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How long without feeding?

Started by Guest_Orangespotted_* , Dec 17 2013 07:43 PM

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26 replies to this topic

#21 Guest_jetajockey_*

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Posted 20 December 2013 - 03:38 AM

Hey guys,

The dorm I live in will be temporarily shut down for winter break, spanning from December 21st all the way until January 13th. Annoyingly, we are banned from entering our dorms at this time, considered trespassing if we try. I'm worried about my fishes in the tank there.
Although I could probably get an automatic feeder and light timer (Petsmart gift card was a b-day present) to feed the majority of the fishes and keep the plants alive, the darters are my concern. They have been eating frozen bloodworms, and with one exception they all refuse flake and pellets. I've been struggling to get a custodian or someone to come in and feed them, all I've been able to secure is a single feeding on January 4th. Up to this point, I've fed the darters a cube of bloodworms a day and skipped a feeding once a week. Every once in a while they get live scuds instead. I'm thinking of pouring my whole scud culture into the tank before I leave. What do you guys think? Have any creative ideas of how to get them food in the mean time, or am I underestimating them and they will be okay with that lengthy span of time?

I think they'll be just fine if you have someone coming in on the 4th to feed them. It's not ideal, but it's not the end of the world. Give them plenty of live plants and they'll have something to graze on, even if it's not much. The problem with live food cultures especially larger ones is that they have a potential to crash, and they will take your fish right along with them if unchecked.

One idea, although you probably dont have enough time to make this happen, is an autofeeder with compartments. Except in this autofeeder I would put a small bit of grindal worms into each feeder section, and they'd have to be on a medium that would dump out easily. Could do this with microworms also, since both would be fine sitting in an autofeeder for a while.

Edited by jetajockey, 20 December 2013 - 03:41 AM.

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#22 mattknepley

NANFA Member

Smack-dab between the Savannah and the Saluda.

Posted 20 December 2013 - 08:16 AM

Just to second, or third, or tenth, what has already been put out there; I'd be confident leaving 'em unfed for week, secure leaving them unheated and unfed for a 10-14 days, and bringing 'em home in a $3 styrofoam cooler for longer than that...

Matt Knepley
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."

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#23 Guest_Orangespotted_*

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Posted 20 December 2013 - 11:17 AM

So my finals are over, and I'm in a rush to get everything checked up upon before I leave for home. If I've calculated right, the feeding on the 4th should mean that the fishes go two weeks without bloodworms, and I can hopefully come in and feed them regularly again after that date. Matt, if you feel confident with no feedings that long, I hope I can be too with some extras in there.

How I wish I could simply bring my fishies home! That's why I started this thread in the first place... there'd be no issue if I could just bring them back. My mother would have nothing to do with my persuasions "They'd just be in a bucket in the far corner of the garage!" "It's way less expensive to just bring them home for break." etc. You can't always win. She's not a critter person.

Hmm, your microworm/grindal worm suggestion gave me another idea jetajockey. I could add some freeze dried bloodworms to the feeder. I know they float but the darters bounce all the way up to the top for food already anyways.

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#24 Guest_Erica Lyons_*

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Posted 20 December 2013 - 11:36 AM

I had a bad experience with automatic fish flake dispensers, the king that is on a little gear timer and rotates to dispense food. Have you run this timer while you've been present and watching it to make sure it works like it says it will, and for as long as it says it will? Around 2007 or 2008 or so, I had one. All it did was get clumped up from the humidity and release food for only a day before becoming an icky mess on the inside and no longer releasing food.

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#25 Guest_Doug_Dame_*

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Posted 20 December 2013 - 03:51 PM

How I wish I could simply bring my fishies home! That's why I started this thread in the first place... there'd be no issue if I could just bring them back. My mother would have nothing to do with my persuasions "They'd just be in a bucket in the far corner of the garage!" "It's way less expensive to just bring them home for break." etc. You can't always win. She's not a critter person.

Next time, load 'em up in a cooler, aerate them on the way home, and set up the cooler or a temp tank in the garage. (With heater if necessary). Mom's Domain stops at the garage door, it's Man-Cave inside (in most households, YMMV), and the Other Boss is much less likely to be resistant to the idea of sharing a little space temporarily.

"It is often easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission."
- Grace Hopper, PhD - computer scientist and Rear Admiral, US Navy