# Automatic Fish Feeder?



## Gunjee (Sep 2, 2008)

Hey All,

Quick question about automatic fish feeders. I will be going on vacation for 10 days. I have no one to come by and feed my trophs. I was thinking about getting an automatic fish feeder for the 10 day period. I had read another forum which recommended not getting one, but is 10 days without food okay???

Thanks for the input. Please feel free to recommend a good feeder .


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## Bd79 (Apr 11, 2011)

I've inadvertently not fed fish for two weeks (feeder didn't work) and they were fine. Have a friend who only feeds her fish once a week. So I think they'll be fine.

If you do get a feeder, I'd recommend the Eheim that retails for about $30. It's far more reliable and customizable than other feeders.

And if you get a feeder, run it for a few days before you go, to get a sense of how much food it dispenses.


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## Gunjee (Sep 2, 2008)

Ok, better safe than sorry. So I'm going to opt not to buy a feeder. Thanks!


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## tatay (Dec 14, 2011)

I've had a bad experience with an automatic feeder. It dispensed way too much food and some of the food got clogged in the filter. I was worried I was over feeding my fish. I'm glad you decided to stick with the manual route.


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## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

I've tried both methods (using an Eheim feeder and no feeding) while away on 7 day vacations. The feeder worked fine for me but I've read about others having malfunctions that caused bigger problems than the one trying to be solved. I always go the no food route now. If you have algae in the tank, they'll nibble on that so it's not like they'll have nothing to eat. I do find they tend to nip at each other more if you don't feed them but they recover fast. If you don't have algae or plants, keeping the lights off while away may not be a bad idea to reduce aggression.

A substrate vacuum and water change to get the nitrates down to 5 ppm before you leave is recommended.


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## tatay (Dec 14, 2011)

Algae can be a lifesaver. That's a good call that the algae will tide the fish over until you're back. I've just had so many problems with automatic feeders clogging my 4396508 filter. Just don't leave longer than a week. I think they might get too aggressive if they don't have food for that long.


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## RayQ (Sep 26, 2007)

I would like to add that the age and size of the fish can impact on the decision. Very small fish, around an inch, need to be fed at least daily IMHO, the damage from not eating enough can be serious and will impact how the fish develop. I have always stayed away from feeders because of the bad reputation that they have for malfunctions, I usually try to have someone I trust come in and look in on the tanks a couple times if I am away more than a week. I have to stress that I don't just give them the can of food and say "have at it", instead, I pre-package the foods into re-sealable bags and set them on the top of each tank, that way, they just open the lid and dump the contents. It's very simple and doesn't leave much room for problems to occur.


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