So I'm leaving for vacation in a couple weeks with my family to Maryland and of course, I can't bring the fish. We'll be gone for a week. I'm going to clean both their tanks (both are about 1 gallon) but, What am I supposed to do about feeding them?! I'm afraid to use automatic feeders, and frankly, I don't have the money to afford any fancy equipment right now. Not feeding them is simply out of the question because they're my babies, you can't just not feed your children. Will places that you take cats and dogs while you're on vacation also take care of fish? Please help me. :-(
I am in a similar situation, maybe even worse because my boy has fin rot... but I am having a close friend come in and care for him and my cat while I'm away. You could also hire a pet sitter. You can post your need for a sitter in your area via the post office or community boards and also online in forums and sites that help you find sitting jobs will often also let you advertise too. Just be sure to know just what you are looking for and have a detailed list of things that have to be done and how to do it so that the sitter can take the best care of your babies. I have been a pet sitter and child care giver for years so been there done that. Good luck! I hope you have a good vacation!
Actually, bettas can live a week without food. So just do a 100% change the day when you leave, or before. And then feed him the normal amount and change his water again once you come back. Easy breezy.
I don't have the money to hire a pet-sitter, my parents think I'm crazy for stressing out over this. Are those little tablets that bubble and feed fish actually work? I remember using them when I was young with goldfish and guppies and they seemed to work okay and I saw in Petsmart there were ones for bettas.
I tried to use one of those once when I was new to keeping bettas and didn't know better. My fish didn't know what it was, and he got scared and attacked it.
If you can have someone stop by and feed them once in the middle of the week for your own peace of mind, that'd be great, but they should be fine with not eating for a week. Definitely better than putting them through the stress of a car ride.
Those things are a mess! Especially in a 1 gallon, it'll cause an ammonia spike. I told you before, they can survive a week without food! Don't feed him extra before you leave too, the ammonia will get high because of his poop.
I know it makes you feel awful, not feeding your bettas for a week, but it will actually be healthier for them. In a one gallon, ammonia can build up pretty quickly. If they aren't pooping, then that will be a lot less ammonia in those tanks that won't be cleaned for a week. Ammonia build up is much more detrimental to their health than a week of not eating. So, unless you can find someone to change their water while you're gone, you have a much better chance of finding them in good health when you get back if you don't provide them with food. And, like Lebron said, they will perfectly fine with a week of fasting.
Thank you very much everyone, it just seemed a bit odd to let them not eat for a week. The last thing I want is for them to get sick, thank you a lot Lebron and Nicci
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