2 week vacation

[JingleAllTheWay]

I agree with aunt kymmie totally. And you know bettas can live a long time without food. No, it's not the best, but they'll survive if they aren't on their normal four pellet a day feeding schedule.

[dramaqueen]

Yeah, I figure as long as they have SOMEthing, its better than leaving them without food for 2 weeks. I thought about those gel feeders but I'm a little leery about trying them.

[onekatietwo]

Originally Posted by dramaqueen

Yeah, I figure as long as they have SOMEthing, its better than leaving them without food for 2 weeks. I thought about those gel feeders but I'm a little leery about trying them.

I'm curious about those things as well. It would be interesting to hear if anybody has any experience with them.

[dramaqueen]

I heard that the little betta shaped feeders work ok but I'm afraid it will mess up my water and make it nasty. I might look into the gel feeders too. I thought I'd try an experiment by putting one in an extra gallon container with dechlorinated water and leave it for a week and observe what it does.

[aunt kymmie]

If it were me (and it's NOT) I wouldn't mess with the gel feeders, or any other type of feeder, for that matter. Because water changes will be on hiatus for two weeks I'd be more concerned with my water quality than if the bettas are a little hungrier than usual. They'll be just fine on a limited feeding schedule and you won't have to be so worried about the water quality while you're gone. They'll be fine with just twice weekly feedings, I promise.

[dramaqueen]

Thanks, Kym. I feel better now. I've been worrying about this and I'd really rather stay home. lol But the girl that will be taking care of them has fish of her own and I think she'll be ok with them. I'll leave her the stuff if she needs to make an emergency water change. Thanks everyone for your imput.

[Antje]

So, with how many pellets are you going now, dramaqueen? 2 twice a week?

If my betta girls got a 50% water change twice a week, would 3 pellets twice a week be ok or would this be already a constipation risk? I'll be gone for 3 weeks.

[dramaqueen]

Yes, I think I'll go with 2 pellets twice a week. Any more at one time could lead to constipation. Aunt Kymmie said its best to underfeed than to over feed. I'm not having my neighbor to do water changes. I now have 6 bettas and I think its asking a lot to have her change 6 containers of water. What amount do you usually feed the girls?

[Antje]

Yeah, I wasn't sure, if I could ask to do water changes for 2 bowls at every feeding, but it seems to be ok for the fish sitter. How long does it take you to change the water from your 6 tanks? Do you do them all at the same time?

Normally I feed the girls the same as you do: 2 in the morning, 2 in the evening and they have about 1-2 fasten days. I already started feeding them less often, so I hope they will be fine.

[dramaqueen]

No I don't do them all at once. They are all different sizes. lol I have a 4 gallon aquarium, which I do partial changes on once a week. Then once a month I do full changes. The rest get changed every week to 10 days. The gallon containers I try to at least do partial changes on once a week and a full change the following week. I try to pick up stuff off the bottom when I do partial changes with a turkey baster.I'm going to gradually decrease their food about a week before I leave. My vacation is still up in the air, though. It depends on my brother's job.