# "Vacation" feeding blocks---do they work?



## never quit

I'll be out of town for a week, and with nobody to feed the fish, I'm wondering if those feeding blocks, that look like plaster of paris, really work. I'll put the ligh on a timer, but really concerned about feeding. Has anybody had any experience, good or bad with these blocks? 
Is there something better I can use?

Thanks
Never Quit


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## herbwin

I've always been skeptical about the food value of the blocks, but most fish will pick at them. I would say they are better than nothing. One option is "vacation food" you feed prior to vacation, usually high protein/fat food. I feel you can get similar results just feeding fish very well for a week before you leave. Don't overfeed right before you leave, or there may be pollution problems in your absence. If you have plant eaters, some live edible plants like anacharis can give them something to snack on.

What kind of fish do you have? Most healthy freshwater fish can go a few days to a week without food without serious results, larger predatory fish can go much longer. Young/small fish, very active fish, fragile species and perhaps bettas should be fed at least every other day, if not daily.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## AaronCombs

I've never really liked them, but I have used them before without issues. 

They have automatic feeders for tanks as well that drop flakes in the tank, you can always look into it.


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## teddyzaper

id go with auto feeders. i have 2 for my tanks and they havent failed me yet! i have used them over a weeks time and never missed a feeding.


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## Mikaila31

I would use nothing. Vacation feeders will add a lot of hardness to your water since they are mostly plaster of paris. Auto feeders usually over feed or the moisture jams them up and/or makes the food go bad. 

For healthy fish a week w/o food should be no problem, as long as you are not keeping fish together that are on the verge of eating each other you should be fine. When we are gone someone usually stops by twice during the week to feed all our animals. I leave fish food in those weekly pill containers that way their is no overfeeding. 

The main thing is that it is better to have the fish go hungry for a week than to have them be fed by someone unfamiliar to fish. You can't fix a water quality issue when you are hours away and the last thing you want is to come back to dead fish. If you have someone feed them premeasure out the food, then hide the rest. Feed lightly when you are gone as well.


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## karjean

Do not use the blocks, they are always releasing once in the water and could be detrimental for the fishes. As mentioned on the threads the fishes should be fine when you come back.


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## LisaC144

I use the weekly pill containers too. But swince you have no one (no one? Not even a neighbo?r) to feed, I'd do a good feeding before you leave and a feeding as soon as you return. Your fish should be fine.


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## aunt kymmie

LisaC144 said:


> I use the weekly pill containers too. But swince you have no one (no one? Not even a neighbo?r) to feed, I'd do a good feeding before you leave and a feeding as soon as you return. Your fish should be fine.


+1 IMHO all those blocks to is gunk up your water. As everyone has stated healthy fish will be just fine going for a week without food. What kind of fish do you have??

PS. Welcome to the forum!!


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## eileen

I use the new gel Tetra/weekend feeders. The small 5 day one. I have had not problem with these ones as it does not change the water chemistry like the plaster ones. If you are gone for 3 days I would not worry about feeding the fish but 5 or more days I always use these tetra/weekend feeders.


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## never quit

Hey thanks for the input! Based on what everybody said, I think the best bet seems to be to feed them well for the next week. The one thing I think I have going for me is I have all live plants in my 10 gallon. As far as the fish, they're just community fish, nothing exotic. 
I'm kind of new to this and thanks a lot for your feed back, I certainly appreciate it......If you ask a person at the pet store what to do, they'll sell you what they want, and not really what may be the best...
And, since I'm new to this, I'll be back with a bunch of questions that I can't find the answer to. My biggest problem has been keeping the ph constant. Finally got ahold of a buffer and that seems to work.....
Here's one question....when I test the ph, using an API kit, maybe it's me, but the longer I compare the color of the sample to the color card, the more I'm not sure....Does anyone else have this problem or am I just trying to "split hairs"...Trying to get this thing EXACT....I 've read many times the test strips are not very accurate, so that's why I got the kit.

Thanks again for all your help
Never Quit


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## iamntbatman

eileen said:


> I use the new gel Tetra/weekend feeders. The small 5 day one. I have had not problem with these ones as it does not change the water chemistry like the plaster ones. If you are gone for 3 days I would not worry about feeding the fish but 5 or more days I always use these tetra/weekend feeders.


I've used these before successfully. Not all fish will really dig into them but some do. Basically, they're just big discs of inert gel (made from seaweed I believe) and full of daphnia. They don't foul your water like the plaster feeders do. They might be worth a shot. Even if your fish don't eat them, you can break them up and feed them to your fish when you get back.


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## karjean

I would not try to change the PH, what is the Ph of the aquarium and also the from the water source to fill the tank. You will stress the fish more if you try to change it.


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## never quit

Okay, it looks like I'll try to get those gel blocks. I've been around to the couple of pet shops in town and haven't noticed them, but then I wasn't looking for them either! As far as the ph, when I did a 20% change last Saturday and added some buffer. The ph then was ~ 7.0 and just now (Wednesday night) it looks like it's ~ 6.8. Does that seem to be reasonable steady ph? 

Thanks
Never Quit


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## karjean

What do yoou mean by a constant PH? Your water source should have a constant PH. What is it's reading? You do stress the fishes more when you do add buffers in the aquarium. Basically, unless you exactly know what you are doing, you should only be adding some water conditionner when you do a water change. Keep any chemical on a last possible resource.


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## iamntbatman

It's natural for the pH to drop a bit like that (mostly because of the increased CO2 concentration). What's the pH of your water normally? Why are you fussing with it?


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## never quit

Well, again, I'm relatively new to this, and it's my understanding that you want to keep the ph from fluctuating, thus the buffer. I just took a ph of the incomnig city water and it's at least 7.6, that's the max on the color chart and it looks a little more blue than the max. 
So let me ask this; if I shouldn't be using a buffer wouldn't the ph gradually drop, and make it unhealthy on the fish? Is that a symptom of something wrong with the tank? Is there an alternative to the buffer that I can use?
Thanks a lot! I REALLY appreciate your help! Don't worry about hurting my feelings, you're making me a better fish keeper!

Thanks
Never Quit


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## iamntbatman

If your water has any amount of KH (carbonate hardness) then it has some buffering capacity on its own (the higher the KH, the more buffering capacity the water has). If your pH is naturally above 7.6 it's probably already quite hard. I would get the pH and hardness of your tap water tested. The LFS should be able to do this for you. Just make sure they give you exact numbers and be sure they don't use paper test strips.


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## never quit

Okay, I can do that.....I'll let you know the results, then I'd like your recommendations.


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## never quit

Okay, took a sample of water to the fish store. Unfortunately, he only had the test strips....He said the KH was okay, and the ph was 6.4....When I ran the test using the wet method, I got a KH of 120 and a ph of 6.8. 
Tomorrow I'll do a 20% water change.......Do you recommend I use more buffer?

Thanks
Never Quit


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## Mikaila31

No don't use any more buffer. I have a pH of 7.6 out of tap and never have any issues with it. It is important to have a stable pH, buffers get used up and with your hard water you are fighting a loosing battle. This results in the pH doing a rollercoaster effect between 6.8 and 7.4pH. This stresses fish, they are not picky on their pH, but they do need the pH to be stable.


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