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going on holliday for 2 weeks are automatic fish feeders any good ,any info appreciated thanks

1. How long away is your vacation.
2. What type of fish are in your aquairium
3. what type of food are you feeding them ie. flake or pellets.

what ever the case you (if you decide to get an auto feeder) you should set it up and run it so that you can see for yourself).

I had one of these
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=8118
my own experience was not good enough to trust it while I was away...
humidity from the tank caused the flakes I was using to clump up.
I had to get a freind to feed the fish.
I havn't given up on the autofeeder idea yet
these are some other choices
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/NavResults.cfm?N=2004+112973
http://www.aquariumguys.com/feeders.html

toonmick
I am reletively new to the forum but what I have found is that most topics have been touched at one point or another at different times and most of the discussions are accessible.
I did a search on feeders and I came up with the following threads
http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/threads/11291.1.htm?14#
http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/threads/17267.1.htm?8#
http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/threads/17588.1.htm?6#
alot of good great advice from a lot of experienced fish keepers.
have fun reading.

Fish can easily go 2 weeks without being fed. There's even a story of a fish that went a year without being fed. Anything longer than 2 weeks and I would recomend some sort of feeding. Feed them well before you go though.

-Eric
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

If you got 100 replies I am sure it would be a 50%-50% yes and no.

I personally do not like them even though I had one and used it whenever we went on holidays.

The main problems are:-
The outlet must be above the water and moisture can actually block it up and the fish get less food (yet little is better than none).

If you have a power outage your feeding times could be completly out.

A good one can be expensive and if it does not have a connecting timer more expence.

If you want to do an experment do all the regular maintenance and dont feed for a week and if every this is OK do the second week remember the tank must not be touched or any thing added to it.

Fish should be able to survive without food for that period providing they are very healthy and live in good water conditions.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

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i would also agree that timed feeders arent worth the trouble... i had one going when i went to missouri to visit some family, i came home to it plugged up. it seems no matter how finely you ground the flakes it can still get clogged..

whats worse is, these things can easily overfeed a tank. if it dumps too much food in twice a day, and you've been gone for two weeks, can you imagine what could happen?

in short if you're going to be gone a terribly long time, invite a friend over to feed the fish.. if its a few days or even a week or so.. im sure you'll be okay.

*Chelle*
_______________________________________________
I love the fishes cuz they're SOOO delicious...

Ditto what chelaine said about inviting someone over. If you're going to be gone for two weeks, set out four pill bottles, film canisters or zip lock baggies with the normal ammount of food that you usuall feed. Ask someone to stop by twice during the weeks you're away and have them feed only whats in the individual containers, you might go as far as putting the date to be fed on each container.

Some automatic feeders do work, but it's suggested that it be set up and run for a few days before you leave to ensure that it wont jam up as has already been outlined by others. Feeder blocks are not often reccomended as they desolve too quickly and mess up the water quality.

^_^

The fish will be fine without food for 15 days & you shouldn't worry. Do a water change 2 days before you leave & then feed them, just before you leave & as soon as you arrive.


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http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

cheers for the information much appreciated great site by the way

A friend is a great idea but definitely make sure it's someone familiar with fish and not overfeeding. Babelfish had some good ideas to avoid that.

I've never used automatic feeders, and only once did I have someone check on and feed my fish. I had her come over a few days before I left and showed her exactly how much I fed each tank. I also left sticky notes on each tank: 'flake only', 'flake and algae wafer', etc.

Good luck

~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is water at the bottom of the ocean