What To Do With Office Fish During the Holiday

There are few feelings quite as satisfying as leaving the office the day that your holiday vacation begins. As the door to your office shuts behind you, you leave the stress and pressure of work and walk towards the relaxing, fun-filled extended holiday break. Maybe you’re taking a sunny vacation or visiting family members that you haven’t seen in awhile. Or perhaps you’re opting for a staycation with a week spent of binging TV shows you’re behind on and sleeping until 10:00 every day. Either way, before you fully leave the office and begin your holiday break you need to think about the office fish you’re leaving behind.

Office fish tank and aquariums make for the perfect office pet. Fish provide a nice aesthetic touch to any office and require little in the way of maintenance. They’re a joy to observe during a quick five-minute break from your busy workday and are fine being left overnight. But before you leave the office and head for the airport or highway, you’ll need to have a plan of action for feeding your fish while you’re away.

You’ll want to enjoy your vacation with the peace of mind that your fish friends at the office will be healthy upon your return. The first step to preparing your plan of action for leaving your fish behind is to understand how long your fish can go between meals.

How Often Do Fish Need Food?

How often a fish should be fed is probably the most common question fish owners have. The answer can vary based on the type, age and size of fish, but most fish can last a week or two without food. Most tropical fish are able to fast for prolonged periods of time without experiencing health defects. Fish store fat reserves and draw upon them during gaps in eating. The bigger the fish, the more food reserves stored. That being said, fish prefer to eat daily or a few times per week. If you fish have developed a regular eating schedule, disruption in that schedule won’t go unnoticed.

If your fish are being fed four times a week, and you’re expecting to be gone for a week straight over the holiday, you might want to consider waning them slowly. More times than not you’re going to know about your travel plans for the holiday well ahead of time. If so, you’ll have the advantage of staging practice runs with your fish. Slowly decrease the amount you feed them each week and observe any changes.

While you do this, make sure you’re paying extra attention to the way they’re coping. Most likely, you’ll notice that they’re getting along just fine. But, if you notice that one or some of your fish aren’t behaving normally, perhaps they won’t do so well without food during your break. To get a better idea of how each type of fish will do, consult your local pet authority or the shop that sold you your fish.

How to Feed Them When I’m Gone?

Did your trial run not go as swimmingly as you hoped? For some fish, or for very long durations of vacation, you’re going to have to find a way for your fish to get fed while you’re away. The first recommendation would be to inquire whether anyone in your office will be in while you’re away. Just because you’re off for the week, doesn’t mean that a coworker won’t be. If someone is, you’re in luck! Give them your detailed feeding instructions and enjoy your holiday break knowing that your fish will be well fed.

If no one in the office can feed your fish, then it’s time to outsource the feeding operation. You could ask your boss if a friend or family member could use your key to get into the office and feed your fish. Having a fish sitter is a nice option when you’re out of town. Feeding fish is an easy task, and they’ll only have to do it a few times a week. Many friends and family members would be happy to help you out, and you could thank them by gifting them a coffee gift card or something. Holidays are a giving time, after all.

But, say you don’t have anyone in the office who can feed the fish and you can’t get a fish sitter. What do you do now? Well, now you’re going to need to head down to your local pet store and purchase an automatic fish feeder. These neat little contraptions store fish food and can be set to release food into your tank or aquarium in intervals you set. Fish feeders are great to have, as you’ll never need to find a fish sitter or make your fish go without food for a few days when you’re gone. The price of fish feeders varies based on how much food it needs to hold, but are relatively affordable.

Tank & Aquarium Tips From PetPlace

Regardless of how you go about planning to feed your fish during the holiday, you’ll wake to make sure they have a clean environment. Failing to clean a tank or aquarium enough is a common mistake that fish owners make. You’ll want to make sure you clean the tank both before and after you enjoy your vacation. With a little planning and preparation, you can enjoy your holiday vacation without stressing about the wellbeing of your office fish. PetPlace is a tremendous resource for you to learn more about caring for your fish. For example, learn about keeping your fish tank or aquarium healthy and clean.