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Hello All,
I'm planning for my holidays in December...going for 3-4 weeks...I need to know how I can feed the fish during this time.? First of all...I have nobody who can come feed the fish...So, I'm thinking of buying automatic feeders would this be helpful?? How much do they cost & how do they work?? I haven't seen any in Mauritius yet...So I might have to buy it from the US..So, please any help would be appreciated...thanks,
Fishyme

Hi,
I would reccommend a auto feeder. I have just got one from ebay for AU$22.00. It attaches to the side of the tank and the barrel (where you put the food in) spins 1 turn every 12 hours. you can adjust the hole to set the ammount of ffod that comes out each time it turns. I dont know if it would last 4 weeks though?

There are other variations available ..some feed once a day others up to 4 times. How many fish and what type they are will vary the type and suitability of this type of feeder.

Try to avoid the type of holiday feeders that come in block form (that you drop into the tank). I believe that they can cause havic in the tank and the fish can get very overfed in the first few days and then stave. not sure on this but thats what I've heard.



DASHMAN :88)

Its better to be hated for who you are...
Than loved for who you are not

i have two of them, one of them is like a clock, it turns like a clock, it has 12 clicks, so 1 click = 1 hour, and when it reachs 6 o'clock position, it dumps some food in, and 12 hours later, same thing happens, so this one always feeds twice a day, but you can adjust the amount of food being dumped. this one was 25 US dollars, bought from petsmart.

another one which is digital, you can set the timer to 2 different times, or just 1, or none which would be pointless. and when its feeding time, it rotates its cylinder container with food in it, and dumps some in the tank. you can ajdust the amount of food in this one too. a cool thing about this one is that when you feel like feeding them some extra food, you just press a button, and it'll rotate once to feed your fish. this one also has a small air hole if you want to connect air pump to it so the food wont go bad incase you are in a very humid area. 40 dollars, also at petsmart.

and theres this one i have seen, but never used it, it has ABOUT 14 small compartments, sort of like those medicine containers, one box = 1 day, so just put the amount of food you'll need for one day in one box, and it'll feed up to ABOUT 14 days i guess.
have a nice trip

[span class="edited"][Edited by 2004-07-21 05:31][/span]

Hi thanks for replying to my question...well the automatic feeder seems like the only solution to me too....my only problem is that I don't find this equipment in Mauritius Island at all...I have a brother in Australia in Melbourne...so...can anyone from around there let me know what type of feeder I can get to last at least 3 weeks...?? It shouldn't be too expensive...I wouldn't be able to afford it...Any shops name?? Thanks a lot...
Fishyme...

hey greenfootball that was close lol

Fishyme the type that I got retails in Australis for about $40.00. As I said I got mine from ebay for $22.00 maybe your brother can try there for you. As to how long it will last depends on how big you set the opening (how much they get at each feeding) and this will depend on how many fish you have and how big they are. The barrel of mine holds about 15 grams of flakes. This is the same as mine - in fact it is from the same seller: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20755&item=4314391744&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Here is another - it says it will last for 4 weeks and looks no bigger that mine. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20758&item=4313724870&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
Goodluck.
BTW- hope you have a good holiday.

DASHMAN :88)

Its better to be hated for who you are...
Than loved for who you are not

Try Big Al's On-line, you should be able to order one.
BTW how big is the tank and what type of fish?
Is there nobody that you work or go to school with who could check on the tank at least a couple times a week? If things start to go south you could have a disaster when you get back.
I'm thinking mainly of malfunctioning equipment or dead fish polluting the tank.

[span class="edited"][Edited by palindat 2004-07-21 19:36][/span]

if you have bottom feeders, be sure to include some sinking wafers or algae wafers = just break them up so they are smaller that the hole in the auto feeder

Best way in my opinion is to just pay a trusty neighbor to come in once every three days and drop some food in. I don't think the timer feeders will last 3 to 4 weeks.

A timer feeder should be able to last 3 to 4 weeks easily. I have used one and they lasted about 2 months. Gotta make sure you use high quality batteries.

Hello All & thanks for all the replies...For me to give someone else the keys to my house for 1 month is a No-No!! In Mauritius Island..noone does that unless it's close family...even then...my family lives far enough from my house...My only solution is automatic feeder...I'll have to take that chance...I tried some online site but they only ship within the USA...I'm in Mauritius Island...Found in the Indian Ocean near Madagascar...So, my only option is to try to get my brother from Australia to buy 1 for me & post it to me...Well we'll see...anyone with address of Fish stores in Melbourne, Australia let me know...that's where my brother is....thanks

when i was starting to keep fish... and i was going away for 3 days, i put the food in a bottle cap, and set it on the edge of my tank. and put a airline below it connected to a air pump, and i wet a small piece of tissue, and stuffed it inside the air line, turn off the air pump, and set a timer so the air would come on the next day, and build up the pressure inside the airline and shoot off the tissue to knock my bottle cap over and feed the fish and it WORKED!!!!! i came home, the cap is floating in water, and all the food is gone. just to share the silly story of mine

That's ingenious greenfootball!!
I can just picture Fishyme's tank with 30 bottle caps perched on the edge and 30 air lines running on seperate timers.