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It turns out that the little-bred lovers of wildlife are at a dead end even on the threshold of the inevitable summer "weekends" held at the dacha. And the main danger seems to them in the form of a violation of the feeding regime. And if you have a long trip, the fate of your pets is drawn only in gloomy colors.
They begin to search for acquaintances who could fry fish for the summer, give instructions to neighbors or distant relatives from aquariums to visit the apartment daily for the purpose of feeding, acquire sophisticated automatic feeders to save fish from starvation, etc.
In fact, everything is much simpler. Of all the pets left unattended is almost safer than just the aquarium fish.
Here is a small list of mandatory conditions for the inhabitants of your aquarium to safely wait for the return of their master.
Food.
Adult fish and adolescents can not be fed for up to three weeks! Large fish can last longer. I have repeatedly tested this in my aquarium: among healthy fish, such food abstinence does not lead to an increase in mortality. Moreover, when you return home, you probably will not even notice any sign of exhaustion from your pets. Despite the apparent lack of familiar food, they still have a chance to satisfy the hunger slightly, because there are always small protozoa in the aquarium (infusoria, amoebae, rotifers, etc.), which, for want of better fish, eat up.
In food, there are fouling on the ground, stones and glass, both bacterial and algal. And the higher vegetation will be partially plucked by those inhabitants of indoor ponds, food preferences of which assume vegetarianism.
Of course, a long-term hunger strike will not bring your charges joy. But, on the other hand, there is nothing extraordinary in this situation. After all, in the nature of the population of tropical water bodies are forced to put up with various seasonal phenomena, when during the period of forage prosperity comes the time of almost complete fodder. Therefore, fish easily tolerate hunger.
But, I repeat, all this is true only for healthy adult fish. Individuals suffering a disease, heavy transportation or severe quarantine, require a lot of energy to recover. For them, even a relatively short pause in feeding can turn out very sad.
The same, and even more so, concerns fry. Their actively growing organisms need constant energy feeding - a hunger strike will prevent fry from developing into full-fledged fish. This phenomenon is well known in aquariums. In everyday life, it is called "dragging out," and fish that have not received sufficient food in childhood, respectively, "tightened". Such fish do not reach the size set for the species, early acquire the color of adult fish and are most often incapable of breeding.
Therefore, on the eve of a long trip, try not to buy fish and plants (to avoid infection), do not buy fry, young fish, which still grow and grow.
Do not fish for spawning, except when the period of embryonic development is so great that you will have time to return home by the time the fry need to start feeding.
Do not feed fish on the eve of departure "for future use". Still more than they need, they will not eat, the rest will start to decompose and spoil the water. In addition to the rapid accumulation of toxic nitrogen compounds for the inhabitants of the aquarium, you will not achieve this, fish will not only starve, but also be poisoned.
On sale there are forage "long-term use." They are slowly soluble blocks, inside which food particles are included. Use this product with caution, since its cementing base contains a large amount of calcium; Getting into the water, it increases its stiffness. If for your pets this parameter is vitally important, it is again better to leave them hungry than to put fish health at risk due to the content in an unfavorable chemical composition.
Never instruct the feeding of fish to random people who are not familiar with the rules of aquarium care. Harm from this can be more than from starvation. Or your "deputy" will repeatedly forget to go to feed, and when he comes, he will ask for food for all the time missed, the fish will not eat it all, and he will start to rot and spoil the water, or a daily single dose from a compassionate breadwinner (very characteristic of women) Will be so increased that the fish again will not cope with it, and the spoiled food of the fish is not eaten. There are other malicious options.
Maintain optimal water temperature.
This work should be entrusted to a heater with a thermostat, which in most cases is purchased simultaneously with the aquarium. If you need to buy a heater only on the occasion of departure, then use the simple rule to choose its power: 1 liter of capacity - 1 watt of power. For example, for a 35-liter heater you need 35 watts, and for a 100-liter heater you need 100 watts. Do not be mistaken: this rule is valid only for devices with a thermoregulator! They are included in the network "permanently". When necessary, they are disconnected and unnecessarily not switched on again.
If there are no living plants in your aquarium, then these two points can be limited, otherwise it is very important to fulfill the following condition.
Lighting.
For the normal life of living plants, you need to turn on the aquarium lighting for 8 to 10 hours a day. Daylight from the window is not enough. On the window sill (or near the window) the aquarium can not be put. In winter it is cold there, and a summer long light day and direct sunlight will cause overheating and rapid growth of inferior algae - in the aquarium it will be like in a summer puddle. Both factors lead to rapid death of the inhabitants of the aquarium.
To solve the problem, use the automatic light switch-on timer. The design does not matter, if only the device would match the power of your illuminator. It is relatively expensive ($ 10 to $ 30), but you will agree that personal peace is more expensive. If you previously were not familiar with the merits of the timer, then on return from the trip do not disconnect it, and you quickly see the utility of this unit, not only during your absence.
It's a good idea to clean the soil with a siphon before leaving and replace 1/3 of the water with fresh water. If it is a question of a long absence (3 to 4 weeks), it will not hurt to wash the mechanical cleaning sponge once again; The accumulation of dirt in it will reduce the performance of the filtration system as a whole.
Here, in fact, that's all. Have a good trip !


I. Ivanyushin, Mytischi, Aquarium No. 3, 2001.