The Convenience of Automatic Aquarium Fish Feeders

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Automatic fish feeders help make your life as an aquarium owner much easier. It is often hard to remember whether or not you fed the fish, or if someone else in your house did already, and the automatic fish feeder eliminates missed feedings or over feeding altogether. Too much food in the water can easily clog up important filters, and cause you to have to spend more time cleaning your aquarium tank than enjoying it. There are many different brands and designs on automatic fish feeders on the market, you just have to decide which one is within your means and will best suit your needs.

One of the most popular automatic fish feeders is the Eheim 3581 “Feed-Air” Digital Automatic Feeder. This model is capable of using either granule or pellet fish food types. You can set it to feed your fish up to four times per day. This model comes with its own ventilation system which keeps the food dry, preventing spoilage issues. You can choose what portion size you prefer, and then check the settings on an LCD screen. In case there is an issue, it has an emergency override feature that you can use. This feeder is moderately priced at around $50.00, and can be found online or in many pet stores nationwide.

If you are looking for something a little more budget friendly, you may want to check out the automatic pond fish feeder. I know the name makes it sound like it is only intended for fish ponds, but it is also intended for aquarium use; apparently it was just given a bad name somewhere down the line. This feeder is powered by battery, and works with all types and sizes of dry fish food. You can set it to do a certain number of feeding throughout the day, or to delve out small amounts of food at regular interval throughout the day, which helps prevent the fish from overeating. It has the capacity to hold enough food for around twenty-one feedings. This will make a dent in your budget of only about $44.00.

At $36.95, the automatic fish feeder with hopper from Rainbow is an excellent buy. This feeder has an electric motor, which makes virtually no noise. It is designed to work with any and all aquarium types. You cannot submerse this feeder within the tank as you can some of the other models available. You get a one year warranty that covers parts or flaws. This feeder has an amazing capacity, it can hold a four month supply of food for your fish! Program it to feed as many times a day as you wish, and you set the amount of food to be disbursed. This device can also be used to deliver medicine to your fish as needed.

The next feeder you may want to consider is the Penn Plax Daily-Double 2 Automatic Fish Feeder, priced at around $28.00. This is a battery powered feeder that you can either attach to the tank, or can sit on the aquarium hood. To decide what amount of food you want to be disbursed, all you do is adjust the knob on the side of the feeder. This feeder works with flake based food, and can hold enough to feed your fish two times a day, for about a month.

One of the most budget friendly automatic fish feeders is the NutraMatic 2x Automatic Fish Feeder. You can expect to pay about $19.00 for this particular feeder, which is considerably less than some of the other models. This feeder is capable of using either pellet flake fish food, and like many others, is battery operated. You can control the amount of food disbursed, so that you can adjust according to the needs of your fish. This feeder will automatically release food every twelve hours, providing your fish with evenly spaced and portioned meals every time.

If you still need something even less expensive to fit into your budget, look at the Marina NutraMatic 2x Automatic Feeder, which you can find for around $14.00. If you are looking for a cheap automatic fish feeder, this is probably going to be your best option. This feeder is designed to release food two times a day at twelve hour intervals, and can feed either flake or pellet food, depending on your own personal preference. You can choose how much food you want to be released, so that you are in control. This feeder is also battery operated, and can be mounted onto the rim of your aquarium, or can stand alone.

Even if you do have a fish feeder, you need to check it periodically to make sure it is still in good working order, batteries are still good, and that it has plenty of food for your fish. It is also a good idea to make certain the settings stay the same, such as feeding portions and timers that you have pre-set. Remember, that automatic fish feeders can make your life easier, but like any machine, the still need human intervention from time to time.

The following websites were used as resources: drfostersmith.com, petco.com, walmart.com.

Questions and answers

You're welcome to submit your own experiences or questions at the bottom of this page! Previously we published the following answer at aqua-fish.net/answers, but due to merging it with related articles it was moved here.

• Which is the best automatic fish feeder?

  Answer: The Eheim 3581 “Feed-Air” is an automatic fish feeder that seems to be the favourite above all others. You get to choose 4 feeding times a day and you set how much food to give for each meal. The food chamber is moisture resistant which helps keep the food from clumping. This feeder runs on two AA batteries and has an indicator that tells you when to replace the batteries.