Automatic Fish Feeder?

[slick_jing]

Just wondering, does anyone have an automatic fish feeder? I can't seem to find reviews on it. Any suggestions?

I'd like to get one for the holidays, just so that I'm not here my fish won't die out on me.

Thanks

[Aiglos]

Dont feed your fish or have somone come in and feed them, auto feeders are terrible for overfeeding or malfunctioning in my opinion.

how long will you be gone for, and what type of fish ? Larger fish can go a long time without eating and be fine.

[Julie]

Or they eat each other.  :wink:
There are dry spells in nature and cichlids can survive without food for a short vacation period.

Julie

[Poustic]

I have the Eheim feeder and love it.  Adjustable, food stays dry, and batteries last for months.  Only problem is that dry food stays on the water surface, and I normally feed my fish "underwater" to ensure everybody gets their meal... so if you have hungry surface eaters for example, there's not much left for the others.

[BigDaddy]

I can attest to the quality of Eheim feeders.

I'm growing out discus in a tank where the feeder distributes Color Bits every 2 hours.

Good distribution, been running weeks without a glitch.

[NjOyRiD]

your discus will become FAT lol

[slick_jing]

I'll be on vacation for 2 weeks in florida! So I'm assuming they need feeding.
So far, I have neons, gouramis, danios, and a few shrimp.
So i'm assuming an Eheim is good. How much? any suggestions on where to buy for cheapest price?

Thanks guys

[PaleoFishGirl]

I'll be on vacation for 2 weeks in florida! So I'm assuming they need feeding.
So far, I have neons, gouramis, danios, and a few shrimp.
So i'm assuming an Eheim is good. How much? any suggestions on where to buy for cheapest price?

Thanks guys

2 weeks is no problem - pretty much the max you should go without feeding your fishies (and not often, of course) but they will be able to handle it fine.

[Underwater]

I don't like any of the automatic feeders I've seen on the market.

I've even heard horror stories of auto feeders malfunctioning and dumping too much food in.

It's much better to leave the fish without food.  Firstly, they are cold blooded, and their metabolisms will slow down to use less energy.  They will also produce less waste, assuming you're not around to do a water change, this is a good thing.

[Poustic]

I don't like any of the automatic feeders I've seen on the market.

I've even heard horror stories of auto feeders malfunctioning and dumping too much food in.

It's much better to leave the fish without food.  Firstly, they are cold blooded, and their metabolisms will slow down to use less energy.  They will also produce less waste, assuming you're not around to do a water change, this is a good thing.

There is also the risk of mis-programming them.  I did just that once (programmed the time right, but it was set to "no feed") before leaving for a 15-day holiday, so they didn't get fed during that period.  I lost one fish, and it seems the others ate his remains.  The following year, the room heater thermostat broke (got stuck "on"  :shock: ) during a heat wave while being away for 2 weeks, and many of the plants got cooked, and I lost one shrimp.  Horror stories can happen in many different ways, but not necessarily the way you expect them to happen    .  So I love the Eheim, but I always do a test run for a few days before leaving.