# Which automatic feeder to get?



## BettaBubbles (Jan 20, 2014)

As the title askes... Which brand and model of feeders do you guys use and have worked best for you? Most of my fish figure out the feeding block pretty quickly, but I have hatchetfish as well who barely swim to the middle of the tank let alone the bottom. 

I usually feed everyone bloodworms, but they are good with flakes as well. My vacation would last for a week.


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## TorontoPlantMan (Aug 16, 2013)

I like to use the Eheim auto feeders when I go away on vacation. You can set many different functions & times which is great. It's a bit pricey but it's worth it for those situations where you can't find anyone to feed you tank.


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## darkangel66n (May 15, 2013)

Non. Healthy fish will be fine for a week on their own. You risk far more then you gain.


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## Marz (Mar 1, 2014)

darkangel66n said:


> ... You risk far more then you gain.


What do you mean?


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## HOWsMom (Jan 3, 2012)

Marz said:


> What do you mean?


A few years back I had one - no idea what brand though - and the moisture from the tank made all the food in the holding area of the feeder go moldy (it was flake food).

Also, a few times it would basically just dump the food out - major over-feeding.

Now, this was a cheap feeder, which probably did NOT help the issues.


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## darkangel66n (May 15, 2013)

HOWsMom said:


> A few years back I had one - no idea what brand though - and the moisture from the tank made all the food in the holding area of the feeder go moldy (it was flake food).
> 
> Also, a few times it would basically just dump the food out - major over-feeding.
> 
> Now, this was a cheap feeder, which probably did NOT help the issues.


Bingo. You are far better off with no food then you are with overfeeding and moldy food.


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## fish_luva (Nov 24, 2009)

darkangel66n said:


> Non. Healthy fish will be fine for a week on their own. You risk far more then you gain.


I do agree with dark here,, if your fish are fed with good quality food and are healthy you can go away for at least a week and no ill effects to your fish.

What i think dark means here is that you can have more negative issues with feeders then good from experience myself and from what i mostly hear...i terms of to much food getting dumped or nothing at all to feeder malfunction.

A lot of the feeders, i have used 2 while at home, for experimenting just for the hell of it and they tended to block up from moisture.... or other finicky failures.

I would love to hear of some good brands that ACTUALLY do work based on experience for those that do need to go away for longer periods... looking forward to hearing some good feedback myself...

sheldon


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

I use an autofeeder on a daily basis because I'm lazy, and hardly ever home at a consistent time to feed. The Eheim one (about $40?) has been very reliable for feeding pellets for my 100g marine reef.

I would set it up a week or two before you go away just to keep an eye on it and make sure you're feeding a good amount, and then set it and forget it. If anything goes wrong in the first week (which, IMO, will be fairly unlikely), you'll be there to catch it. Otherwise, you'll have one less thing to worry about.

On the flip said, as was said, for a smaller tank with less livestock, I'd just feed well the week before, then don't feed. They'll survive the week, and they'll be very happy to see you in a week's time


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## Y2KGT (Jul 20, 2009)

I also recommend the Eheim feeder linked below. I have one for each of my tanks and have never had a problem with any of them and I used to use them daily.

You really should use any automatic feeder at least a week before you go away to make sure it works as expected.

I think they work best with flake food rather than pellets and they have a built in fan therefore keeping the flakes at the front of the feeder.

You can also hook up an air pump if you have a canopy and therefore lots of humidity around the feeder. This will ensure the food stays fresh with no mold.

http://angelfins.ca/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=21_28269&products_id=1123
--
Paul


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## blunthead (Jan 24, 2011)

I also heard eheims the one to get


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## BettaBubbles (Jan 20, 2014)

Seems like eheim's the route to go! I do have more than a month before my trip so I'll have a few weeks to test it out. I do feel bad if I were to starve them for a week, for a weekend maybe. Thank you very much for all the input everyone! All my fishies and I appreciate it.!


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## J_T (Mar 25, 2011)

Eheim all the way. If you have a sump setup, i recommend a mount that holds the food at the surface of the water until it sinks. If not you have the chance it will skim along the surface, and down the overflow 


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

Another +1 for Eheim. Get the original model, not their newer "double" feeder. I've been using them for the past 15years and still have the original one working.

You will find pellets will dispense with consistency due a uniform size and shape whereas with flake foods, larger flakes will "jam up" the dispensing a bit. I can't think of a flake food that has relatively consistent flake size.


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## Cichlidrookie (Apr 6, 2014)

*eheim auto feeder all the way*



BettaBubbles said:


> As the title askes... Which brand and model of feeders do you guys use and have worked best for you? Most of my fish figure out the feeding block pretty quickly, but I have hatchetfish as well who barely swim to the middle of the tank let alone the bottom.
> 
> I usually feed everyone bloodworms, but they are good with flakes as well. My vacation would last for a week.


Hey BettaBubbles

Like everyone else has suggested get the eheim auto feeder. The price at AngelFins look good as well. I got mine from BA and it was more expensive.

I went away for 2.5 weeks and the eheim worked great. The food was still dry and NO MOLD. I use pellets and it worked just fine.

Good luck.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*bulky flake food*

just an idea for consistant flakes ...I use a coffee grinder to grind all my fish food ...of course its specific for just fish food ...kijjii 10.00 dollars .


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## GaryC (Apr 2, 2012)

I use a eheim for my discus when I go away. Never had a problem with it, takes time to adjust the right dispense amount.


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## BettaBubbles (Jan 20, 2014)

GaryC said:


> I use a eheim for my discus when I go away. Never had a problem with it, takes time to adjust the right dispense amount.


I am very relieved that many people agree on one particular brand. It makes it a much easier decision where on some other topics there are a lot of different options depending on stocking, size, species, etc...


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## J_T (Mar 25, 2011)

BettaBubbles said:


> I am very relieved that many people agree on one particular brand. It makes it a much easier decision where on some other topics there are a lot of different options depending on stocking, size, species, etc...


Its not often we all agree 

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