Auto Feeder

[chrisquinn12]

To begin with I'm not asking if its a good idea to Auto feed. I go on annual holliday each year for 4 weeks. And no-one able to look after things so I have no option...

Please take a look at the pics from Ebay Oz. There are 2 that I am considering. But I would be keen to know if anyone has something similar with any stories...good or bad...May help me to make a decision...
my second choice
probably my first choice

 

[chrisquinn12]

hmmm not much interest here....maybe they are all the same? I probably should just toss a coin and get one.....

 

[thelastbetta]

I wouldn't trust it.. what if something happened and it overfed the fish?

 

[chrisquinn12]

well...I don't have anyone that can feed them. My plan was to get one quite some time before I go away so I can test it properly. I would hate to overfeed them, but also 4 or so weeks without food couldn't be good for them either...

 

[Notsofab]

My plan was to get one quite some time before I go away so I can test it properly. I would hate to overfeed them, but also 4 or so weeks without food couldn't be good for them either...

We got a device similar to your first choice, though maybe not as advanced. It worked by basically rotating the food container every 12 hours to drop flakes through a hole into the tank. We tested it only for 5 days before we left. When we got back a week later we found that it hadn't dispensed any food while we were away. The problem seemed to be that the evaporating moisture from the tank had gotten into the flake holder as it was positioned over an opening in the top of the tank. The moisture had caused the flakes to bind together, so when the device rotated a clump of flake was bloking the outlet.

We also found it to be very inconsistant with the amounts of food it would dispense at any feed.

My advice would be to test it thouroughly ( for at least a month ) before you go. Also if you are worried about over feeding, I have seen some auto feeders where the delivery system is divided into compartments, with each compartment holding one 'portion' of feed. This kind of feeder is less likely to over feed by accidental spilage.