Hey all- I'm going to be out of town for 10ish days and I was wondering what size feeder I should get. 1 black moor- about 3-4 inches long. 10 gal tank. I'll be going to the local petsmart and I don't know what they have there but I just wanted suggestions.

You mean the feeding blocks you put in your tank for your fish when you're out of town? Those aren't very good to use with goldfish, because they will sit there and eat the entire thing until its all gone and then starve the rest of the time. Instead a better solution is to get a friend to feed them for you when you're gone, or get an automatic feeder. Automatic feeders can malfuntion and the food will be fed dry to the fish, so getting someone to feed them for you is the best solution. If you're worried about the person overfeeding your fish, put each feedings worth in a little baggie and label it day 1 morning, day 1 evening, day 2, whatever, and hide the rest of the food, so the person won't be tempted by "starving" begging goldfish.

I don't know anybody who is staying in the area- college break. how much do automatic feeders cost? I'm a broke college student... literally broke- fish and all were a birthday present...

I've never used an automatic feeder but I think I saw them at nnnnnn for around 10.00. But, if I'm not mistaken I have read on another thread that automatic feeders can malfunction and dispense too much food in the water. It can cause your water to have too much waste causing bad water condition which will be worse for the fish than going without food.

From what I understand, goldfish and go easily for 8 days without eating. It was suggested to me that you can turn off their light so they will be less active and just not feed them. Maybe put some live plants in the tank for them to nibble on.

If I'm wrong about this hopefully someone will come along and correct me.

Good Luck!

So you're saying I shouldn't get a vacation feeder or an automatic feeder? I have some plants that are edible in the tank- but he never eats them any more. They're rather big too. But it will probably be for a full 10 days... I'd come back early but the day class resumes is my first birthday away from home and I'm an only... I'm also slightly worried about my levels- I've been changing the water twice a week since my tank is getting crazy nitrate levels...I have a 1/2 gal bowl that I could take him home w/ me in... I'm just a little too worried to do that b/c he's getting bigger and the bowl is so tiny... And then there's the drastic water changes- Indianapolis water vs. Lake Michigan water... I'm afraid that when I bring him back there would be problems with that... ARG! why didn't i pick a state school....

Yes. That's the advice I got when I inquired about the same problem when going on vacation. So far I have not had to leave the fish for that long. I was planning a trip and asked for advice and that's what I was told. The fish would be better off to let them go without food. The condition of the water was more important. Are you leaving soon? I don't know about leaving it with the high nitrate levels. How how? Thats a very small bowl so I don't think that's a good idea.

I'm sure someone with more knowledge will see this and post soon either confirming this or with a better idea.

I mean how high?

i changed the water last on wednesday i believe and it was 5 ppm. I'm having the nitrate spike now... ugh...

http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/forum/index.p...161&hl=vacation

Here's some more post about feeeding while on vacation.
Regarding the nitrate, I'm just not confident to say anything about that because I'm still learning about that myself. If you post the nitrate concern under water chemistry I'm sure you will get an answer. I do know that you are supposed to have some nitrate. I have only used the strips so far and they say that below 40 ppm is safe.

I'm going on a holiday for 32 days, i'm planning on getting an automatic feeder. I have friends around but i dont trust them to actually feed them everday it'll be around 45 degrees celcius here at the time and they'll need to be fed everyday at least. But the auto feeders cost like $40 for a good one here... But i dont have much of choice unless i relocate my fish to my parents 100km away which is waaay too much trouble and my parents know nothing about goldfish...

My friend can do weekly water changes, but she couldn't feed them everyday coz you know people work n stuff...

That's good you have a friend who is willing to do a weekly water change for you. That way she can check on the feeder as well. Hope you have a wonderful holiday.