Gel Feeders?

[JohnDyer]

Do fish normally eat them? I bought a Tetra 7 day one for Easter Break, and when I came back it was literally uneaten. The label recommended it for a much smaller tank too. The fish are all fine, and they don't looking particularly thin, but my poor plants were all nibbled at. I haven't seen any fish look even remotely interested in it, but they still eat just as much when I feed. It's kind of strange, since my Tiger Barbs will eat anything, pellets, flakes, vegetables, even the occasional bug that falls in.

I have
6 Tiger Barbs
6 Neon Tetras
4 Male Guppies
1 Cherry Barb
1 CAE
1 Buenos Aires Tetra

I'd have thought with this many fish, some of them would have been interested in the food.

For next time, do gel feeders actually work, or should I stick to solid and electric feeders?

 

[CezzaXV]

A lot of people around here say not to use those holiday blocks. The contstant supply of food doesn't do the tank any good. The fish will just eat and eat meaning that you come back to a tank with massive nitrate levels. That's if you don't come back to a tank full of algae. Most fish can easily go a week without food.

 

[soybean]

It doesn't look particularly 'appetising' and I do wonder how fish that are perhaps used to feeding only from the surface are supposed to learn to graze on a patch of gel overnight.

Does it float? If you ever want to try again, maybe try break it up a bit?

Invest in an auto feeder, marvellous things, or just leave them index for a week, they'll be hungry when they see you but it won't do them any harm.

 

[OldMan47]

I had just the opposite response using one in my tank. I fed a 7 day gel and came back the next day to find it gone. Someone in the tank must have liked it.

 

[Baccus]

I have used these before and most of my fish figured out to pick at the block, unfortunately snails also like the blocks of food and quickly swarm all over it, so maybe letting the fish go hungry for a few days is a better option than feeding pest snails.