feeder

[hellophung]

I'm usually home to feed my fish, but during the summer, I go home to my mother's house. I have my brother to feed my fish for me but I worry he might forget. Should I invest in a feeder and if so, what kind would you recommend?

[Zack]

First of all :welcome: to coralforum!!!!

I have heard mixed things on the automated feeders. First of all you can really only feed flake/pellets. I have heard of them stopping and such. Your bro would need to also remember to fill it up when it emptys. I am sure another person has more insight however.

[Condiman]

Also I herd that some of the automatic feeders have a problem with sticking from excess moisture.

[Macbeth417]

I am sorry that I cannot recommend a brand, but in my opinion, I think these things are a bad idea.

Anything that promotes or interrupts direct interaction with the tank can lead to problems. I have the same opinions with drain drilled skimmer cups. It can lead to laziness and not cleaning the skimmer.

These feeders can lead to a reliance and an improper diet, not to mention the various horrors of mechanical failure.

Personally, as long as the trip isn't too long, I like to feed my livestock heavy for about 2-3 days, then do a water change and let them fend for themselves for a few days to a week. Most stock can go an amazingly long time without food and I would rather have them begging for food when I return than risk a disaster while I'm gone (this may not be the best idea for a very aggressive tank, but works well in most reefs).

If you can take the time, just make some homemade food and freeze it. Then break it apart into the correct amounts for each day and place these in individual sandwich bags. Now all your brother has to do is grab one of these out of the freezer each day and you are in much better shape than relying on a gadget.

-Erik

[Charles Poole]

I am with Erik on this one. I have 2 Berlin Classic skimmers, that I intentionally blocked the drain tube on. This forces me to empty and clean them often. Automatic feeders often lead to more head aches than they solve.

Infrequent and unscheduled feedings are more likely to create a more natural scenario for you tank, but that is up to you to decide.