[TheBlur]

Hey guys! I'll be going away for a few days soon and I wanted to know if there was any sort of slow-release or self-feeding item/system I can leave for my bettas?

I also have some mickey mouse platy and peppered cory cats that will need feeding too.

I don't want to have someone come to my apartment just to feed them, mostly cos I find it sketchy having a stranger in my house while I'm not around.

 

[16kehresmann]

Honestly in my personal opinion your better off having your fish not get fed. If your only gone for a few days all your fish should be just fine not getting food. Fish can last weeks with no food intake. So 3 days won't hurt them. I don't really think those dissolving food things do anything to be honest. Most fish are carnivores and whatever that crap is doesn't look meat like to me at all! I'd skip the fish sitter too just because whenever I've had someone watch my fish for me, they've ended up severly over feeding everyone and I come home to dead/sick/bloated little fin babies. Which is not a nice thing to come home to. I've left my fish home with no food for 3-4 days before and I've always come home to happy healthy little babies.

 

[DaytonBetta]

I would just let them be hungry. I've been gone for a week with no feeding, and everything was fine. I hear nothing but bad things about the vacation feeders.

 

[TheBlur]

Ok thanks guys! I knew bettas could be fine for a few days without food I just wanted to double check.

My main concern is the platy and cory cats now x3

 

[Mr B]

I have betta's (male and female), platys, Cory's, guppies, minnows and various tetra in a several tanks.
I've been away on two week long breaks this year and all the fish are fine.

Feed them the night before, do a decent sized water change and gravel vacuum. When you get back feed them and test the water.

They'll be fine.

 

[Mr B]

That's 2x one week holidays BTW. If I was away two weeks I'd consider having a friend feed them and perform water changes.

 

[Pandanke]

Anything up to a week is definitely okay for all of the species mentioned. In the wild, they have to go without food for at least as long I am sure

Make sure your water is cleaned well before you leave, gravel vac deeply, wipe your items, and swish your filters in used water gently. I'm assuming your tank is 10g+ with the stock in it, so it should have no cleanliness issues in that time, however if it's under 5g it'd be more dubious.

Fish that aren't fed, wont poop as much, so that helps too.

One note is if you have live plants, make sure your light timer is turning on and off at the proper times otherwise you'll come back to an algae party.

I'm sure they'll be happy to see you when you're home though

 

[TheBlur]

Anything up to a week is definitely okay for all of the species mentioned. In the wild, they have to go without food for at least as long I am sure

Make sure your water is cleaned well before you leave, gravel vac deeply, wipe your items, and swish your filters in used water gently. I'm assuming your tank is 10g+ with the stock in it, so it should have no cleanliness issues in that time, however if it's under 5g it'd be more dubious.

Fish that aren't fed, wont poop as much, so that helps too.

One note is if you have live plants, make sure your light timer is turning on and off at the proper times otherwise you'll come back to an algae party.

I'm sure they'll be happy to see you when you're home though

No live plants so I don't have to worry about that. x3

I have two 10 gallons (1 with a single betta, the other with the platy + cory + betta), two 3.5 gallon bowls and one 5.5 gallon tank. Everyone is getting a water change the day before I leave so thats good. I'm only going to be gone for 4 nights and 5 days, so I can change the little tanks on the day I come home Everyone will also be fed right before I leave. n.n

 

[KeshiaB]

I have this automatic feeder which is great for feeding if I'm going away for longer than 1 week: http://www.petsmart.com/fish/automa...fish-feeder-zid36-5037273/cat-36-catid-300037

It works brilliantly and it's great that you can control the amount and type of food given, as well as the times food is released. This particular feeder is meant to feed for up to 14 days at a time, however water quality would be a concern if you are leaving your tank alone for this long.