Vacation feeding question

[thebigeq]

I am about to go on vacation and was wondering if 8 days is to long to go without feeding my 29 gallon tank. I currently feed every 2-3 days a cube of Mysis or Brine Shrimp and a cube of Daphine. I also put about 10 drops of Zomax and sprinkle of Spectra Vital.

I currently have:
2 Tank Raised Clown fish
1 Orange spotted goby
2 Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp
2 Emerald Crab
1 Rose Anemone (hand feed a small piece of raw shrimp)
1 Orange Sponge
1 Pineapple Coral
1 Purple Ricordia
A small Group of Yellow Zoanthid Polyps
Some Enccrusting Gorgonian
Xenia
Capnella imbricata

Also based on the listing provided please critique my current feeding habit and make suggestions. Let me know if you need any other information.

Thank you in advance.

 

[ChrisRD]

If the fish are otherwise healthy they should be fine, but personally I prefer to have someone drop by and feed them at least once or twice if I'm away for a week.

...and not that you asked, but personally, my normal routine with those types of fish would be daily feedings.

JMO

 

[thebigeq]

Thank you. I was kind of concerned about how often I was feeding the fish, but the people at the LFS said that every other day was sufficient. What would you recommend for a daily feeding. One full cube of the Hikari Mysis daily or is that to much?

 

[Anonymous]

One cube a day seems like a bit much. I'd stick to every other day and dethaw and strain the mysis in a fine mesh net then feed. The 'juice' from those frozen foods can be good for some filter feeding organisms and corals but most of it ends up as waste material that will fuel algae etc.

I'd see if someone could go feed maybe the fourth day in , otherwise just wait till you get back. No feeding is much less hazardous that an inexperienced caretaker feeding too much. Since you don't have any high metabolism fish like anthias I think abstaining from food for a week would be just fine.

If you do want to invest in an auto feeder I reccomend the one made by Eheim for pellet based foods, that is if your fish will eat dry food.

 

[cindre2000]

You hear more horror stories about the 'pet sitter' than you hear about leaving a tank for a week or two. So make sure you trust any one you put in charge, and make sure they fully understand what to do.