What to do when you go on holiday! Leaving my fish to fend for themselves!!!

[@space_ghost_z941]

Tank in the background is gorgeous 🥰

[@courtneykachur9487]

Matt is a gamer!!!!!

[@toothpicdinosaur3777]

For a week I close the blinds and lock the doors.

[@v-man372]

Bring on the studio 🙌👍🏻

[@natureswayaquaticslv]

Fish shop Quinn, the only unit of measurement that matters

[@sharongould2689]

We have fairly dry weather here, even in winter I get a LOT of water evaporation from my open top tanks (actually I get less evap in summer because our evaporative aircon pumps a lot of water into the house atmosphere and theres less temp difference between the water and air). In a week I can get 1-1.5inches water loss which matters for the pickup on one tank. Last year when I went away I put in feeder blocks so the friend looking after my bird wouldn't have to worry about the tanks, and I cling/ plastic wrapped my two open top tanks after topping them up (ones an aquarium, ones a paludarium) leaving just small sections for air flow. After a week away both tanks were still at good water levels and the paludarium plants were all fine as were the fish. Another note with the feeder blocks- often they are carbonate based to be slow release. This means your pH will go up- more noticeable in small tanks which is what I have. If you want a acidic to neutral tank, not so good- I keep tetra and guppies. So test the water before you leave, and when you get back. If the pH has gone up too much then water change. If still having issues getting it to balance out you can use indian almond leaves (which is good for your fish and shrimp anyway) coz the tannins will help bring the pH back down- obviously don't dump a tonne into a tank that isn't used to it coz you don't want to yoyo the tank conditions on your poor fish! I'm not sure I'll use the feeder blocks this time I go away since one tank pH went right up. My fish were fine, but I still had to do water changes etc to get it back down. Noting that, my tanks with livestock are heavily planted with low to medium stocking levels and shrimp and snails in all of them. They are all well established and dont get lots of water changes because they don't need it (yes I test). My fish also don't get fed every single day (unless I've got lots of baby guppies in that tank, then they get daily feeding to help raise the young ones) so sporadic feeds while I'm away isn't going to be out of the ordinary for them.

[@jumbodoug]

I bought fish food in a bottle, with a dispenser in the lid. One "pump" is enough. I got flakes, bug bites etc and crushed them down, mixing them all together, so i have a mix of food easily dispensed. Also means if i am away, i just need to ask a trusted friend to do one pump twice a day, when they also feed my cat. I have danio, platy, mountain minnow, rainbow shinner and corry, and last night i spotted a couple of babies. Tiny, but actively swimming around. Im a chuffed daddy now 😊

[@sebramski1]

Is it Md who is gonna check on your aquariums? haha have a great holiday, well deserved i would say !!

[@MsRangel001]

yup, the weekly pill containers work really well if you can get a friend/neighbor to come in to feed your tanks. Especially if you have more than one tank. I also feed slightly less than I normally would. I'm sure my betta doesn't like that but at least I know I will come home to healthy fish.

[@stephenlaw1782]

16:52 controlling ph in a tank pls

[@BeeKayCee911]

Thanks Matt👍🐠🌿🌾🐟🦐

[@jonathanpilmore7140]

When I went away for 10 days, I left my dad a 7 - day pill box with food in each day to feed. It meant the fish werent being fed for the first 2 days of my holiday, but my dad knew what to give for the next 7, then the fish fasted for another day before i returned. Works a treat :)

[@jonathanpilmore7140]

Oh just listening to your story time now, thats exactly what you recommend. Thought I came up with an idea that no one else could possibly think of LOL :P

[@neithermanc1]

your thumbnails always bring a smile

[@grezeldafrightenstein1154]

Ive not fed fish for a week while away in the past. I dont recomend it but they all survived

[@BJD12thDoctor]

As for leaving care into others, a while ago I saw a video on Project Piaba where she advised to have food stored in pill boxes on which you indicate the day of the week. It's perfect for dry fish food! In the video she explained how she makes these plans ahead for instances where she suddenly can't be home for an extended period of time due to circumstances of her job.

[@FishShopMatt]

Yep absolutely I use pill dispensers or loads of little pots.

[@candysworld4u]

How to suggestion: add terrestrial plants to your tank. Including tools/diys that help keep them attached.

[@andycarter4581]

Love those festivums!

[@GODwithus73]

I have battery backups (UPS) in all my filters plus automatic feeders for once a day or every 2 days

[@noodlechild666]

Id quite like to see a video covering the selling and keeping of monster fish. In my experience, very few people actually house them in sufficiently sized tanks, but instead concentrate on filtration, so much so they will heavily overstock so the fish are literally bumping into each other. There should be more to a fishes existence than simply sitting in a container of 'clean' water.

[@stefan00123]

Hi matt, What a great video about this topic had some nice tips and tricks from your video. Want to wish u a happy holiday!! And hope to see u in november in Holland Have a great weekend 👋👋 With love from the netherlands🤘

[@maureenk-farmhousecharms903]

Great advise Matt! I also use the pill packs method marked with the dates to feed and then there’s no question how much to give each day! Ps I ordered and received my Fish Matt coffee mug here in New Hampshire USA.. I love it!! Have a great vacation! 😊👍🏻

[@-AndrewR]

👍🏻👍🏻

[@MegGreeneSmith]

Your videos just keep getting better. Have a great holiday!

[@gigi3242]

Have a lovely holiday. Take care, be well

[@Amanda-uc5jq]

I wish the auto feeders were able to be set for every second day but I haven’t found one that does yet. Most won’t last you for 3-4 weeks. Hard when you live out in the sticks in Australia and you can’t get anyone to pop round and refill it for you.

[@alexanderwilliams6377]

Mattt! Show us all your home tanks!!

[@-BoNEz]

Liking the how to videos

[@DaffCookie]

Having someone pop round before hand to go over how the tanks works and show what premade up food pots to feed when, saved my fish. Main filter on River tank died a few hours before had to go get plane, ( thankfully had a little 1 on it too for high oxygen fish) but whilst away we had a power cut and MIL was oooo the fish! Got little 1 chugging along again and it just about survived until I got home and my new filter arrived the next day. 😮 Corys had 11 babies too! 😊

[@joshjamesuk]

Totally unrelated haha but what are you favourite games on the Switch Matt? Enjoy your holiday!

[@JJLewin1]

Good advice Matt

[@Madsolav83]

Do a video of diffrent plants who takes nutriens from water collum and who takes from soil. Would be nice to have for my next re-scape

[@judyallinson1281]

You need to do a update on Martian pond set up from the shop that big pond with the window and a tour of the pond stuff at the shop ❤

[@Talons_N_Tails]

YYEEESSSS

[@glassboxfish]

^THIS

[@Amanda-uc5jq]

I keep asking about Martins pond and neither Matt or MD answer

[@FishShopMatt]

So Martin's pond is getting there and it will have an update very soon!

[@Talons_N_Tails]

@@FishShopMatt thank you so much for the reply!! 😊

[@alanthecat59]

😻

[@stspilkin]

please do a video on oxygen, all my fish were gasping for air this morning. how quick can oxygen be deprived from planted tanks overnight? it was just one night with outflow too low. i have just 1 ram, 7 tetra, amanos, and 5 corydora for a 25 gallon

[@csharpe5787]

Perfect timing Matt, me too. Thanks for the info.

[@FishShopMatt]

You're welcome!!! ❤️

[@alanthecat59]

bring all the fish to my house.... easy...to keep ;)

[@FishShopMatt]

Hahahaha I'll be there next Friday 🤣

[@paulouzman7267]

Just came back from 10 days in Crete. As I normally do a 30% water change every 7-10 days, did a water change the morning before I headed to the airport. Cleaned the pre filter (Oase) the day before that. Set up a Eheim everyday fish feeder to deliver one feed (1 rotation) a day. Lights left on manual timer. Everything fine when I got back. If I go away for a weekend, I just leave them.

[@lloydsmith63]

Great video Matt!

[@dfal6898]

One thing I had an issue with in the past was the water level dropping from evaporation. The level dropped and I never mentioned to the person taking care of them to add water when needed. I use sponge filters with a discharge tube and in tank filters with discharge tubes as well. The water dropped well below the discharge tubes and made a mess. The fish were okay but it made plants and scape were not as lucky.

[@Chinco_NL]

Thanks again, Matt. Beautiful fish in the big tank, looking like a stretched angelfish. Or like a hybrid between angelfish and sparkling gurami. Going to look them up.

[@Chinco_NL]

Is it the Mesonauta egregius?

[@Dekraakjes]

Thanks Matt

[@DashDrones]

Depends on how long you're going. If it's only a week or so, no need to feed them at all, they'll be totally fine! Make sure the lights are on timers too. Haha, commenting while watching, I'm terrible at being organised too 😂

[@FishShopMatt]

Exactly! Glad it's not just me!

[@cynthiahinkle5573]

Great job!

[@wendygillard2133]

Hi Matt, I just came back from holiday to find my really expensive Sulawesi shrimp dead as my friend accidentally turned the temperature off instead of the light. Also my other tanks had a lot of excess food in them & had to have water changes straight away! I had explained & shown the feeding regime but ….! Anyway have a fun break away. Look forward to another video soon.

[@Shakodancer16]

I only plan anything if I know I’ll be gone more than a week. If it’s a week I let her be. What are you opinion on those “slow release vacation foods”

[@alexb_aquatics]

I just did a video about holiday cover as well 😅

[@alesiahowington5507]

Could you do a review on USA products? So many of what you use we can't get in the US

[@FishShopMatt]

Absolutely I have been chatting with a few companies. Any brands you would suggest or would like to see reviews on?

[@user-fa4jcdep1dc2]

Can't wait to see the new studio, also enjoy your holiday.

[@Ftscotland]

I have always fed up my fish the week before I go on holiday and then just leave them, I don't trust non aquarists with feeding, and the lights are on a timer. Holidays can last anything from a weekend to three weeks all through the year and I can't remember ever having a problem in 60+ years :)

[@Nicole-wt5yq]

Excellent video as always. Safe travels!

[@lemonlizard1]

I just finished a 5 day trip. I have a bunch of fish fry so I needed someone to help out. I put everything they need one small drawer, and took a video of how to do it (feeding a bit less than normal). It worked perfectly and I haven't had a single issue

[@ASMRkiddo]

The problem is, many auto feeders tend to gunk up quickly and get sticky and blocked after a few days- happened to me! Have a nice holiday 😎

[@FishShopMatt]

Absolutely agree in my experience it's always about ventilation and not having them to close to the water or bubbles. Also pellets will always do better than flake.

[@paulouzman7267]

I fed fluval bug bites micro granules from my eheim every day fish feeder. Has a built in fan to keep the food dry.

[@kennethkk]

Great stuff Matt.

[@FishShopMatt]

Thanks!

[@GLP_Aquatics]

Nice one… nearly got me and skipped the video along with an explicit verbal slur 🤣 term of endearment though 😊

[@FishShopMatt]

Hahahaha sorry!

[@Only1Sosa.]

I got a lot of catching up to do, been away myself x

[@littlemidwestrebornsdolls]

Thanks Matt. Gina

[@mrnewt72]

Great video, we're leaving for 2 weeks so I'll make sure I educate my neighbor properly. Have a great holiday Matt!

[@FishShopMatt]

Thank you! You too!!!

[@burakcetav]

I was wrecking my brain on this last weekend but cancelled my travel so stayed home. What I want to know is how you clean a internal filter like those superfish filters. Without dirtying your water when you pull them out.

[@FishShopMatt]

It's always going to drop some muck into the aquarium but the majority will be held in the filter. The only thing you can do is fine a plastic pot to hold over the bottom of the filter. Do this whilst the filter is still under the water and then slowly move up to the surface with the pot firmly over the bottom.

[@DannyMcLaneDC]

fantastic! very well done

[@nathanhoveyaquatics]

❓ about Cory eggs on a heater, should I run the heater or turn it off until the eggs hatch? I had it off when she laid the eggs. I normally run a heater then turn it off to simulate a cold water change to spark breeding then turn it back on once done but this time she's put the eggs on it so I don't know what to do.. Thanks 👍

[@AdamThomasMason]

How do you go about putting bloodworm in an automatic feeder? Seems like they're all made for dry food. How long could fish eg rope/ reed fish last without food?

[@sandanista2002]

Going away in April next year for three weeks. Already planning. 🥴😵‍💫

[@sandrabattye8689]

I love the 'Fish Mate F14 Aquarium Fish Feeder', 14 slots that can be set for once or more times a day. The slots can hold mix of food shapes (think micro pellets and full size algae wafers at the same time) and as you fill each dose of food you get to work out what mix to use per meal. It also has an airline point to keep the food dry! As for pre-planning - I'm currently trying to teach my african dwarf frogs and pea puffers that they can eat dried food (they are trying Hikari vibrabites), our holiday is Feb, they might have twigged by then!

[@eatmynoobfood7461]

Lots of people want to ask questions but can't/don't for whatever reason so these videos are brilliant ✌️ You could of hidden that PlayStation controller at the start tho 🤮 Great vid as always ✌️💜

[@FishShopMatt]

Totally agree! I hope to build up a good selection of this type of video to make everything easier for everyone. Even though I have the playstation, with a small child, full time job and now this channel there is no chance of it being turned on hahaha.

[@andreacasoli3371]

@@FishShopMatt lol i've read a small cichlid 😂

[@smartiefox256]

Towards these "week feed sticks"; If you got loaches, especially clown loaches... They will finish these sticks in one sitting, no matter how long it takes 😂

[@simonbuys]

Great video! Any plans for a kribensis fish files after the holiday?

[@FishShopMatt]

Once the fish room is finished then it should mean more fish files more frequently.

[@simonbuys]

@@FishShopMatt exciting future for the channel!

[@TheCottonman]

Great video as always Matt... Always look forward to your content... Cheers 🍻 👏

[@FishShopMatt]

Much appreciated!

[@lpoolck17]

What are your procedures for putting new fish in your established tanks. I'm in two minds about a quarantine tank, as it's 2 changes instead of 1. If the lfs is reputable, the fish have been in the store for a few weeks, and you watch the fish for a good time checking for any issues before purchasing I'd have thought the risk would be minimal and would negate the need for a quarantine tank - what are your thoughts?

[@carolebraswell982]

Great time for the vacation tips! Can't wait to see the studio!

[@FishShopMatt]

Me too!!!

[@tractordoctortv]

When I am going to be away and I'm having friends feed my fish I like to use pillboxes for each tank I feel each Day slot with the amount I normally feed. That way my friends know exactly how much to feed and there's no overfeeding.

[@FishShopMatt]

Yeah that's one of my favourite ways if I have people coming in!

[@melindadussault7622]

Plastic weekly pill box .put only the right amount in each one.

[@naegwut]

Good stuff

[@cathyhendrix7552]

I would leave the algae for the fish to nibble on while I was gone. 🤷

[@sombrerofish47B2]

To be honest I have a 30g packed with plants,barely to be honest I have a 30g packed with plants, barely ever do water changes, not even before holiday and it’s always fine! (I do test my water though)

[@rickbooher8224]

Maybe install a sponge filter dosed with a bacteria starter about a week before connected to an internal emergency battery backup air pump (some come with two air ports giving the ability to supply air to two tanks) so if power goes out the battery runs on air and when the power comes back on the sponge filter pump goes back to electric power recharging the battery. As some filters lose their prime and stop working but with a sponge filter with electric/battery backup air pump the circulation of the water goes on. That my biggest fear if power goes out while I am gone. That is why I always liked underground filters in conjunctionwith a HOB filter. And the are small battery pack external power backups like for a computer is always a option.

[@FishShopMatt]

That's a really good idea!!!

[@mikeward9039]

Hey Matt so what about touching on the subject of unwanted fry? My local Maidenhead sold me 3 “ female platy “ turns out 1 of them was just in drag that day and wasn’t actually a female 😂 do Maidenhead accept these fish or shall I look for someone online tbag may want them? Cheers mate love the content

[@kristoferandersson8305]

Thanks.

[@nakikiish]

Will you be doing more fish files as well?

[@ispyviidz8069]

Hi Matt, no question just thought i'd say cheers for the content. I only started watching for research on aquatic plants/tanks for terrariums but you're slowly making me want to raise the water level 😅 Me, my wife and son love watching. Looking forward to the garage aquaroom!

[@FishShopMatt]

Thank you, I'm super excited for it all too! ❤️❤️❤️

[@forestntt72]

Another great video Matt. All good advice, but setting the auto feeder up well in advance and checking it is doing everything properly is a must, if only for confidence and assurance whilst you are away.

[@FishShopMatt]

Very true!

[@jhonnysalazar8706]

Hellow Hellow

[@Fixup1000]

I once had a tera & angels tank. went away for 2 days came back to an angel tank

[@CarolinePrior-w6h]

Great video! Really enjoying the content - would love a video on how to properly quarantine new fish! Keep up the good work 🤩

[@callumjohnson9433]

What's the species in the tank with a stripe and similar to a gourami?

[@FishShopMatt]

They're festive cichlids.

[@edwardwiddup]

Loving your content Matt. More informative than 90% of content producers but keeping it entertaining as well. I do have a question regarding plants specifically Anubias and anubias melt. I've recently lost three plants to it. How do you over come this? Cheers Eddy

[@elune43749]

iirc anubias melting is usually anubias rot, a disease that can take hold in plants that are grown emersed at the farm and is very hard to detect until you submerge the plant and it melts away. The only thing you can really do is let them know and try to get a refund.

[@goldengraeme1918]

Only been following you and MD for a week or so, love the vids. Saw a vid of you without the beard, look tons better. Good job its not a male grooming channel lol Keep them coming, you passion for the hobby is infectious

[@terifrazier3768]

Please do you have any advice / suggestions of great tanks the clear ones you have

[@bestgameraround6262]

Where is your fish shop

[@eymband]

Hey Matt thanks for a great video. Do you have Siamese Algae Eaters in your open top tank? Just bought some today for my own and got a bit worried when I read online that they are jumpers 🙈

[@FishShopMatt]

I have three juveniles in the tetra tank and they haven't jumped yet, they normally aren't too bad until they are older and get a little more boisterous.

[@eymband]

Thanks for the reply! 😁

[@ianhammett6351]

Hi Matt if you normally fertilise your plants on a daily basis would you fertilise a weeks worth before you go away or not bother until you return, thanks in advance 👍🏻

[@FishShopMatt]

No I would dose normally up to the day then not worry for the week. You can get auto dosers though!

[@subbesspookbungle484]

one of the things i appreciate about your videos is that you don't edit out the ADHD moments

[@chrisduell4210]

When I went away for a couple of weeks I bought a daily vitamin container with each day marked so my father in law knew which one to feed

[@NiaVazz]

Question: I have a beta who’s pretty old and spends his time laying at the bottom. He still does continue to eat. Do I let him live out his life or should I euthanize him. If so, how? I’m just not sure if he’s still having a happy fish life or is miserable. I just don’t know. What advice do u have? Thx Matt :)

[@harrykellett780]

Take them with you?

[@furiousfisherman4647]

I went away and begged my mother to not feed my tank... She did feed them anyway came back to a huge mess