Holiday Feeders

[doresy]

I see a lot of posts asking about what to do when you go away for a length of time and you don't have anyone to 'look in' that you trust etc.
I think we are all of the same opinion on the Feeding Blocks
Well, I was faced with this dilemmar a while back and although knowing that fish can be left without food for some time I find this practice a little unfair and a tinsy bit selfish.
I stumbled accross this battery operated device called a Daily Double 11. Automatic Fish Feeder. The idea is, you fill the drum with food (breaking up large flakes) and fix it on your aquarium. As it revolves (twice in 24 hours) it deposits an adjustable amount of food , as it's name suggests, twice a day. Simple!
At a megre £13 plus the cost of a fresh AA I thought it was worth a go So I filled it with a mixture of crumbled flake, catfish pellet and tetra Prima, not forgetting the AA. Positioned it over a flow in the tank (after a test period over a piece of paper to check the measure of food) and I was ready.
On my return everything was business as usual, in fact better than that which I put down to the fact that they were never once over fed or given any extras from other family members. I was tempted to leave it going but it was a bit ugly sticking out the top of the tank. Also, the fish did tend to hang around the spot where the food had been dropping into the water!
Other than all that I was quite taken with the device (no clogging food as was commented on by some) and recommend them to all..............unless you know different?
I reckon people are going to post some nightmare stories about these feeders, we shall see

 

[Rhiannon]

I havent had to go away yet, but why are feeding blocks not good?

 

[celaeno]

they contain plaster, which is bad for the fish apparently.

 

[J4MES]

They can't be that bad if they are selling them for fish?? I have used numerous feeding blocks and they are fine.

J4MES

 

[Miss Wiggle]

automatic feeders are great if they work, we tried to get one once and have to buy 3/4 before we found a working one.

by all means use them but test them first, before you go away set them up and run them on the tank for a week, then you can check they're feeding a suitable amount and are working fine.

Also make sure they're securley fastened wherever they are, imagine if they got knocked and tipped over into the tank and deposited a couple of weeks worth of food in there.....

 

[timmystood]

I also think that the automatic fish feeders are much better than their holiday block counterparts.

 

[morgan]

I used a feeding block and it really messed up the water and the PH as well. There is a new holiday food which has the food in a gel. I might try that next time.

 

[mnbyiuopre]

Has anyone had experience with this feeder? Marina NutraMatic 2X Automatic Feeder
Going away 3 times in the summer for a week so I need a good feeder that's not one of those plaster blocks they sell at a fish store.

 

[spudgun2k]

£13 aint bad for 1 tank, I know people with 6+ tanks, so it could be costly!

Some blocks are good, some are poor, I would stay away from the fish stick they sometimes sell, they really cloud the water as my dad found out recently.

 

[lmbridgen]

Thanks for that Im going away in August for 2 weeks and was already wondering how I was going to feed the fish.



Just bought one from ebay £11.99 plus P+P £4.00

 

[doresy]

by all means use them but test them first, before you go away set them up and run them on the tank for a week, then you can check they're feeding a suitable amount and are working fine.

Also make sure they're securley fastened wherever they are, imagine if they got knocked and tipped over into the tank and deposited a couple of weeks worth of food in there.....

The one I quoted has a very secure thumb screw attatchment so would never fall in but i do see where you're coming from! I ran it for quite a few cycles over paper first, checking the amount and continuity

£13 aint bad for 1 tank, I know people with 6+ tanks, so it could be costly!

I think that if you can stretch to 6+ tanks then that is a lot to put onto someone to look after (unless they are as mad as us, lol). Hey, no such thing as a free lunch

They can't be that bad if they are selling them for fish?? I have used numerous feeding blocks and they are fine.

J4MES

Personal choice my friend. If they work for you then continue

 

[The-Wolf]

Tetra have produced a gel based holiday food.
I have used then and they had no effect on the water parameters what so ever.

 

[vinylman]

If I HAD to use an automatic feeder, I wouldn't buy a battery powered one; what if the power goes off for a day or more?. The battery powered feeder would just keep dropping food into the tank without any filtration. You'd be able to leave them for a week without any real problem, but two weeks would be out of the question, I'd have thought. Is there asbolutely no one you could ask/trust to do it?.

 

[gpgscott]

I know all this sounds good automatic battery operated... but the fish don't perceive the passage of time like we do, when it is daylight they move about and look for food, when it is dark they just kind of hover and hibernate. When you feed you watch your fish and drop different types of food in different places for different fish, right? I get up in the morning and turn on the light and wait for a certian amount of activity before I begin feeding and if the interest level isn't high enough when I first begin I wait until they show more interest. An automatic feeder can't do this. What works best for me is to cover the tank with a dark bedsheet and let them hunker down. Scott

 

[doresy]

I know all this sounds good automatic battery operated... but the fish don't perceive the passage of time like we do, when it is daylight they move about and look for food, when it is dark they just kind of hover and hibernate. When you feed you watch your fish and drop different types of food in different places for different fish, right? I get up in the morning and turn on the light and wait for a certian amount of activity before I begin feeding and if the interest level isn't high enough when I first begin I wait until they show more interest. An automatic feeder can't do this. What works best for me is to cover the tank with a dark bedsheet and let them hunker down. Scott

what works for you, works for you

I was just saying that on the first, and three subsequent occacions that I had the reason to use this device there were absalutely no visable ill effects effects and was very pleased with its performance. They were fed 6am and 6pm just as they would have been had I been at home. I take on board your comments but feel the odd one or two week change to their routine, for me, is no problem

Thanks for your imput