How long can a fish survive without food?

  • I have an important business meeting that's going to take me at least 10 days before I get back to my house. Do you think that my fishes would survive till I get back?

  • I think it really depends on their diet, how often you feed beforehand, and what species specifically they are. I've left my fish after slightly overfeeding them for a week without any issues - however, if you are gone for that long it might be wise to buy those automatic feeders in order to keep them feed until it runs out (normally they can drop enough food for about a week or two).

  • If the fish are fed correctly and have a rich diet, I’d think they could make it about a week. I’d agree with buying an aromatic feeder and setting it to run every other day vs. every day to increase the length it will work.


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  • I think 10 days is way too long to go without feeding your fish. Since most people have cameras in their homes now for security, you can also put a door lock with a code on the outside of your place and hire a pet sitter through a reputable company who will come to feed your fish for you. You will watch them on camera and know that everything is safe.

  • It depends on the type of fish. Some can survive weeks to even months with little to no food while others only can go a few days. I think most fish that are commonly kept in tanks can go for at least one week. It is not healthy though. I wouldn't go more than 3 days without feeding.

  • For a problem I didn't give any food to my fishes in one month, when I come back at home all of them lives. Very thins, but living all of them. Before this long stop, they were very well fed.

  • I would say leaving them for around 7 days would be fine if their diet was a good one and they were fed well prior to the last feed but personally, I would always be worried that I took the risk to leave them that long and it would live in my head about losing them. If you are able to, I would definitely get an automatic feeder for your fish and set it to open every few days, so you know they are still getting fed and you do not have that worry hanging over you whilst you are away.

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