# How long without feeding?



## chrisDman (May 15, 2010)

Was just curious what the longest some people have gone without feeding their fish?? I currently have a tank setup with about 14 1" peacocks and it appears I'll have to be out of town for a few days. I don't really have anyone to come in and feed them during this time. Currently I feed them 2 small meals a day. Will they make it this long??

Chris


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## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

Yes, they will be fine.
It probably concerns you that this is a long time for young ones but I have gone out of town for two or three days multiple times with no issue.
They will just be a little hungry when you get back.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Actually much safer and better to leave them a bit hungry. The worst thing that can happen to a tank is when a new person feeds them. Do a water change before leaving and they will be good for several days.


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## GaFishMan1181 (Dec 17, 2008)

I went out of town for 4 days without feeding my mbuna and they were all fine.


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## Cichlidude (Feb 7, 2010)

In reality, healthy fish can go 10 days without food. They do it in their native habitat.


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## redblufffishguy (Jul 16, 2009)

If your tank is established, you can go a very long time with out feeding.

Case in point: I have an 80 gallon plant tank that has been well established for several years. I mistakenly threw a brichardi in the tank a while back. when I finally decided he shouldnt be in the tank, I tried everything short of tearing down the tank to catch him. Nothing worked, so I decided to starve him out. I did not feed the tank for a full year!! Not only did he do fine eating whatever organisms were in the tank, but he doubled in size.

I am not recommending that extreme, but you could easily go 10-12 days without feeding (unless your fish are fry).

RBFG


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## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

wow


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## bearded lab (Apr 28, 2010)

Full year! That's insane! Neat story though, he probably made it because he was fairly small.


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## redblufffishguy (Jul 16, 2009)

He really wasnt all that small. And was not the only occupant of the tank. (I didn't have a loss the entire time. The point of that post was; your established tank will have enough critters to feed your fish (or at least should have enough).

It was only to outline the fact that 10-12 days without food should be ok.


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## paulscichlids (Mar 4, 2010)

> Was just curious what the longest some people have gone without feeding their fish??


I have a lot of business trips within a year and sometimes my cichlids are left without food for 1-2 weeks. I had couple trips that took close to 3 weeks past year and the fish were not fed during this time. Here is what I do.

1. 60% water change before the trip
2. Drop the temperature to 75-76 degrees (slows their metabolism)
3. Turn off the lights
4. Cover the tank with the black cloth for all that time

I have done this numerous times and it worked without any problems and never lost a fish. One interesting thing what you might notice when you come back is that a lot of your females will be holding eggs.


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## LSBoost (Jan 21, 2010)

I usually take 30 days vacations and I have someone over to feed my fish. When I come back the tank is always full of algae. You can't see through it. I wonder if it's better to starve them for a month? Redbluff make me feel like it can be done.


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## jlippolis (Jun 4, 2010)

I am new to all this, but I feed mine 2-3 times a day, but every so often I give them a day or two off.


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## paulscichlids (Mar 4, 2010)

> I am new to all this, but I feed mine 2-3 times a day, but every so often I give them a day or two off.


Different people have different methods. You are the judge of what works best for you fish and what are you comfortable with. Keep in mind, if you go away lets say vacation, your "mind" should be resting, not thinking about your fish. They will be fine, after all they are fish and it is in their genes to sometimes go longer period of time without food, but like I said, there are different point of views.


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## jeff000 (Jun 1, 2010)

LSBoost said:


> I usually take 30 days vacations and I have someone over to feed my fish. When I come back the tank is always full of algae. You can't see through it. I wonder if it's better to starve them for a month? Redbluff make me feel like it can be done.


I would just leave them be for the month, feed them real good the week before you go and do a good water change before you go. And I always set the lights to be on for a lot shorter time. Don't some of the mouth breeder fish go a month without eating anything? 
I have left my community tank 5 weeks wiithout food and no water being added. When I got back the water level was pretty low. but all fish were alive. 
Only left my Cichlids for 3 weeks, but they were all fine.


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## redblufffishguy (Jul 16, 2009)

Thats a good point, my female Kyoga Flamebacks go 3 weeks at a pop without eating (while holding eggs and fry).


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## LSBoost (Jan 21, 2010)

Thanks jeff and red, that's amazing to go for a month without food. Next time I'll probably try it. Sounds like it's better for them and I won't have to get someone to feed them.


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## kuhliLoachFan (May 30, 2010)

I have only lost fish during time on vacation due to low water quality, never lost a fish in a tank that was underfed. I have only lost fish due to overfeeding by the substitute fish-keeper over-feeding.

I have left cichlids, and community tanks, for 10 to 14 days without food, and had no ill effects. But I don't feel comfortable doing that, so I have adopted a hybrid approach. I feed them sparingly by EHEIM electronic feeders when I am away. The only fish that I can not do this for are my puffers, who will not eat anything that can be kept in an electronic feeder. For them, I made a snail-escape container, that snails escape from. Which they then eat. I will try lowering their temperature and keeping them in the dark next time.

Before I go away I "spoil" all my fish with a diet of mostly frozen foods. Two days before I go away, I feed them brine shrimp, and bloodworms, as their primary meals.

The last time I went away for two weeks, I lost only two of my over 200 fish. that was because a filter intake clogged.

W


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## John27 (Jun 6, 2010)

I have a 10 gallon betta tank, he eats 6 days a week, as is preferable for bettas (they tend to have GI problems, so fasting them once a week allows them to clear their systems), but at one point he had a fungal infection and while I would introduce food every couple of days, he didn't eat for almost two weeks, and this is a fish that is a lot less hardy and is much more sensitive to diet than most Cichlids, that said, I have found the best thing is to ask my substitute to severely UNDER feed the fish, like when I was gone for a week, to come in maybe three times all week and drop in a couple bloodworms and a couple pellets, there are also snails and otocinclus cats in the tank, someone is bound to eat it all.


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