What do you do when you go on vacation?

18 posts • Page 1 of 2

Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


Zambize4899
 
Posts: 499
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2008 4:35 am

What do you do when you go on vacation?

by Zambize4899

I'm going on vacation for a week and I'm not sure what to do with my fish. We'll be using a pet sitter who is knowledgeable enough for our cats and dogs, but she can only "follow instructions" for fish. I'm planning to give her the most basic instructions possible...but my cats/dogs will likely be 3 sentences and my fish about 3 pages. LOL

Anyway, I've heard that some people don't feed their fish while they're gone, or even have someone come in and check temp or filters, sometimes for weeks. I'm not that comfortable, and besides, the pet sitter will be here everyday anyway. Should I use one of those vacation feeders and not rely on her to do that part? Anyone experienced with going on vacation and leaving other people in charge of the wet pets? I already hate to leave cats/dogs, and they're more self-sufficient than fish. At least mine are.

Zambize


miami754
 
Posts: 373
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 9:18 am

by miami754

Never use those vacation feeders. They are awful and will jack up your tank. Also you need to be very careful about having someone watch your fish. You are used to them, but many people are not. I have heard of hundreds of instances where people leave and their sitter ends up washing filter pads to "help out" or feeding a ton because they didn't know any better. If you do end up with a sitter, then have him/her come over and show them how much to feed (or you could put the amount of food for each feeding in separate ziploc bags) and explain not to touch anything else. Trust me - I have heard some horror stories from people who had well-intended sitters.

If you don't go the sitter route then they should be fine for a week. If I am going to be gone for a week or less then I generally put the lights on a timer and don't feed. They are fine and it is good for them to have fasting periods anyways. If I am gone for longer than that then I use my automatic feeder. I bought the one from Eheim (around $40) that you can program to feed up to five times a day and can adjust how much is fed at each time. This is a much better option than those vacation feeders.

Good luck.


Sumthing_Fishy
 
Posts: 193
Joined: Fri Mar 28, 2008 2:47 am

by Sumthing_Fishy

My friend is a truck driver and I go with him sometimes and will be gone a week or sometimes 2 weeks at a time. Usually once or twice a year I will go to get a break. I put an automatic fish feeder on each tank, do a water change the day before I go and haven't had any problems. As far as the cat, I took it once, but it didn't seem to like the ride, but tolerated it. I left it home the last time, and I put a huge pot of dry food down and set up 2 litter boxes and had a huge pot of water. I also put down 2 cans of wet food the day that we left and had no problems. I didn't like the idea of the unknown while gone like what you are going to find when we get back, etc. so I try to stay here all of the time now or will take the cat next time. As far as the fish, clean water, automatic fish feeder, 1 or 2 weeks should be fine.


gumbii
 
Posts: 1695
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:31 am

by gumbii

i ask someone from the fish club to come over when i'm gone... also the neighbors are pretty fish savy thanks to me... another thing about the neighbor kid is that he will feed everything that i have... even the cobras and rattlesnakes...


Peterkarig3210
 
Posts: 1980
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am

by Peterkarig3210

I-have-a-friend-and-I-have-her-come-every-2-or-3-days-and-there-are-seperate-baggies-for-each-feeding-for-each-tank.....I-keep-it-as-simple-as-possible-and-that-way-if-somthing-goes-wrong-it's-probably-not-going-to-be-my-friend's-fault.


Zambize4899
 
Posts: 499
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2008 4:35 am

by Zambize4899

Wow, that would be nice but I don't know a single person who has an ounce of fish experience. I'm going to roll with the pet sitter since I have hardy fish, relatively simple stable tanks, and I'm really good at writing technical documents so the instructions will be CLEAR. Oh...but my fish.....augh! In the hands of a stranger.

Z


gumbii
 
Posts: 1695
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:31 am

by gumbii

hahaha... good luck... and have fun... don't stress over the fish...


spongebob4460
 
Posts: 603
Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:37 am

by spongebob4460

If you are going to ration food, I would literally make ziplock bags labeled for each day with the already portioned food in it, so there is no way the sitter can screw it up. If your lights are on timer u will be fine in that area, if not go get one its worth it even if ure not on vacation. The sitter should only have to drop food in once a day, and straight out of that bag labeled for that day. And with these famous words, "what could go wrong?"


Zambize4899
 
Posts: 499
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2008 4:35 am

by Zambize4899

I don't have my lights on timer. I've read about it but it hasn't been a priority topic yet. I don't have real sensitive fish so I was assuming (newbie) that lighting wasn't critical, but maybe for more difficult or specific fish. No?

My lights are on, usually, 6-8 hours a day just with my regular schedule.

Zambize


gumbii
 
Posts: 1695
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:31 am

by gumbii

you could go to wal-mart and pick up a automatic feeder... i've seen them for ~$10... just let the person know how to fill it up and it devides the portions out for you...

also pick up a couple of timers... they're ~$5 for some decent ones...

What do you do when you go on vacation?

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