How long can fish survive without food?

[Timo]

How long can fish survive without food?

I have 3 yellow tangs, 1 asfur angel, 2 clowns and a couple of wrasses, scooter and 3 shrimps which all are very greedy and eat flake, pellets, meat and just about anything I throw in!

I'm going away at the end of July for just over 2 weeks to the Caribbean (woop woop) and I don't have anyone to feed the fish. The people that normally look after my fish when I'm away can't because they are coming away with me, a bit of a gang going. I have an auto feeder but its normal empty in just under a week so do you think they will be ok for just over a week with no food?

Any help or reassurance would be much appreciated, Timo.

[Tangman]

The Tangs will suffer the most as they are feeding all the time in the reef and if you have plenty of algae to eat they will be fine, but why not have 2 feeders and have one on a delay timer so that it will come on after the first is used up. As long as they get some food they will be ok but to not have any food for a week a tang will soon go downhill. Twiggy

[andylowe04]

I personally wouldn't condone leaving my tank unattended for a fortnight, but then again I have a lot of family local who can pop in and check.

I know I have on occasion left mine over the weekend (felt really guilty about it too) but a week with no food is too long IMO.

Imagine how you'd feel if you were fed generously every day then got nothing for a whole week, it probably wouldn't kill you (no water might, not as much of an issue if your a fish) but I'm damn sure you wouldn't enjoy it.

Plus, how would you feel if you chanced it and came back to a tank full of starved dead fish? Looking at your fish list it would cost you a couple of hundred quid to replace.

Are there no local reefers that if nothing else could top your auto feeder up? Or how about an LFS, I know a couple of mine will do a holiday visit for a price (we do have a sponsor just over the water you could try and sweet talk...)

Alternatively, what about another feeder, this way you could half the amount of food each dispenses thus lasting twice as long?

[Timo]

Good idea using more than one feeder plus a little peace of mind if one fails.Think I have managed to borrow a 14 day disk feeder so I thinking of going with two feeders and/or I might even sell the tangs or wrasses.

[Tangman]

If you feed green algae flakes the Tangs will be ok with then ocean nutrition do the spirilina ones which are good for tangs. Twiggy

[Timo]

Never tried the Spirulina flakes but I have just run out of the formula two ocean nutrition flake which they go mad for. One of the shops round here that sold the ocean nutrition flakes now says he is struggling to get them any more :(

[andylowe04]

I read somewhere about a guy who chucked a head of lettuce in his tank for the tangs when going on holiday, apparently lasted them a week as was some left when he returned and all params tested normal...

Not sure if I would do it myself, but might be another option if there is definitely no way anyone else can look in.