Vacation feeders for goldfish provide a safe and simple way to feed your pet while you’re away, according to Dr. Sanders. Just be sure to store extra food if someone else will be responsible for looking after your tank, says Sanders.
Regular feedings with sinking flakes or pellets will prevent your fish from overeating and developing swim bladder issues, which is common among fancy goldfish.
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1. Slow-Release Food Blocks
Many pet stores sell slow-release fish food blocks that can provide your goldfish with sustenance on short trips and are very cost effective. These food blocks make an ideal way to ensure they’re fed regularly during their vacation experience!
Feeder blocks come in various durations to keep your goldfish fed; weekend feeder blocks last three days while vacation feeder blocks may last up to two weeks. No matter the duration of your journey, be sure to prepare your tank by thoroughly cleaning it beforehand and replacing about one third of its water.
To use a holiday block, remove its outer foil seal and drop the appropriate number into your aquarium (AWAY FROM FILTER OUTLET). They will slowly dissolve over time, providing nourishment for your fish. Each block contains natural ingredients like Daphnia, Xanthan Gum, Locust Bean Gum, Yeast Extract, Ascorbic Acid, Inositol Niacin A-Tocopherol Acetate Cholecalciferol Pyridoxine Hydrochloride and Biotin; these products were specifically created to meet nutritional requirements of goldfish, freshwater tropical fish.
2. Automatic Feeders
Automatic feeders are an excellent solution if you want your fish to get fed at a consistent time each day, whether or not you are at home. Programmable and run on rechargeable batteries, automatic feeders are great devices to have available when traveling or going away for extended periods.
An auto feeder commonly found on aquariums is the pill container style feeder. Just imagine your grandma using something similar when taking her medications; fill up one tray with food, set your timer, and when feeding time comes around the feeder rotates and drops one meal into your aquarium.
Though this method may be convenient, I do not support feeders that index (rotate) at regular cyclic hours as that could result in over or underfeeding of your pet as well as creating potential safety concerns for him/her. Instead, I advise using an automatic feeder without an indexing mechanism such as this Wopet one to ensure optimal feeding performance for both yourself and your furry friends.
3. A Fish-Loving Friend
Just as with dogs and cats, goldfish owners can hire someone to feed their tanks when they go away. Finding someone trustworthy with experience feeding tanks may help – either teaching them how to operate a feeder block repeatedly before leaving them behind, or setting out feeding portions and having them add them at regular intervals can all work effectively.
Remind yourself that goldfish are hardy creatures capable of withstanding days or weeks without food, if necessary. Set up an experiment whereby you leave for several days at a time without feeding their tank to see how your fish react – herbivores may need to eat daily while carnivores may go several days without needing food at all. Either way, before leaving be sure to make the tank super clean by changing about one third of its water in order to provide fresh and oxygenated waters!
4. Other Options
There are various feeding products designed to serve as vacation feeders for goldfish, but one of the best choices would be a time-release food block. It comes in a pyramid-shaped shell and slowly disolves and releases nutritious food, making setup and use very simple; feeding times can be set from once up to four times per day depending on your aquarium ecosystem and costs are reduced as food waste decreases.
Vacation Fish Food products can be easily found at your local pet or fish store as well as online shopping websites with good reviews. Using them allows you to take your vacation worry-free; goldfish are hardy creatures who can survive without direct care for days or weeks without harm.
