risk of a high ammonia buildup/spike.

[BubbiBubba]

Originally Posted by battered

I don't have anything against it - I'm sure it's fine for feeding and everything. I just meant, if a betta eats 7 pellets every day, he'll need a water change at least every week. This is simply not possible if a person is gone for a week+ long vacation and has no one to perform the water change. The fish then runs the risk of a high ammonia buildup/spike.

But what if the person's fish is living in a 5 gal tank that is cycled? Surely you wouldn't need to change the water as often as every week besides a PWC... & that could be done a week or two later when they return home, right???

ON ANOTHER NOTE: It's the 3rd week & I'm leaving in 3 days... They tank's not fully cycled yet... Good god what am I going to do?!

[battered]

In a cycled 5 gallon, you should do water changes (not 100% necessarily, but a water change nevertheless) weekly at least. If it's one week, you could do a big water change before leaving, then do one when you get back. Not sure if there would be any ammonia spikes/anything in that time. If it's two weeks and you have the betta fed ~5 pellets a day, I feel like there might be some water quality issues without a water change inbetween that period.

I think the best course to go is just to not feed the fish during the vacation. A healthy adult betta can go 1-2 weeks without food. Plus, you wouldn't have to worry about water quality issues.