Question Hurry

[Neon_Tetra]

IM going on vacation for 1 week and can i leave my 3 adult betta fish at my home without feeding em??? for that week?? if not what should i do???

[rsabatini]

Iwould not recommend that,at most LFS they sell vacation feeders,I've never used them but from my knowledge they dissolve gradually.hope that helps buddy.

[Neon_Tetra]

but people say not 2 use em with betta fish

[rsabatini]

stay tuned for a few hours,one of the members here should be able to spring some info on ya,best of luck.

[Seedy]

Considering how we used to take care of Bettas at the lfs...I would say that if you give them fresh water before you leave, they will be fine without food....I have heard ancedotaly that they can live in water logged oxen footprints in dried out rice patties for the dry season...so I figure a week in the cup w/out food would be OK...

But I'm not a Betta fan , so I'm not really sure...If someone else claims to know more on this one...I'd believe them....

[punkypuffer]

dont use weekend feeders in betta bowls because they will make it extremely cloudy and the betta will be swimming in almost pure calcium carbonate.... its not good. bettas can go 2 weeks without eating, sometimes longer. i would say feed em really good the night before you leave, then change the water in the morning. they will be fine.

[jennigypsy]

i agree w/ punky- don 't go for the 'weekend feeder'....they'll be fine while your gone :)

[zenobium]

I did the weekend feeders once and I dont think the beta ate much, if any of it. It barely dissolved even though it was in a filtered tank (meaning there was a current), and there was alot floating on the top. I do have really hard high ph water here though, so that probably slowed the disolve rate.

However, I did the same thing with my cichlids and the entire thing was completely gone when I got back. My best guess is that the cichlids ripped it apart themselves.

This is just my own experience with them. I have also heard what everyone else is talking about: bettas can live in pretty rough conditions for a long time.

Something I'm not sure of though: how long can cichlids go without food? Anybody know? Any reason not to give cichlids the feeders?

-Zen

[Rudy]

I did the weekend feeders once and I dont think the beta ate much, if any of it. It barely dissolved even though it was in a filtered tank (meaning there was a current), and there was alot floating on the top. I do have really hard high ph water here though, so that probably slowed the disolve rate.

Those feeders are a rip off in my opinion. First of all if you read the nutritional ingredients they have a fraction at most of what you normally feed your fish. More importantly though if you are feeding your betta pellets, or whatever for most of its life and suddenly start feeding them something on the bottom that dissolves over time do you really think your fish are going to eat them?

I think that you care to ask whether you should worry about your fish when you go on vacation makes your fish probably 99% better cared for than most fish owners. Go have fun, your betta will be fine.:ok:

Zen I would say 3-4 weeks most likely. Maybe longer. (although I would not try it over 3) They have a different metabolism then we do. We whine when were hungry. Fish adapt and wait it out.