Leaving for Ohio in 23 days. Need help with advice.

[txbettaowner]

I am leaving for Ohio in 23 days, on the 22nd of December in the morning. We will be driving and I don't want to take the fish on the road for that long. I don't want to lose them so what would everyone suggest that I feed them for that long. I won't be back until January 1st. I have seen 7 day tablets but I want to do what is best for the fish. Please help. I mean I can take them in the car for the 20+ hour drive but I don't want to lose them and I believe that I will lose them if I do. Please someone help me on what to do.

[Myates]

How many do you have, and the size of the tank?

Bettas can live a long time without food.. longer than we would imagine. If they are healthy, at the 2 week mark is when they start feeling the effects of lack of nutrition.
A week really shouldn't cause them harm as long as they are healthy. The most important thing is water quality - change it right before you leave (the night before, or a few hours prior so you can make sure they are fine after the change).. don't feed after you change the water, but that can be hard on us owners, so if you do choose to feed right before you leave, make sure it's just enough that there won't be any left over.

Unfortunately, those feeding blocks are dangerous to use and many betta deaths happen due to it.. imagine a 24/7 all you can eat buffet for them - the seven days worth of food will be gone within the first day and your fish can have issues due to over eating food that isn't.. healthy. Not to mention if the fish doesn't like it, the block will continue to release the food into the tank, and being uneaten it will start to quickly foul up the water and can easily cause problems with ammonia which can lead to death...

Too many of those automatic feeders malfunction and dump all the food into the tank at once, and too many owners come home to a dead betta. Seen that happen too many times last holiday season here on the forums.

Personally, it's not worth the risk - they will be grumpy with you, they will be skinny.. but they shouldn't die due to not eating for seven days. I can't say that a sorority won't get a bit grumpy with each other, but again, that is less of a risk than having them all eat too much at once and have health issues untreated.

But this is my opinion, my experience.. I've had mine gone 5, 6 days without eating and no problem whatsoever. It's a gamble, but you get better odds of them living when you don't use the vacation blocks/feeders.

[txbettaowner]

I have 2 female Veiltail bettas in a 1.5 gallon tank.

[txbettaowner]

We will be gone for 11 days not 7.

[Myates]

You have them both in a 1.5g, not divided? ... How long have they been together?

Knowing that set up - I honestly don't think they will survive 11 days in a 1.5g tank together.

The tank is too small for 2 fish, the bio load will be too much to go that long without a cleaning.. normal cleaning for that size of a tank for 1 betta is twice a week. Bettas have relatively small bio loads compared to most other fish, but it's still too much to have 2 fish in anything less than 3 gallons.

Soon the females will start to stress and feel "trapped" which is common with too many fish in a small tank - let alone 2 fish that tends to kill each other, even when properly housed in a correct sorority. Being in such a small tank, becoming dirty from no water changes and hungry, they would most likely turn on each other and one will kill the other.. a mix of hunger and stress.

Unsure exactly how long they will survive together as it is... even if they are sisters, or had been together for a month or two, they will turn on each other at some point.

In order to house females together properly you are wanting to have a minimum of 10 gallons and a minimum of 4 females with tons of plants.. females naturally are just like males - just as aggressive and rather be alone. We can force females together semi-peacefully under the right conditions because they don't set up territory like the male. But they still do need their space and to be able to get away from each other if needed.

Honestly.. unsure what to tell you other than either get a 5g and divide it, or a 10g and bring in a few more girls, or purchase another small tank and keep them separated.. the way you have it set up now, they most likely won't last the 11 days, nor last a whole lot longer to be totally honest.

[fgradowski]

Honestly, I'd take mine with. They'll get stressed out, but they should recover from that.

[txbettaowner]

They have been together for a month now in the tank (1.5 gallon) and have had no problems. I have a smaller tank but it is a plastic one and it isn't lighted or have circuiting water. I do not have the room for a 3 gallon tank nor do I want to transport that home. 3 gallon tank costs a lot of money and I don't have that much money to spend. These two have no problems with each other. I have 3 plants and a corral looking thing that they can swim in and out of. They have room.

[Myates]

If these were housed properly, in separate tanks, or a larger divided tank then I would say they would be fine for the 11 days.. not uncommon for people to leave them that long when traveling.

It's the fact it's a 1.5g with 2 females in there undivided is what will make it a deadly 11 days.

[txbettaowner]

They have never been divided since I got them. The pet store says it is fine to have 2 females together but not 2 males or a male and a female together.

[Myates]

Originally Posted by txbettaowner

They have been together for a month now in the tank (1.5 gallon) and have had no problems. I have a smaller tank but it is a plastic one and it isn't lighted or have circuiting water. I do not have the room for a 3 gallon tank nor do I want to transport that home. 3 gallon tank costs a lot of money and I don't have that much money to spend. These two have no problems with each other. I have 3 plants and a corral looking thing that they can swim in and out of. They have room.

A 2 gallon kritter keeper at Petco is roughly $10, a 3g keeper is roughly $12... so not too expensive.
Can buy another 1.5g and place it elsewhere.
They don't need moving water, in fact they prefer no moving water.

I am not trying to sound rude, but it may come off that way.. so I am going to answer bluntly. I just want to help..

Betta fish - Siamese FIGHTING fish - not just males that are aggressive. Females can be equally aggressive. Some can be passive. But it's in their nature, their instinct to be alone, to be aggressive and that is something that you can't take away. It has only been a month.. even the best set up for a sorority can and often do, have deaths due to aggression and it can happen at any time. Why there are guidelines posted around the forum about how to properly house multiple females for the best chance at keeping them healthy and alive.

A 1.5 gallon simply can not take care of the amount of bio load those fish are placing into the tank. Bettas may have smaller bio loads, but it does add up in a small tank with multiple fish. It is generally ideal to never have multiple fish in a tank smaller than 3-4 gallons simply because of the bio load.. filter or no filter, it's not a healthy idea. So asking for them to survive 11 days in something that should be cleaned about 5 times in that span of time (with what you have in there) is a bit much.

You say they have enough room to swim - a 1.5 gallon is perfect for a SINGLE betta, preferably male as males tend not to be as active as females... but it's not just the amount of swimming space, it's how the fish view the size.. a fish that swims as much as a female betta, along with being forced into a small space with another female will soon feel trapped. It happens in larger tanks when they are over stocked. It will happen in your tank.


Pretty much in comparison - you have 2 pit bulls in a space the size of a refrigerator that are walking in their own filth, and becoming claustrophobic as time goes on.. but they are fine now. Tomorrow? Who knows.. just the wrong signal, wrong movement from one female will set off the other female. It's a ticking time bomb.

But.. you don't have to follow anyone's advice. They are your fish, and if you want to risk it, then it's your choice. But there are cheap alternatives to house them in. Make sure they have a heater at least....