# how long can they go without eating?



## cshelton78 (Jul 13, 2008)

the reason for this question is, i have a farely new tank with 5 cichlids, all about 3" in size. I normally feed them every morning and every night. I fed them saturday morning at 7 a.m and had to go out of town and got home sunday evening and fed them at 6 p.m. found one died on the bottom and completely eaten up.


----------



## ccwb333 (Dec 12, 2007)

Holding females can go weeks without eating. Missing a feeding or even a few days won't hurt them at all. May want to test your water to make sure everything is fine there.


----------



## cshelton78 (Jul 13, 2008)

thanks for the info. i will definetely get the water tested but my 4 remaining fish seem to be doing fine and have full color and act normal. how often should the water be tested and how often is it recommended to change the water?


----------



## alicem (Jul 26, 2007)

> how often should the water be tested and how often is it recommended to change the water?


Right before I do the weekly 20% partial water change, I test the nitrAte level and the pH.


----------



## dielikemoviestars (Oct 23, 2007)

20%?

I'd do at least 40-50% weekly...

Is this tank cycled? I would bet it's not.


----------



## alicem (Jul 26, 2007)

20% works for me. My nitrAtes are <10. 
Let's see what the nitrates in cshelton78's aquarium are.
 


> Is this tank cycled? I would bet it's not.


Good point. 
It would be better for cshelton78 to test for ammonia and nitrItes, as well to get a handle on where the aquarium is now.
:thumb:


----------



## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

It would help to know how new fairly new is. The tank could still be cycling but it it's also very possible that the fish died as a result of illness from the cycling procees or was ill when purchased.


----------



## mithesaint (Oct 31, 2006)

What's the stocking list? Could be aggression related.


----------



## slimbolen99 (Apr 28, 2006)

When I go on vacation for anytime a week or less -- I don't have anyone feed my fish. There's several reasons -- like the fact that it will help clear out their digestive tract as well as the fact that they will feed on the algae and microorganisms.


----------



## fightingfish (Apr 10, 2008)

dielikemoviestars said:


> 20%?
> 
> I'd do at least 40-50% weekly...
> 
> Is this tank cycled? I would bet it's not.


i think 40% to 50% is to much water to change...........


----------



## riffraffxl (Aug 2, 2007)

fightingfish said:


> dielikemoviestars said:
> 
> 
> > 20%?
> ...


Understandable. I do 60-70% changes and haven't lost a fish yet in the process (that includes fry, which are more sensitive). On the con side, sometimes I see them "twitch" or sit on the bottom when I do it, so I have some reservations as well.

Now I tend to put in more dechlorinator than instructed and I've been scaling back on my buffer recipe. This has eliminated much of the problem.


----------



## haibane (Jun 2, 2008)

With your stock list you probably are going to have fish dieing regularly as that's too small for them


----------



## riffraffxl (Aug 2, 2007)

haibane said:


> With your stock list you probably are going to have fish dieing regularly as that's too small for them


Who, me? That hasn't been my experience so far.

I actually lost a couple fish back when I had a smaller stocking list (~30 fish) to aggression; it's been smooth so far for a few months with a higher stocking list. I am, however, interested in removing some fish later though to reduce the bioload, perhaps when teh acei become huge. I REALLY like the low aggression level right now, but it's a struggle to maintain low nitrates.


----------



## haibane (Jun 2, 2008)

Nope talking about his 45 gallon with two red devils a jack dempsey and a tiger oscar.


----------

