How long can fish live without being fed?

[happi_red]

How long can my fish live for with out being fed? They are goldfish. Will they live for two weeks during easter when they get left at school in my classroom?????

[andy-hughes]

Probably not. Visit your local pet store and buy a 'fish block' which you drop into the tank. It will slow-release enough to feed the fish for two weeks, and beyond. You can just leave it in until it desolves away completely.

[Noweia]

Goldfish can survive for up to 2 weeks without food, as long as the tank is in good condition and they are well fed up to this point.

I tried a holiday food block once, but as I have no filtration system in my tank the water clouded and it didn't look so good!

[andy-hughes]

Hi Noweia, I have just one goldfish,I've had him for about eight years now. I have always left a block in his bowl when we go away, and he is perfectly healthy when we return, and no cloudy water.

I would suggest that any clouding is food which has disolved into the water, and not been eaten by the fish, but they should come to no harm if you clean the tank on your return.

I wouldn't risk leaving fish for two weeks unfed - if one dies within a day or so of departure, its decomposition could poison the rest.

[andyjevs]

Noweia's answer is spot on. Don't forget that fish are cold blooded so try to keep the tank in as cool a spot as possible....this will slow the fishes metabolism down and their need for food should reduce.

Feed them well up to easter and keep the water in good condition with regular water changes. Put some live plants in and they will munch on that in times of need.

Is there no one around that could give the fish a small pinch of flake every few days....a caretaker, a teacher etc ?

[happi_red]

Thanks a lot guys.

I will purchase myself a fishy block to keep my little classroom pets happy during easter.

[maggie01]

I always buy food sticks. They are better than the blocks because they do not cloud the water. They just slowly break down and I have left my fish for 2 weeks while we have been on holiday and they have been fine.

[drgnrdr]

I guess there is no way someone could take the fish home with them?

I don't see it suggested but maybe everyone else knows the tank is huge or something not in the main thread.