How To Feed Fish While On Vacation: Feeding Fish While On Holiday

Compared to other pets, fish are low-maintenance.

However, it doesn’t mean that you can leave them for days and hope for the best.

Maybe you’re planning to go on a road trip or take an extended vacation to unwind. If that’s the case, you’ll need to take some basic precautions, especially if you’ll be gone for a week or two.

Knowing the basic fish care tips is essential to ensure your pet has everything it needs while you’re away.

This article provides some simple options to ensure your pet stays safe and well-fed even if you’re on vacation.

Feeding Fish While On Vacation

feed fish vacation holiday

Before you leave for vacation, you must ensure that your pet fish will have the following:

  • Adequate food supply
  • A clean aquarium
  • Protection from other pets left behind in the house

Make sure that if you also have a cat in the house while you’re on holiday, that it can’t get access to your fish.

Aquarium lids are reasonably cheap to pick up and solve that problem and prevent fish from jumping out as well.

How To Feed Fish While You’re Away

You may have heard things like a goldfish can live for two weeks without food.

Please don’t leave it to chance or rely on claims without basis.

When it comes to finding a way to feed your pet fish when you’re not around, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

If your goldfish are in an outside pond, this won’t be much of a problem.

They’ll be able to eat insects and other plant matter, though even so it would be best to have a neighbor check in on them if you’re away for a while.

However, the focus here is on what to do with your indoor fish tanks, whether is a 55-gallon or 3-gallon tank.

1. Invest In An Automatic Fish Feeder

how to feed your fish when you go on vacation
Automatic fish feeders (here on Amazon) come in either battery-operated or electric plug-in models.

These feeders usually include timers that you can set to dispense the right amount of food for your pet fish.

You may also opt to adjust the opening in the dispenser to measure the amount of food at each feeding.

Just ensure that the feeder holds enough food for your fish before you go away and do a trial run of the product before you leave your pet fish.

Testing the feeder helps you see if it’s the right size for your pet fish. It also allows you to check if there’s something wrong with the unit. This way, you may avoid any emergencies while you’re away.

2. Have Someone Look After Your Fish

best way to feed fish while on vacation
If you’re planning to go away for more than 48 hours, it’s better to ask someone to check on your fish once every couple of days.

Just ensure that your friend, neighbor, or relative is familiar with fish so they’ll know how to take care of your pet properly.

That someone may have the best intentions. But if they’re inexperienced, they may wreak havoc on your tank or overfeed your fish if left to their own devices.

Before you leave your pet fish with your friend or a family member, it would be best if you portioned the amount of food in resealable plastic bags.

This way, they may just come into your house and dump that day’s supply into the aquarium.

If you have a bigger budget, you may also hire a pet sitter. Pet sitting services usually don’t cost much. But it’s best to search for various options and compare rates to get value for money.

Once you find the right pet sitter, be sure to give them your contact number and the number of your local pet shop. This way, they can call you in case of an emergency.

How To Prepare A Fish Tank Before You Leave

Your pet fish needs to have a clean environment to stay healthy, so ensure that its aquarium is as clean as possible before you go away.

These are the basic fish care things you need today before leaving home.

Also, it’s essential to check the physical condition of your fish before you leave and get on top of any concerns you might have.

Check the Tank’s Lid

Make sure the tank’s lid is securely fastened.

Check if there are leaks, holes, or other escape points where your fish can easily slip away.

Change the Water Before You Leave

Change the water in the aquarium a day or two before you leave.

Observe how your fish responds and then promptly change the water once you get back.

Avoid Introducing New Objects

Refrain from adding new filtering devices, toys, or fish accessories to your tank days before your trip.

Doing so may reduce the risk of accident or injury triggered by faulty equipment.

Invest in Timers for Aquarium Lights

Manage light in and around the fish tank to avoid cloudiness.

It is reported that algae have optimal growth when exposed to high light intensities.

To prevent such things from happening, you may get timers for the aquarium lights so you won’t be leaving hot tank lights on while you’re away.

Security Cameras

Installing security cameras may also be a beneficial thing to do.

This way, you can check on your fish often, especially if you will be gone for more than a few days.

You can also use it to see if the pet sitter you hire is doing their job.

How To Feed Fish On Vacation

So that’s how to feed fish while on vacation.

There are times when you want to take a break from work and escape from the stresses that life gives you. That’s fine. You deserve it.

You shouldn’t be worried about your pet fish either. As long as you take the necessary precautions, your aquarium may survive just fine in your absence.

Lastly, do you have a pH problem?

Check out these natural ways to lower the pH in your aquarium!

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