# How do you care for your fish while on vacation?



## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

I've seen vacation feeders but this does not seem like it would work for bettas since they will eat themselves to death. What arrangements do you make? I am especially curious since the average people you might ask to watch them would have it's a just fish attitude.


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## shellieca (Jul 12, 2012)

It depends how long I will be gone & the tank my fish are in. When I went on vacation for two weeks last year I had a 10g tank that had 3 or 4 female Bettas & 2 CAE's (they were very small & are now in a 46g). I did a large water change the day before I left & left instructions for my house sitter to only feed every 2-3 days to keep waste a minimum, I odn't know if the sitter did this but the fish were all still alive & didn't appear to have any issues. When I got home I did a large water change & got back into my normal schedule. The Betta I had at work was a little different story & she was overfed while I was gone, but I did have a co-worker change out her water since she was in a 1g.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

I usually go for a week and i also change my tanks day before i go. Well they also have feast before i leave. I don't cycle my tanks so i do 100% water changes. And i also ask my mom to come to my house and feed them every 2 days and i instructed her to try wait until they eat so food don't sink to the bottom and contaminate the water. Don't use feeders machine like you already said, i read so many complains about them. 
How long is your vocation?


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## caissacrowntails (Mar 10, 2013)

depends on how long u will be on vacation...if I have to go for like more than a week..then I usually ask my friend here, another betta breeder, to keep my "important" fishes. fyi, healthy bettas will not die or get sick if their only problem is no food to eat for like a week or so ( I've got "lost package" finally arrived at my home after 9 days "travelling" or probably "forgotten", the courier won't confessed what had happen ) and it was very much alive, starved of course, chased the mosquito larvaes I fed him like crazy LOL, but after that he was fine, gave me some nice offsprings later on.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

I'm not going on vacation yet but I am thinking ahead and want to see how people manage.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Just don't give it to anyone to take care of...I read someone had friend's fish and decide to change the water of course he didn't know about water conditioner. So it better to starve them than give them to someone else .


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## slug61 (Feb 26, 2013)

I was wondering the same about vacations....we go away for 8 days and there is no one to look after fish.
So, should i just change water day before i leave?
I have 2.5g minibow with filter, not cycled yet, no live plants.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

Slug since you will be gone a long time and the water should be changed sooner on a 2.5. I would either upgrade to a 5 gallon (I got mine for $10) and/or get this sponge filter it's dirt cheap and works great. You need a air pump to go with it with the adjustable air connector so it's betta suitable.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009V3UGDS/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


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## slug61 (Feb 26, 2013)

I can't re-buy everything..too expensive. I just bought this stuff 3 weeks ago.
is there no other way for this to work?
I'm hoping the tank will be cycled long before we go away.


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## caissacrowntails (Mar 10, 2013)

ANHEL123 said:


> Just don't give it to anyone to take care of...I read someone had friend's fish and decide to change the water of course he didn't know about water conditioner. So it better to starve them than give them to someone else .


I think depends on who you're going to hand it/them over to, if it's a person who never kept a betta, then don't. But I was handing them over to the hand of another breeder to take care, and he surely knows how to take care of them.


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## xjenuhfur (Jan 30, 2012)

I left for spring break, and was gone for a week, no one was there to do water changes and feedings.
I feed them a lot before I leave, and then the day before I leave I do a large water change. 100% for my 2.5gal and around 50% for my 10 gal.


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## Fishy Mom (Feb 11, 2013)

My neighbors are an older animal loving couple who's kids are grown so they have time to help out. They are very nurturing people so my fish get lots of attention with the standard feedings & water changes.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Last time I was gone for 4 days. I did a water change the morning I left and the afternoon I got back. I was leaving an uncycled 3 gallon with two bettas and a cycled, planted 16 gallon with community fish. I left very detailed written instructions with my pet sitter and went over them with him before going. I left a bucket of dechlorinated water so he could top up from evaporation, but gave him very strict instructions not to feed anyone at all.


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## callistra (Jun 29, 2010)

slug, it's doubtful you can cycle your 2.5g at all.. and even if you do it would require two water changes during that time.. 8 days is a long time to leave your fish in something so small and unestablished. You may come home to a big problem



> Most people will tell you that you can't ever fully cycle a less than 5g, despite your filter, and you will alwys need these changes.. you can try, but careful daily monitoring and reliable test kits should be used. This is for something 2.5G. Anything else is pointless, and actually stresses your betta because there is no way for him to get away from the current created from the filter.
> 
> If you have a 2.5G-ish tank and you want to try cycling, you need to be testing daily with a reliable drops kit for ammonia and nitrite and doing an extra 50% change any time you see either. In addition to this a weekly 50% with siphon or new fresh turkey baster that has never seen chems is needed to remove poop and other debris from the gravel. It is not enough to just scoop water off the top ever. I actually suggest a turkey baster or very small siphon because your tank is so small an average siphon will remove water too quickly.
> 
> First you will see ammonia, then nitrite. Eventually, hopefully, you will see ammonia fall and stay at 0 even after a week of no water changes, and finally nitrite. At this point you will be left with only nitrates after a full week of no changes and these can be kept <20ppm by twice weekly 50% change with baster/siphon. However, cycling will take up to two months to complete and many if not most people will tell you that you can't cycle a tank of this size and you will always need twice weekly 50% and 100% water changes or you will always see ammonia continuing to build and the cycle will never finish..


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## BETTACHKALOVE (Nov 22, 2010)

I completely agree with callistra on everything. I would not recommend to cycle 2.5 gall. I do 2-50% and 1-100% water changes for my not cycled 2.5 gall tanks or if i don't have time for 50% water changes i just do 100% water changes every 5 days. But i don't feed with pellets and freeze blood worms so it never food on the bottom of the tank. 
However about vocation. I left a few times for 8 days , i just did full water changes for my 2.5 gall tanks before i left. Some one fed them one pellet every 2 days. When i came home i had to change the water right away. I didn't have problem. But i think what else is important is don't make water too warm. The warmer is the water -MORE chance for infections, especially if you don't change the water for long time. So keep the water maximum 76*. I have and it not only me , a few people on this forum have bettas in 74 i even saw 72*. So 76* would be perfect. So i think if you don't have other choice you should be fine. Just do full water changes before you go. Instruct the person who will feed that they should not put more than one pellet at the time and wait until betta eat it so it don't sink to the bottom and decompose, and give infection.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

The filter I mentioned is only $3.99 and the shipping is free. It would help keep the water cleaner. I am doing a quarantine of fish in 2 gallons(prior to putting in a divided tank( and I have the filter in there it doesn't take too much space


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## bettacrazygirl86 (Jan 21, 2013)

I actually didn't even think about what I was going to do about our fish while we're away! This summer, I'm going on a vacation to Florida with my entire family. My older step brother will probably take care of our dog while we're away, but they don't know a thing about fish!

Really, they can go a week without eating... I would say my best friend could feed them and clean their tanks for me since she loves fish and knows how to care for them, but she's going with us to Florida, so that doesn't work.

Hopefully by then (End of July), I'll have my 10 gallon tank planted and established, so I could just do a water change before I leave, feed them, and turn off the light then leave, and when I get home, do another water change and feed them and give them lots of lovin' for leaving them. Hopefully I won't come back to one of them on the other side of the divider. I plan on making my divider tall so hopefully they can't jump it.


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## acadialover (Nov 17, 2011)

jadaBlu said:


> Slug since you will be gone a long time and the water should be changed sooner on a 2.5. I would either upgrade to a 5 gallon (I got mine for $10) and/or get this sponge filter it's dirt cheap and works great. You need a air pump to go with it with the adjustable air connector so it's betta suitable.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009V3UGDS/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


I LOVE these filters and have them in all of my betta tanks. I have a valve in the airline tubing so I can adjust the flow.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

I just bought more of the filters you just can't beat them for the price they have benificial bacteria so the aquarium can cycle faster. They make the water so clear and with the adjustable airline valve you can make it "betta perfect". I would get a powerful airpump I used one that was too powerful and it had a funny electrical smell in the morning due pushing against the lower pressure in the valve. Amazon also has some air pumps by Marina for around $7.00 with free shipping.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

why do you need air pump? Sorry not sure if it silly question since i don't have filters and don't know about them anything. But 2.5 gall tank and filter and air pump is it too much. Taking too much space and too much water movement?


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

The air pump runs the filters. If you look at the filter closely there is a clear tube that the air tubing connects too. This will circulate your water through the sponge and up the pipe on top. The sponge grows the Benificial bacteria which helps to keep your water cleaner plus it's filtering and keeping your water cleaner. It really does not take up too much space and it cuts back on cleaning and health problems for your fish. When I get home I will take a video of the temporary 2 gallon I have. So long as you adjust the air valve the water movement is barely there.


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## teckx (May 29, 2013)

shellieca said:


> It depends how long I will be gone & the tank my fish are in. When I went on vacation for two weeks last year I had a 10g tank that had 3 or 4 female Bettas & 2 CAE's (they were very small & are now in a 46g). I did a large water change the day before I left & left instructions for my house sitter to only feed every 2-3 days to keep waste a minimum, I odn't know if the sitter did this but the fish were all still alive & didn't appear to have any issues. When I got home I did a large water change & got back into my normal schedule. The Betta I had at work was a little different story & she was overfed while I was gone, but I did have a co-worker change out her water since she was in a 1g.


hello!

Could you post a pic of your office aquarium?


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