Auto Feeders?

[faithless1294]

Hello everybody,
a week on saturday i am going to new york YIPPEE!!! my problem is i have a oscar (i love him to bits such a personality) i have no clue when it comes to auto feeders so am wondering what everybodys opinion on them? and would you recommend certain brands to others?
Thanks,
Luke.

 

[rabbut]

How long are you away? I have heard that many auto feeders aren't reliable, hence why I mayself have not yet used one.

For under two weeks, I'd leave him/her without food. In the wild, oscars could well go longer than this without food.

For more than two weeks but less than a month, I'd get a friend or relative to drop by once every 2-3 days, to drop in a pre-measured portion of food, so that no overfeeding occurs Being a preditory fish, oscars will eat a fair amount at sploradic intervals in the wild, eating whenever they can catch some pray. A moderate feed every few days would be more than suffice for him/her.

For more than a month, I'd mebe think then about an autofeeder, and get a friend/realative to stop by to re-fill it and waterchange once a fortnight or so. Get it set up and going a day or two before leaving to ensure it is working correctly. They have a habit of dumping all the food into a tank in one go; obviously not good. At least you would be about to deal with the mess under these circumstances though, rather than it happening while you are away, with 2 weeks to wait before that trusted friend/relative comes to find out what it did

All the best
Rabbut

 

[faithless1294]

Thanks for advice im only away for 4 days but in about 4 weeks im going to spain lol (busy life) and thats for about three weeks, ill ask around but doubt anyone will help out, i live in the middle of nowhere lol, but ill deffinetley ask.
Thanks,
Luke

 

[dgwebster]

I've used an auto feeder that i got from... wait for it.... Lidl before.

Simple, a slider varies the size of the gap, at up to two timers you can set, it spins round and food works down a wee chute and out the gap. I set it up abou a month before I went and glad that I did. At the time, i had one of those coloured hydor bubble lamp things. this was very close to where i sat the auto feeder and every time it span round, the bubbles made splashes of water at the gap - making tiny bits of food wet each time. after 4 days, enough dampened food clogged it up. Finding a new site for it to sit at away from the bubble machine solved it and it ran for 18 days whilst i was away without problem... moral to the storey - definately try before you leave it to chance.

 

[Colin_T]

I wouldn't bother about feeding him during the 4 day trip.
For the 3 week trip measure out some food parcels for him and get someone to drop a pack in once or twice a week. The fish should be fine for a while without food, especially if it is in good condition before you go away.