Calcuim Blocks

What exactly do you mean by calcium blocks, the things that add calcium to the water for shrimps and snails or the ones that contain fish food for use when on holiday?

If it's the first, you only need them if you have very soft acidic water as this can cause snail shells to erode. My snails don't have a problem with GH 6, and that is high enough for shrimps too. Cuttle bone as sold for budgies etc can be used for adding calcium if snails need it.

The holiday blocks are not a good idea. They can dump a load of fish food into the tank at once causing ammonia/nitrite problems. And there are tales of people coming home from holiday to find everything covered with a layer of white goo, and sick fish.

I'd give those a miss. Yuk!

My fish live quite happily for two weeks without any food while I'm on holiday. That's a far better idea than a friend who may overfeed them. Having no food keeps the waste down too.

I've not used any of those blocks and Natalia who helped my with the shrimp debacle reckoned GH 6 was fine.


On the subject of someone feeding while on hols, I use a 7 day pill holder and put a day's worth of food in each section. My son has to almost pass our front door to get to work, so when he remembers, he calls in and just drops a section into the tank.
The real danger is the friend who thinks you've been a bit mean with the amount of food and adds more (son knows not to do that!) - in this case hide the food tubs so they can't.