Well I'm back from vacation, and although I have a cold, I had a very relaxing time. As for my aquariums...they seem to have done alright. One looks no different than the day I left, and the two others only have a lot of floating and overgrown stem plants. Here's what I did before I went away:
First, I cut back the lighting period by half. It was 8 hours regularly, so I cut it back to 4. I also did a big water change right before I left, and made sure to feed the fish plenty. I have DIY CO2, so I couldn't turn it off, but it hadn't been replaced for a week or so before I left, so it wasn't producing a lot of CO2. I made sure the water level in each aquarium was as high as it could be (my aquariums are open topped, so evaporation can be a problem).
The only fish I lost was my little Aphyosemion australe killifish which had been looking rather thin and near his end before I left. He was getting old anyway. My Pogostemon stellatus made it through alright, though is severely stunted so will take a while to recover. When I got home I did an immediate water change, added fertilizers, changed the photo period back to 8 hours, and replaced the CO2 bottles. Now I just have to finish cleaning up the overgrown aquariums and replant the plants that floated to the surface. Overall, I'm very pleased with the way my aquariums weathered the vacation.
Once I get over the jet-lag and this cold, I should be posting a lot more!
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Thank god you're back! I've been checking back everyday for updates! Looking forward to more of your articles.
ReplyDeleteWelcome Home! Sorry about the loss of your fish.
ReplyDeleteI hope you recover soon from the jetlag and cold!
I am so glad you posted this entry. I have been wondering how the fish would handle our next vacation. I did see the "vacation" foods they sell at the pet store.
-Michelle
Thanks for the support, I'm glad to be back!
ReplyDeleteI'd say stay away from the "vacation" foods that are just big chunks of slow dissolving food unless you have no plants or algae in your tank and have a lot of big eaters. They tend to just foul up the water faster while you're gone.