If you are worried about leaving your fish behind when you go on vacation, there’s no need to, as long as you plan ahead of time. You should find time to get things in order so you can have a stress-free and relaxing vacation.
Fish Feeding
Fish can survive for several weeks without food. Some species can go for 2-3 weeks or more. This can be quite advantageous on your part since you may have a cleaner tank when you get home. The lack of fish food will mean less waste being produced.
If you are not comfortable leaving your fish without any food, you can invest in an automatic fish feeder. A fish food dispenser is relatively inexpensive, and you can even use this even when you are home. When its filled with a mix of flake or pellet food, there will be enough nourishment for your fish for several weeks. An automatic fish feeder can be adjusted so you can control how much fish food is released. It runs on batteries and can easily be attached to the top of the tank.
If you have a fish sitter whom you can trust to take care of your fish when you are on vacation, you can use plastic pill boxes with compartments that correspond to the day of the week. You can put in the amount of fish food for the day and ask him or her to give the allocated food for your fish on a daily basis. This way, you don’t have to lose sleep about your fish being overfed or the aquarium water becoming dirty.
Do a partial water change
It is best to do a partial water change right before leaving for several good reasons. First, you leave your fish with clean water that will help get rid of water stressors and keep them healthy while you are away. Second, you don’t have to worry about low water level in the tank since it gets the water level topped off. However, you will have to consider the rate of evaporation.
Rinse the aquarium filter
Rinsing out the aquarium filter media or replacing half of it, will help ensure that your filter is working efficiently. However, if you have power filters, clogging won’t be much of a problem since they have an alternative path for water to return to the aquarium in case the filter becomes clogged.
Invest in an aquarium light timer
Having an aquarium light timer will ensure that your aquarium plants will receive sufficient amounts of light for photosynthesis.
Leave your contact details
If you’re lucky enough to have a reliable fish sitter, make sure to give him a phone number where you can be reached while on vacation. It is recommended to write down a list of tasks you’d like him to do. You can invite the sitter a few days before you leave so you can both go over the list. It is best to show the sitter how these tasks are accomplished.
About the Author:
Peter Hartono is the founder and CEO of Just Aquatic - a proud Australian company that provides excellent online aquarium supplies for hobbyists to build their own betta fish tanks, nano tanks, fish ponds, freshwater shrimp tanks and other DIY aquarium tanks.
