Paul B
Well-Known Member
I spent 8 days in the Caribbean and my tank is fine, maybe even better than when I left. I think my fish like my Supermodel tank sitter better than they like me. (I don't blame them)
She doesn't know anything about fish but I make it very easy for her.
Before I go, I make up individual portions of frozen food and put it in small containers. They are actually film containers but I realize most people on here were born last Tuesday and don't know what film is, but it is like Scotch tape and pictures stich to it.
Anyway, I make up enough food for a feeding every other day. Every day would be better but I don't want to push my luck by asking her to come over every day and I don't want my fish to get to used to looking at her.
In the containers I put some Mysis, clam, and live blackworms.
I built this frozen food feeder/defroster thing in about five minutes and use it every time I go away. It's just a small powerhead that pumps water into a small container with holes in it.
The Supermodel just has to take the frozen food from the refrigerator and dump it into the small container where it defrosts and gets distributed all over the tank. She doesn't have to mix it with water and all that or even wait for it to defrost. Just dump it in and leave.
If she were to just put in the entire lump of frozen food, one or two fish would eat it all. My copperband would get most of it. This way, all the fish get to eat.
That device is fine for most of my fish but I also have mandarins, ruby red dragonettes and pipefish and they don't have any sense of humor and won't eat any of that frozen food so I designed an automatic vacation brine shrimp hatchery/feeder that will dispends eggs, hatch them and feed the tank for that time.
There is a flake food feeder over a funnel that is at the top of the water which dispenses some brine shrimp eggs into the funnel. A small amount of water is also pumped into this funnel so that eventually the eggs sink into the hatchery where they hatch in about 36 hours and are attracted to the mesh on top.
My fish lay on the thing all day and suck out shrimp. I have been using these two devices for a few years and never had any problems.
This is the defroster, dispenser thing.
This is the hatchery/ dispenser thing.
And a video of it working.
She doesn't know anything about fish but I make it very easy for her.
Before I go, I make up individual portions of frozen food and put it in small containers. They are actually film containers but I realize most people on here were born last Tuesday and don't know what film is, but it is like Scotch tape and pictures stich to it.
Anyway, I make up enough food for a feeding every other day. Every day would be better but I don't want to push my luck by asking her to come over every day and I don't want my fish to get to used to looking at her.
In the containers I put some Mysis, clam, and live blackworms.
I built this frozen food feeder/defroster thing in about five minutes and use it every time I go away. It's just a small powerhead that pumps water into a small container with holes in it.
The Supermodel just has to take the frozen food from the refrigerator and dump it into the small container where it defrosts and gets distributed all over the tank. She doesn't have to mix it with water and all that or even wait for it to defrost. Just dump it in and leave.
If she were to just put in the entire lump of frozen food, one or two fish would eat it all. My copperband would get most of it. This way, all the fish get to eat.
That device is fine for most of my fish but I also have mandarins, ruby red dragonettes and pipefish and they don't have any sense of humor and won't eat any of that frozen food so I designed an automatic vacation brine shrimp hatchery/feeder that will dispends eggs, hatch them and feed the tank for that time.
There is a flake food feeder over a funnel that is at the top of the water which dispenses some brine shrimp eggs into the funnel. A small amount of water is also pumped into this funnel so that eventually the eggs sink into the hatchery where they hatch in about 36 hours and are attracted to the mesh on top.
My fish lay on the thing all day and suck out shrimp. I have been using these two devices for a few years and never had any problems.
This is the defroster, dispenser thing.
This is the hatchery/ dispenser thing.
And a video of it working.