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09/12/2017, 09:18 PM | #1 |
Grizzled & Cynical
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Stamford, CT
Posts: 17,319
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Your fish will not starve ....
..... If you go on vacation and they do not get fed until you get back. Too many horror stories. Unless I'm going to be gone for more than 10 days NOBODY FEEDS MY FISH, ever ..... Frankly the ATO lasting is a bigger problem. Oh, and the nicer and more well meaning the tank sitter, the greater the chance of a problem. Keep your fish well fed and at a heathy weight, and they'll be just fine. Never lost a fish to vacation starvation in 30 years off reefkeeping.
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Simon Got back into the hobby ..... planned to keep it simple ..... yeah, right ..... clearly I need a new plan! Pet peeve: anemones host clowns; clowns do not host anemones! Current Tank Info: 450 Reef; 120 refugium; 60 Frag Tank, 30 Introduction tank; multiple QTs |
09/13/2017, 05:40 AM | #2 |
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^^^this x 1000^^^
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I'll try to be nice if you try to be smarter! I can't help that I grow older, but you can't make me grow up! Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef with 40b sump, RO 150 skimmer, AI Sol Blue x 2, and a 60g Frag Tank with 100g rubbermaid sump. 2 x Kessil A360w lights, BM curve 5 skimmer |
09/13/2017, 05:44 AM | #3 |
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Location: Upstate NY
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Recently went on vaca for a week.
Never fed the fish the entire time. Came home after a week to everything being just fine. Fish survived on micro fauna, and are actually fatter then when I left them.
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80G SCA Build: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2560256 Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht: "He's just taking his lunch to work" |
09/13/2017, 06:36 AM | #4 |
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Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Richmond VA
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I know this sounds crazy but I didn't feed fish for almost a whole month in search of 40+ nitrates. Didn't have a single loss and my clowns actually spawned in that time.
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09/13/2017, 08:26 AM | #5 | |
Grizzled & Cynical
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Stamford, CT
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Quote:
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Simon Got back into the hobby ..... planned to keep it simple ..... yeah, right ..... clearly I need a new plan! Pet peeve: anemones host clowns; clowns do not host anemones! Current Tank Info: 450 Reef; 120 refugium; 60 Frag Tank, 30 Introduction tank; multiple QTs |
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09/13/2017, 08:32 AM | #6 |
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Normally, I feed the fish twice a day. When I go on vacation, I prepare plastic cups with pre-portioned food - 1 cup for each day, for the tank keeper to use. I know the fish will be fine without food, but I hate to purposefully starve them.
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325G DT. 100G sump. In-sump refugium. SRO-5000SSS. 2 Gyres 150. 2 Water Blaster HY-5000. 2 Razor 320W. Apex Gold. MR2 GFO. 2 800W Heaters. Tunze Osmolater. 2 20g-long QT tanks. Geo 624 CA. 80W UV |
09/13/2017, 10:45 AM | #7 |
Best eel owner in the US
Join Date: May 2017
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Also that may be fine in some peaceful community tanks, but when you have 2 large dwarf puffers a snowflake eel and a lionfish in your tank (plus a tang and a Flame angel) your fish will eat each other.
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Current Tank Info: My house is a fish tank Current Tank Info: 125 gal reef tank 50gal Fo 50 gal Mixed reef |
09/13/2017, 11:31 AM | #8 |
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Counter-point: I have lost fish due to not feeding during extended absences. It's a terrible feeling.
I now have an auto-feeder set to feed small amounts of NLS pellets when I am out of town. My tanksitter is told not to touch the food or auto-feeder, and just to visually check that the auto-feeder is displaying the correct time and not flashing a battery warning. Never lost a fish while on vacation after adopting this new procedure.
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72g: Percula pair, Foxface, Kole tang, Midas Blenny, Blue/green chromis, Yellow & green clown goby pairs Office Nano Tank System (29 Gallon + 20 Gallon): Saltwater mollies + fry |
09/13/2017, 01:00 PM | #9 |
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09/13/2017, 01:16 PM | #10 |
Grizzled & Cynical
Join Date: Apr 2006
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Cracked me up too ......
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Simon Got back into the hobby ..... planned to keep it simple ..... yeah, right ..... clearly I need a new plan! Pet peeve: anemones host clowns; clowns do not host anemones! Current Tank Info: 450 Reef; 120 refugium; 60 Frag Tank, 30 Introduction tank; multiple QTs |
09/13/2017, 01:17 PM | #11 | |
Grizzled & Cynical
Join Date: Apr 2006
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Quote:
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Simon Got back into the hobby ..... planned to keep it simple ..... yeah, right ..... clearly I need a new plan! Pet peeve: anemones host clowns; clowns do not host anemones! Current Tank Info: 450 Reef; 120 refugium; 60 Frag Tank, 30 Introduction tank; multiple QTs |
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09/13/2017, 02:55 PM | #12 | |
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Quote:
Last edited by Tripod1404; 09/13/2017 at 03:07 PM. |
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09/13/2017, 04:31 PM | #13 |
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I'm frequently out of town for 2-4 week periods (travel for work). I suspect it's not starvation directly that has killed fish in the past, but aggression due to food scarcity/fighting over territory. That can end in either injury/death directly or lead fish to hide/be kept away from areas of the tank with microfauna, algae, etc.
There's not a one size fits all solution here. Not all the creatures we keep are equal in their needs. Someone above noted that certain predators might not fare so well, and some fish do need to eat more frequently (e.g., anthias, and I'm increasingly convinced chromis, do better when fed small amounts multiple times a day). I keep octopuses as well in a species-only set-up; they really need to be fed at least every third day, which means frozen food at a minimum (and some only take live). Whether you can leave your tank unfed for a week or two (or longer) depends a lot on what's in it, their physiological needs, and the individual temperaments of your particular critters. As well as your personal comfort level with the level of risk, and considerations of humane treatment. I personally am not comfortable with leaving species that eat continuously throughout the day in the wild unfed for an entire month. Yeah, humans *can* survive weeks without food, but that doesn't make it humane to deprive humans of food for weeks at a time. For me, the auto-feeder is an easy solution for my main tank that greatly reduces potential harm at very little cost; I make a big effort to get my fish eating pellets or flakes, and feed small doses of NLS pellets regularly (thrown in with their normal frozen fare), so that when I go out of town it's not an issue. The auto-feeder is set to distribute very small amounts of food daily while I'm gone; in years of using them, the only issues I've had are them NOT dispensing food. I've never had an incident of over-dispensing (which would be my one main concern). The octopuses, of course, require a whole different set of care; luckily, I have a team of friends and co-workers who have graciously allowed me to teach them how to feed frozen on a feeding stick, and who are conscientious about keeping those tanks on absolute lock-down so there are no accidental escapes.
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72g: Percula pair, Foxface, Kole tang, Midas Blenny, Blue/green chromis, Yellow & green clown goby pairs Office Nano Tank System (29 Gallon + 20 Gallon): Saltwater mollies + fry |
09/14/2017, 05:25 AM | #14 |
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My fish are spoiled. Last week I ran out of LRS so I had to fill in with mini mysis and spiralina brine. Although they are eating it, they clean it up and look at me with that "Wheres the Beef Look, because this ain't enough! New order is on its way to SA from LRS, hopefully it comes in this week? My fish in my office only get fed Monday thru Friday, getting more on Friday and Monday's.
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09/14/2017, 11:00 AM | #15 |
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Does this hold true for Anthias as well?
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09/14/2017, 11:11 AM | #16 |
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i have a snowflake eel and harlequin tusk in my mixed reef, if i didnt feed for a week, i guarantee some of my smaller wrasses, firefish, etc would be gone. and my tusk would probably kill all my snails and urchins.
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09/14/2017, 01:27 PM | #17 |
Grizzled & Cynical
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It does for me. I have 15 anthias in my tank and no vacation starvees chez moi ... ever.
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Simon Got back into the hobby ..... planned to keep it simple ..... yeah, right ..... clearly I need a new plan! Pet peeve: anemones host clowns; clowns do not host anemones! Current Tank Info: 450 Reef; 120 refugium; 60 Frag Tank, 30 Introduction tank; multiple QTs |
09/14/2017, 04:12 PM | #18 | |
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Quote:
What auto-feeder have you had good luck with? It looks like Eheim has one with good reviews. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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09/14/2017, 06:33 PM | #19 | |
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Quote:
I don't like the idea of being tied to a tank during vacations.
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Advice is like a firehose. Be careful how you drink. |
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09/14/2017, 06:39 PM | #20 | |
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Quote:
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72g: Percula pair, Foxface, Kole tang, Midas Blenny, Blue/green chromis, Yellow & green clown goby pairs Office Nano Tank System (29 Gallon + 20 Gallon): Saltwater mollies + fry |
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09/14/2017, 08:52 PM | #21 | |
Grizzled & Cynical
Join Date: Apr 2006
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Quote:
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Simon Got back into the hobby ..... planned to keep it simple ..... yeah, right ..... clearly I need a new plan! Pet peeve: anemones host clowns; clowns do not host anemones! Current Tank Info: 450 Reef; 120 refugium; 60 Frag Tank, 30 Introduction tank; multiple QTs |
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09/14/2017, 09:06 PM | #22 |
Dogmatic Dinosaur
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Boulder, CO
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My anthias are nearly bulletproof once they get acclimated to the reef. I do have autofeeder and they all eat NLS pellets three times a day, but they do just fine. I keep the autofeeders on when I leave for vacation, but I don't have anybody feed them any more than that.
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09/15/2017, 12:31 PM | #23 | |
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Quote:
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09/15/2017, 12:46 PM | #24 |
Grizzled & Cynical
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It does depend a lot on what species you're talking about though. the bigger species like lyretails, bartletts, bimacs, even squares do adapt. The smaller species, not so much.
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Simon Got back into the hobby ..... planned to keep it simple ..... yeah, right ..... clearly I need a new plan! Pet peeve: anemones host clowns; clowns do not host anemones! Current Tank Info: 450 Reef; 120 refugium; 60 Frag Tank, 30 Introduction tank; multiple QTs |
09/15/2017, 12:47 PM | #25 |
Obligate Feeder Obsessed
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you don't keep the same fish as me. some of mine would most likely starve, or be close to starving after 5 days.
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