Jules Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I can't find anything about how long specific fish go without food and before I buy an automatic fish feeder right now, I was wondering if 2 maybe 3 days is okay for 3 fish and a shrimp to go without food. 2 chromis and a Blenny. I bought a light timer for the lights for them, but will feel bad if that is too long for them to go without food. (sad)I will feel bad anyway but not as much if they will be just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KMiller Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I think that 2 days or more would be fine. I know some people who only feed their tank 1-2x a week... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate213 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Not sure about the blenny, but Im sure the Chromis would do fine if they are healthy. I had one live in a rubbermaid container for 8 days without food, heat or circulation. (Forgot about him during a move.) Re-acclimated and the thing kept on a ticking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 2 or 3 days will be fine Jules. I know what you mean though, I like my fish well fed and happy. we have done that on long weekends for camping trips and they have done fine. I have heard of more problems with automatic feeders dumping to much food which is far more problematic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules Posted April 23, 2010 Author Share Posted April 23, 2010 I think that 2 days or more would be fine. I know some people who only feed their tank 1-2x a week... Yeah I have read that too, thought it might be the type of fish they have. (scratch) Not sure about the blenny' date=' but Im sure the Chromis would do fine if they are healthy. I had one live in a rubbermaid container for 8 days without food, heat or circulation. (Forgot about him during a move.) Re-acclimated and the thing kept on a ticking.[/quote'] 8 days! (laugh) (not funny then I'm sure) poor thing, they are pretty tough fish from what I see in mine. My Blenny is a bicolor Blenny and it seems to peck at the rocks more than it eats food I put in there. Not sure how much it is really eating. There is some chaeto and a little caulerpa in there as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules Posted April 23, 2010 Author Share Posted April 23, 2010 2 or 3 days will be fine Jules. I know what you mean though, I like my fish well fed and happy. we have done that on long weekends for camping trips and they have done fine. I have heard of more problems with automatic feeders dumping to much food which is far more problematic. Yeah, I was worried about that too, coming home to a cloudy tank w/dead fish (sad) Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Ya, Ive gone a week on vacation without feeding and nothing went wrong. I did thatr because I went on a week vacation before that and had someone come by and feed my fish and inform me of what the tank was doing and I didn't hear anything so I was thinking that everything was good, when I got home most of my corals were dead. No apparent reason, just dead. I vowed after that to not trust anyone but me for my tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tat2d Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I have a yellow watchman goby, a small clown and a firefish in the 12 gal, and only feed 2-3 times a week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules Posted April 23, 2010 Author Share Posted April 23, 2010 I can understand not trusting others to take care of a reef tank. I do read, that too often someones tank gets ruined for some reason after it is put in someone else's hands. I started feeding mine every other day but i saw a drop in the activity of the various mini stars and pods (some bristle worms) and I kind of like to see them running around doing stuff. Especially when i feed and all the arms come sticking out of the rocks and sand. Not to mention I felt bad when i go up to the tank and they get all excited... I do need to find some new type of food but will work on that in another thread. I think I can sum this up to letting them go and they will be just fine. I really appreciate the responses. Feel free to keep on telling the stories though, I like to hear them. I don't think anyone can top Nate 213 though! LOL Or can they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 You should ask Alex (Grassi) what his poor Huma trigger lived through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 They can stay without food for weeks, especially if you have a well sized fuge. That is what happens in nature. I leave mines for weeks when me and Jamie travel to Europe. My trigger survived some "acclimation" in my skimmer collection bucket. Then he had a 2 hours trip attached to a piece of live rock, without water. That was a bad as* trigger :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules Posted April 23, 2010 Author Share Posted April 23, 2010 Oh wow! That is one tough fish! Wanted to go out for a while huh? I don't have a fuge but have lots of critters running around and a little macro algae in the DT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I see your tank is only 2 months old. Maybe you shouldn't risk for weeks, but a few days is gonna be ok in my opinion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I vowed after that to not trust anyone but me for my tank. I have trusted people from here with my tank when I went on vacation. Undrtkr_00 has watched my tank several times while I have been away. Never any problems, and I trust him to watch after my tank like it is his own... except that one time when... Just kidding dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I only feed once every two or three days anyway so I wouldn't hesitate to let mine go for 4 or 5 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theJenchild Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I have on the occasion forgotten to feed for nearly 2 weeks. I wouldn't recommend doing that on a regular basis, but they will survive as long as they're healthy coming into it. Besides, periods of fasting or food shortage are normal natural events. Aren't we all about simulating nature? ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I have trusted people from here with my tank when I went on vacation. Undrtkr_00 has watched my tank several times while I have been away. Never any problems, and I trust him to watch after my tank like it is his own... except that one time when... Just kidding dsoz Ya, my experiance with others taking care of my tank while I'm away happened years ago before I was a member of the forum. I do however need to befriend someone in the gresham area that I could trust for upcoming vacations to check on topoff water and such. Is there anyone in the gresham area that has a couple kids that would like to hang out, the GF says we need married friends with kids to hang with. Her kids are 5 and 11. As for feeding, I used to only feed every couple days but I have found that my fish seem healthier and corals seen to grow more when I feed daily, I even sometimes feed twice a day but that only happens about 2 or 3 times a month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undrtkr_00 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Yeah, you should be safe leaving them for a couple of days. There is a difference between getting someone to watch your tank and getting a fellow reefer to watch your tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr S Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Mine go every weekend without being fed. Even my seahorses and pipefish go from Friday nite to Monday morning without getting fed and they are thriving. I think people have more problems when they overfeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 ....I think people have more problems when they overfeed.... I agree. When I was feeding daily I had a hard time keeping nitrates in check. Since I switched to just feeding once every two or three days the entire tank appears healthier (fish and corals alike). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilmca Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Like everyone says the fish should be fine going 3 days without food. But i do believe an automatic feeder can work great as long as you know how to control the amount of food it dispenses. I have one setup on my tank to add flake twice a day and i've never had a problem with it. I have some fish(lyretail anthia) that need to be fed more than once a day so it's really a necessity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules Posted April 27, 2010 Author Share Posted April 27, 2010 Well they all did just fine, I was gone for 2 and a half days. Everyone was still alive and kicking. Thanks everyone I didn't worry about them either If I do get an auto feeder for a longer trip, I will get it a week in advance just to be sure it works right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theJenchild Posted April 28, 2010 Share Posted April 28, 2010 The trouble with auto feeders seems to arise when there is a blip in the power and the feeders re-set themselves....or there is a mechanical malfunction in the feeder. Calculated risks..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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