Auto feeder

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I haven't bought one but after all the research I have done Eheim looks to be the best
 
Truthfully you don't need to worry about a feeder, your fish will be fine for that period without being feed and I've heard stories of auto feeders that malfunction and cause issues. Buy some new fish instead of a feeder!
 
Because I have a physical disability and it's hard for me to pinch the flakes, what I do is put my fish food in one of those weekly pill containers and just open the flap specified for that day and dump the food in. You could do that instead of spending more money on an automatic fish feeder. That way you don't run the risk of the feeder accidentally overfeeding your fish. Just have someone come to your house to feed your fish and leave them the pill container with the fish food in it.
 
I agree with thegundog.
Feeders, like so many aquarium products, are generally not necessary.
I've been keeping fish for 15 years and I have never used one, despite the fact that I go away for 8 to 15 days every year. I've never had any fish deaths related to feeding. I had one incident related to a heater malfunction.

What I do is stop feeding 2 days before I leave, do a good tank cleaning the day before I go, and just go. If I am planning to be gone for more than 10 days, I bump up their feedings a bit before I leave, because generally, I feed my fish very sparsely.

Most of your common aquarium fish will not be adversely affected by not eating for a week or two.

The worst thing that's ever happened from my fish not getting fed for 1 to 2 weeks is that they forget how they get fed. IOW, they don't remember that seeing me means they get to eat. But they relearn it in no time.

If I was going to be gone !Interested than that, I would have a friend come by the house once or twice to feed the fish.
 
The OP asked for a good auto feeder only. Yes fish will keep alive for weeks without feeding but is it nice to starve them?

To OP: Better to visit Store and ask them for a good auto feeder. Almost all feeders are good. They don't require a rocket science to build.

Never seen an auto feeder malfunctioned. Even if it did. Atleast it will feed your fish for few days before stopped working.
 
The OP asked for a good auto feeder only. Yes fish will keep alive for weeks without feeding but is it nice to starve them?

To OP: Better to visit Store and ask them for a good auto feeder. Almost all feeders are good. They don't require a rocket science to build.

Never seen an auto feeder malfunctioned. Even if it did. Atleast it will feed your fish for few days before stopped working.
What?!?.what aurofeeders have you used? Best advice is too not feed for a few days. Period. Far more harm will come with a massive dump of food. And to ask the store?? They'd sell you an old sneaker as an auto feeder.. not working?? Probably put the batteries in wrong.. imo they're all useless. I have an ehiem, said to be the best..its a frustrating piece of junk..
Op- if you're going to be gone 2-4 days don't worry, feed them.before you leave and enioy.your trip. A week? Try and have some one come by and feed pre measured servings.
 
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What?!?.what aurofeeders have you used? Best advice is too not feed for a few days. Period. Far more harm will come with a massive dump of food. And to ask the store?? They'd sell you an old sneaker as an auto feeder.. not working?? Probably put the batteries in wrong.. imo they're all useless. I have an ehiem, said to be the best..its a frustrating piece of junk..

Op- if you're going to be gone 2-4 days don't worry, feed them.before you leave and enioy.your trip. A week? Try and have some one come by and feed pre measured servings.
Maybe your store do that. Mine doesn't. All accessories I bought are working perfect. Why would it dump more food? It is made to feed fish. There are chances of malfunctioning in every device but they are very less for a new product. The probability of OP getting a bad auto feeder is almost nill.

Things can malfunction. What if OPs Power head or air pump malfunctioned and no oxygen in tank or his heater fails? Are we assuming so many things?

I just don't understand why to make things complicated for OP. He asked what is the best auto feeder. He is in aquarium hobby and must be aware if the fish can survive for days or not. He is caring to his fish. Don't want them without food.
 
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I would never trust a feeder. Over feeding is a problem most of us stuggle with when we do it. So leaving it in the hands of a device....no thanks. I couldn't sleep on vacation wondering if id come home to dead fish and tank full of algae.
 
I would never trust a feeder. Over feeding is a problem most of us stuggle with when we do it. So leaving it in the hands of a device....no thanks. I couldn't sleep on vacation wondering if id come home to dead fish and tank full of algae.
I don't disagree with you just we think differently. I won't sleep on vacation or won't eat with peace if I feel back home my fish are hungry.

They can survive without food but if its possible to feed then why not?

We all trust devices. Heaters, air pumps, power heads, wave makers so why when we think about auto feeder we think it will not work properly?

I have seen auto feeders installed on tanks in offices and they are working just fine. Must need to buy a good one. Not cheap and it will do its duty.
 
@OP: I did search and they work perfectly. Millions of people use it and some who are very busy use them too so their fish will always eat on the same time always. They are very easy to program and adjust required amount to be fed. There are some high end some mid range and some inexpensive. Even the inexpensive ones are great and have amazing reviews. You can Google for top ten auto feeders of 2017 and u can get a good one from 25 to 30 USD. No need to go for high end feeders. Reviews are very positive for inexpensive ones too. Google and search on Amazon for reviews.
 
I posted about the one I used in Dec. Put pix on how I set it up. Used for a week, worked perfectly
 
Look at General Aquarium Forums, Vacation Feeder, Dec 23 2016
 
What's a good auto feeder for when I'm on vacations

Thanks

I tend to find the feeder blocks that you drop in don't work well in high flow areas or the fish pig out on them (or mine do). The betta utterly ignored his last holiday.

If it's just several days I don't bother and from what I've read, this should help keep them healthy (certainly the catfish could do with skipping meals).

Longer than that and I have a fluval auto-feeder (I like my plants). Also have a bettamax feeder but haven't tried it yet. That will be interesting as trying to drop a few pellets a day only.

For the auto-feeder I find pellets work better to get the same amount dropping, however over a week the amount dropped can change as the feed holder is reduced (I have a large tank though). Definitely worth setting up a few days before-hand. I've never had one stop working but getting them correct on feed rate, I find them touchy. I've also heard a few horror stories of them rotating/moving off the centre brace say and into the tank so worth checking they are stable as well.

If just me away, then my daughter will feed. Really clear instructions helps. Last time the feed amount was correct but the 5gal tank looked like it got the same amount as the 150gal tank. From what I've seen on threads, this can be common - friends that aren't used to our fish begging will tend to over-feed. some thoughts.
 
I literally just got home this weekend from a 7 day vacation, I take 3 to 4 seven day vacations per year while keeping tanks and have for years, I've never lost a single fish while vacationing. My recipe for success?

Very simple,

I feed before I leave and (gasp) do nothing while I'm gone. As long as I'm not feeding then wc's aren't required on schedule, as long as fish are healthy no feeding for a week (potentially up to a month) is fine.
An issue that could cost fish life? An auto feeder dumping food in a tank while you're gone, not an issue I want to sort out.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Aquarium Advice mobile app
 
I literally just got home this weekend from a 7 day vacation, I take 3 to 4 seven day vacations per year while keeping tanks and have for years, I've never lost a single fish while vacationing. My recipe for success?

Very simple,

I feed before I leave and (gasp) do nothing while I'm gone. As long as I'm not feeding then wc's aren't required on schedule, as long as fish are healthy no feeding for a week (potentially up to a month) is fine.
An issue that could cost fish life? An auto feeder dumping food in a tank while you're gone, not an issue I want to sort out.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Aquarium Advice mobile app
Man.. I need some vacation time like that haha
 
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