Fishsitters in Calgary?
 

Hey guys, I'm going to be out of town for three week and I'm a bit worried for my fish. I figure I'll go by an ATO and an autofeeder this weekend, but I am thinking it would still be worthwhile to get someone to come in and take a look - particularly since my fish aren't that used to pellets (they are ok with flakes though).

Anyone have any good tips / recommendations for people I should use?

Also, any idea what it should be costing me per visit?

Thanks!
James

I don't know about you but I would try to get a friend or a family member that I trust. Don't want strangers in my house but that's just me.

it should cost you nothing. friends and family are there to use and abuse =) a trustworthy friend who's into the hobby would be my first choice.

And leave a number of a reputable person/LFS incase your non-reefer babysitters has an OMG moment.

haha. sadly, I have no family in town and I wouldn't trust my friends in my house for three weeks either - probably come back to a huge house party :). Plus I am hoping to avoid using up my all my goodwill - i've used friends quite a bit for my weekend trips. Looks like Kijiji has some fish sitters - I guess I'll have to vet them.

Make sure the fish sitter has liability insurance. :)

You could call around to the local reef stores and see if any offer short term maintenance packages. Or maybe 1 of the workers would like a few extra $ on the side to support their coral addiction.

Is there no good maintenance companies in Calgary? That would surprise me!

What area are you in

Sounds like some people should step up and make a canreef community based group to fill this gap. Especially with summer coming to.

Michika, that is a really good idea! I think most of us don't mind paying to get some good knowledgeable care either.

What about a thread, where people can post the areas they might be available in?

I would prefer that approach as one could go with someone they know and trust.

We were going to go away and ended up arranging for a friend who is a human care giver, but unfortunately too many dog surgeries ended our holiday plans. :cry:

That's a really good idea. It feels a lot more comfortable leaving the fishies in the hands of someone who knows the hobby. We'll have to figure out a good platform to use to organize it - these forum threads arent very good for it.

James

Ohh what's this? Another reason to have a regular meeting out somewhere we can all get a bite to eat and chat. Or maybe enjoy the sights of someone's tank.

Yay!! :lol:

If there were enough people interested I would have no problem getting a Certified Criminal Record Check, and would charge a reasonable fee. I do know there are one or two maintenance companies in Calgary but I have never been willing to pay the $100 or so a week charge.

Charles

I'd be thinking the fee should be based on how much a person has to do and how often.

In our case, for example, it would only be top off and feeding every second day.

I'd have no problem paying $100 a week.

Yeah, $100 per week isn't bad. Are they showing up everyday or every second day?

money isn't everything. i'll usually sneak greg's sweet vette out for a spin or play with kien's gundam collection when i'm on the job. :biggrin:

#PerksWithoutPermission

I pay my buddy $50 to come stay at my house, drink my liquor and check certain things on the tank for a week. Everything is automated. If they actually have to do anything I bump it to $100 and leave them names and numbers of people who'd know how to handle anything out of the ordinary.

I used to have a binder with visuals and details about the system. Pretty much anyone who is about 10 or so could have read it and gotten a good understanding of my system. Sadly a flood ruined the thing in November.

:lol:

Hey you said that was your vette lol

whatever happened to 'what happens in vegas stay in vegas' denny? sheesh.

i used to larp in fish creek with all of tony's wizard gear but he must have noticed i'd soiled his stuff a little. haven't been asked to tanksit since.

Haha again that was you I saw in the woods :pp

That wasn't my wizard gear ... :noidea:

.
 

Have you tried Angus @ Reef Wonderland. I heard good things about him.

Thanks. I'll call him.