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Post by Charis on Jan 19, 2007 22:33:08 GMT -5
I might be going out of town for the week and weekend of spring break. I am in the process of finding a babysitter for Flicker, Finneas, Frappie, Milo, & Otis. But my ten gallon is a little hard to take to a baby sitters and someone coming into the house to care for it is out of the question. anyone have a suggestion on vacation feeders? Are the machines that release the flakes better? Or what about the little squares and pyramids that you just drop in the water? Water changes and preventing polution? Suggestions?
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Post by Suzie Q on Jan 20, 2007 0:15:56 GMT -5
I had in the past used the food tablets, I would not recommend those (they may have improved them, but it was such a mess). There are mechanical feeders that release the food...I would say go with that. It would be better to have the flakes dropped in than to have a gooy clump of yuck in the bottom of the tank.
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Post by Charis on Jan 20, 2007 0:30:42 GMT -5
yeah if all the food drops to the bottom the otos will get it all and no one else. How many algae disks will I have to leave for them in there? I don't want anyone to starve.
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Post by Suzie Q on Jan 20, 2007 14:00:51 GMT -5
You can put algea disks...I would be ready to do a water change when you get back (maybe around 50%)...how many disks do they go through a day? If it is one a week, I'd add one more...if it is one a day, I'd add that many plus 2. I don't think the algea disks would do to much harm, but the "food" is another issue. I would think it would be better for them to go without food than to leave "sitting" food for over a week. Look into getting the mechanical "dropper" and put food in there now, and see how it works. You will at least have time to come up with something different if it just dumps too much in the tank (you will also be home to clean the mess before it does any harm). Something else you could due is purchase a VERY pregnant guppy and the fish can live off the fry if they have too, but I'd go with the feeder. Once I get my 120g, I will have the same issue when we go on vacation...so far it has only been weekend trips, but we plan on a Branson MO trip this summer (not sure what I am going to do with my fishies). I will probably get a feeder also. I have noticed that my bettas will scavenge on the bottom of the tanks...I don't have bottom feeders, and when a pellet hits the bottom, the next day it is gone (no snails in that tank).
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Post by Charis on Jan 20, 2007 15:55:04 GMT -5
I do think I will get a vacation feeder asap so I can plenty of time to test it. I should have my tank stocked with all the fish about the end of Feb. That's assuming that the cycle (my ammonia is 0 and the nitrites have peaked) finishes at the end of Jan. I will take a month to stock the tank. Anyways I am looking forward to stocking the tank and working out the vacation feeder.
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Post by carlrs on Jan 20, 2007 16:57:59 GMT -5
I replied earlier to this post and it never made, so I will try again; I recommend the electric vactaion feeders, but not all are equal, and your need to place them where water will not splash or condence into the dispenser, causing it to gum up. These also work best with pellet food rather than flakes. My favorite is the Pentair, here is a site with these: www.aquatichouse.com/Maintenance_files/fishfeeder.aspAs for feeding blocks, the 7 Day Vacation Fedder by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals is the best here in my opinion. The Banquet and many Tablets tend to pollute more. I would feed your fish up to the time you depart and then place in one of these block. I would not depend on these for more than 8 days. A good water change before you leave would also be a good idea. Carl
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