Automatic fish feeders....need one for..

[Rob_G]

Hi guys,

Had my tank 18 months now and need an auto feeder for when I go on a 2 week holiday.

I have a Juwel Trigon 190 litre tank. Can anyone please recommend a good feeder ?

The ones I've looked at on the internet don't give any clues as to how you fit them. The only one I saw in the shop you has to fix on the glass with no hood on the tank ! Are you meant to cut a hole in the tank hood or something ?

I did see one that you fix to the inside top of the hood or glass but i thought this might cause the flakes to get wet.

Thanks,

Rob

 

[SarahBravo]

I think there is a specific Juwel one - have you checked out the Juwel website? I don't know how well it works, but at least you'll know it'll fit.

Juwel

HTH

 

[Rob_G]

I think there is a specific Juwel one - have you checked out the Juwel website? I don't know how well it works, but at least you'll know it'll fit.

Juwel

HTH

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I phoned Juwel and they don't do one. My LFS says my options are to either cut a hole in the tank hood (not doing that!) or leave the hood open whilst I'm away, attach a auto feeder and cover with a net so the fish don't jump out. Should be easier than this surely ? Anyone used the type of feeder that goes underneath the tank lid ? Does the food not get wet ?

 

[millym]

hi
we've used a 'fishmate f14' & we have to sit it under the hood but on top of the perspex covers we have over the tank & it sits on the middle glass tank divider. we have to leave one of the small sliding bits of perspex open for the fishmate to be able to dispense the food in ( does that make sense). it has a hole where you attatch a piece of tubing from your airpump which helps keep the food dry. & has suction cup thingys on its bottom.it can dispense 1-4 times a day for up to 14 days.( we've always set it for the 14 day ie: one meal a day option) we load it up with a mix of flake, algae & catfish tabs & tubifex cubes. it works v well but one thing i would recommend is set it up & test it before you go away. it doesn t work if you overload it & its too heavy. we learnt this the hard way when we went away for a fortnight a few years ago & came back to find 30 very miserable hungry fish. ( oh the guilt!!!! ) they survived but we were lucky! it runs on a small battery & the other times we've used it it has worked really well. you can buy it from a lot of online aquatic suppliers in the uk, i cant remember how much it was but i dont think it was too pricey.
oh if you want me to post a pic of how we have it set up let me know

 

[xxSarahxx]

Can I make another suggestion......The feeding pyramids? I have them in stock although never used them so this is not based on personal experience. From what I have seen you can only get pyramids for 7 days but I have also read that you can leave well fed fish for a week without food?? This may be easier and cheaper although how reliable they are I'm not so sure.
Another option is get a neighbour of friend to come in and check which as you're going for two weeks may be a good idea as they can deal with any issues then too.

 

[Lateral Line]

In a sensibly stocked tank with some live plants and reasonable conditions, regular smallish tropical fish will survive perfectly well without food for 14 days.

If the fish are more specialist, or the tank is overcrowded, then that may not be the case of course.

 

[xxSarahxx]

Ok then......personally I would go for one 7 day feeder pyramid and let them munch on that!
Are you going to get an automatic light timer thingy!?!
I would still give someone a set of keys so they can be checked on though!

 

[modernhamlet]

Never, under any cicumstances get a feeder pyramid. It'll just foul the water and increase the odds of you coming back to lots of dead fish.

 

[Undawada]

If you buy an automatic feeder, try to get one where you measure out each day's food in advance.

The ones that have a hopper full of food and measure it out automatically usually feed waaay to much.

edit: and I second about the food pyramids. It's better to let the fish have nothing than use food pyramids.

Another thought : If you are going for two weeks, I'd leave the fish without any food. Without food, they'll produce less waste, and the chances of coming back to a sick tank are less. Remember, there won't be any water changes while you are gone either.

 

[playfulalliecat]

When we go on a holiday for a week, we just make sure all lights are off and window blinds are closed. The fish kind of go into a hibernation, not sure how to explain it. Without lights, they aren't as active, you will see them just kind of floating around the tank. This way you can leave them without food and they don't normally attack one another out of hunger. We have never had any losses doing this and as you can tell from my sig, we have various types of fish and they were all left that way for 10 days this spring with no problems. Due to car trouble, we got stuck out of state and could not return home within 6 days as planned.