How to keep fish alive while on vacation?

[YahooHelp20]

I am going out of town for the Holidays for about 3 weeks. I have 10 neon fish, I am wondering the best approach to keep them alive. I have tried the weekend feeders and those worked alright. I don't have the option of having someone come over to feed them as I am new to the area. Any thoughts on the electronic fish feeders?

[Siru S]

get one automatic feeder box

[donna]

3 weeks is a long time for fish.. I think you can buy electric feeders at the pet store, ive never used any personally. if you get one,you might want to try it out ahead of time.. and dont put too much food in. remember its better to underfeed them than overfeed them. you dont want to have an ammonia spike while your gone. Weekly feeders can muck up the water pretty well too. and there only ment to last a week. putting 2 in at a time is not a good idea either. this will just cause an ammonia spike. How big is your tank? really the best thing is to have someone come feed them every other day. but if thats not an option, maybe you could possibly take your tank to someone else's house? but other than that.. best of luck.

[Smart alec]

2 wk food blk?

[Mokey41]

They're great if they work but if they don't either the fish starve or the thing keeps going and dumps all the food into the tank. You can get feeders that are supposed to last a week. It might last longer with tetras because they probably won't pick at it as much as larger fish. I'd put one or two in and hope for the best.

[Brian C!!]

automatic feeders
uhh
they also have tablets with vitamins that can last a few week or so
and the easiest way = get your friends to help
:]

[john e]

the block feeders wont work for that long (besides you not having anyone to pop them in each week) as they disolve they are adding minerals into your water by the second or third week the blocks will be disolving alot slower as the water will be too full of minerals for more block to disolve.
the best way is to get an automatic feeder and use it for a week before you go,some adjustments to the amount may be neccessary but the advantage is your offering your fish the food they are use to.
while your at it get a timer (less than $10 at the hardware store) for the lights or you'll have alot of algae.
I use this combination all the time as my hours change all the time but i want my fish on a regular schedule, it works great!

[Dancer92]

ask family to feed or friend.

[April L]

Well... fish can last a long while without being fed, but 3 weeks is quite awhile for small fish with fast metabolisms. You could possibly ask around at veterinary offices if someone wants to make an extra couple dollars to go into your house once a week & put in a vacation feeder.

I'm very skeptical about vacation feeders. I'm not entire sure what they're made out of... and I'm afraid having food in the tanks that long can make the ammonia level in the tank skyrocket. Which would really stink if you were gone & unable to adjust it.

There are also people that are "professional" pet sitters that might be willing to stop by.

My biggest concern with the electronic feeders is that they would possibly dump too much food into the tank.

Maybe you could do a mixture of live plants (which they can nibble off of) and food in an electronic dispenser... and possibly have someone check on them once while you're gone... that would be better than not having someone check at all.

Good luck!