how long without feeding? Going on holidays

[lzebra]

Hi all,
I'm wondering how long could L catfish go without us feeding them?
I'm going away on holidays for 3 weeks. Obviously a water 80% water change will need to be done and filter cleaned. But I'm wondering if my L134s, L066 and L046 can survive fasting for 3 weeks?
Any thoughts?

Regards

[Shane]

Yes, without problems if they are healthy, the tanks are clean, and you have good filtration in proper working order. I have left fish alone for up to 4 weeks without a single loss.
-Shane

[lzebra]

I'm assuming that in Nature animal would go for weeks without feeding during the dry months?
Anybody else left their Ls for 3-4 weeks plus without feeding?
On another note, after fasting and start feeding again, are the Ls more than likely start to spawn?

[Bas Pels]

fishes living in rivers can stand 3 weeks without feeding easily. However, lakes are in reality much more stable, and fishes from big lakes - such as Lake Malawi, L Tanganyica, do not need to be able to fast for such a long time - and therefore most will not be able to do so

But L numbers don't come from such lakes - and therefore I ewould not hesitate not to feed them for such a long time

The point Shane mentioned re filtration would worry me more. I once lost an entire tank to a malfunctioning pump during a fortnight away from home. But hopefully I have better pumps now

[jp11biod]

interesting thread-- how long do others let their tanks go without feeding? I have 22 tanks going with lots of cories, angels, and tetras and pencils, as well as L numbers. It would be good to how long they could go.

Guilt kicks in for me after day three.

[MChambers]

I've gone two weeks without a feeding (due to an automatic feeder malfunction). All the fish were fine, even fry. The tank had a lot of plants, so it's likely that the fry were feeding happily on infusoria.

[racoll]

The point Shane mentioned re filtration would worry me more. I once lost an entire tank to a malfunctioning pump during a fortnight away from home.

Indeed. I would also be more worried about blocked/malfunctioned filters, powercuts, heatwaves, cold snaps, or duff heaters over such a long period. Food is no problem (assuming fish are healthy and feeding well).

Is there anyone who can check up on them once a week during your holiday? Maybe chuck a couple of algae wafers in too?

[lzebra]

Thats good to hear from people's experiences regarding long periods of not feeding Ls.
I run a cannister filter in each 4ft tank and also 2 sponge filters. So I'm not worried about filtration. Unlikely that both the cannister filter and airpump will fail at the same time. I have Eheim heaters, so not worried about those failing
I think I can get someone to feed the fish once a week

New Qs:
When I come back from holidays, how much/often should I be feeding? Do i resume my normale feeding rotuine from the day I get back Or should I wean them back in slowly? If wean them back slowly can someone make a suggestion?

[racoll]

When I come back from holidays, how much/often should I be feeding? Do i resume my normale feeding rotuine from the day I get back Or should I wean them back in slowly?

It's likely that the bacteria in the filter will have died back a little bit, so feeding sparingly would be a good idea for the first week after you get back.

[nnpnnp]

interesting thread-- how long do others let their tanks go without feeding? I have 22 tanks going with lots of cories, angels, and tetras and pencils, as well as L numbers. It would be good to how long they could go.

Guilt kicks in for me after day three.

22 tanks. OMG !

Anyway this is very interesting topic. Thanks
Nitin

[Shane]

I have not had any issues with feeding, but I tend to feed on the lighter side anyway.

Water changes after your return though have to be small and gradual. If the fish have been unattended for 3-4 weeks keep the first couple of water changes small at around 10-20%. After 2-3 small water changes over the course of a week or so you can go back to your normal routine.

-Shane

[minkweir]

Hi,can you get someone to come in and feed them or use automatic feeders?
Worth doing to avoid any losses.

[jp11biod]

I have used four different automatic feeders and have decided not to use them again.

In a nutshell, they work for a few days but then the humidity of the tank affects the food and it clumps up.

Off to the auction they go. I will wean the fish on and off when I travel

JS

[redfan]

For me 2 weeks is about the maximum .. though L's should be fine longer than this given they can forage waste etc ... I would feed them up a lot a day or two before going then do a good 50% w/c on day of departure if possible (you may need to do smaller changes leading up to the 50%).

Ideally get someone you trust to pop in once a week and feed set out food

[smitty]

People do not realize how hardy well conditioned plecos are. 4 or 5 weeks is nothing for them.

[Suckermouth]

Hey guys, any information on juveniles and fry? I've got like 40 juvenile Hypancistrus from the past couple months, most of which are still <1" in length. I'm curious about their lasting ability.

[lzebra]

shane - your insight is a great help. Thanks
redfan - re water changes, thats awesome advice. Thanks
We all need a holiday, so having some insight into how our Ls will handle a bit of neglect is so important.

I think juvies might not do too well without feeding for long periods. Eg Human adults can go 3-4 weeks without food being dying, babies I think can go a a week and toddlers can go 2- weeks, kids 5-10 2.5 weeks, teenagers 1 day LOL. So common sense til tell us same thing goes for fish. Right?
I rekon juvies 1" size can go for 2 weeks max.

[Shane]

Unless one can find a very experienced aquarist to check in on their fishes and feed them... I would not risk it. I know two things from experience: 1) 30 days without feeding; no problem, 2) One overfeeding from a well meaning fish babysitter; tank wipe out.

Hey guys, any information on juveniles and fry? I've got like 40 juvenile Hypancistrus from the past couple months, most of which are still <1" in length. I'm curious about their lasting ability.

On this front I have hard far less luck. About 7-10 days unattended is the max for fry under 1". There well always be a couple of survivors that make it, surviving on the same fare as the Donner Party, but most will not.

-Shane

[Jools]

In the past couple of years, there's not been a month where I've not been away from my fish for at least a few days and 2-3 weeks a few times a year.

Another thing I'd say is clean the filters and change the water a couple of days before you go. Stop feeding after the water change too. Aside from the fact it removes pressure from all the other things going on when you are preparing to travel, it means anything you do wrong, you've got time to fix.

Unless they're used to it, I wouldn't recommend an 80% wc. Maybe 50% more than you usually do max?

I've gone away leaving filters very clean but still in the bucket. I've left heaters off and all manner of other things. IME, the trick to avoid this is to do all the prep a few days ahead of leaving.

Jools

[lzebra]

Jools - wow, 10038 posts!! thats mega
thanks everyone for your advice. I will start to feed my Ls less over the next few weeks and do all the prep work to the tanks and hopefull all is well. I can get someone to check if the power is still running a few days a week.