Vacation feeders

[Star]

Has anyone had any experience using vacation feeders, those little "food-stones" you can put in the tank when you go on holiday? Do they work? Any prefered brands?

[ladyjai]

a good way to kill your fish :wink:




I recommend getting a feeder on a timer, set it up now, and monitor it to make sure it is releasing the right amount (a little less than you are acustomed to feeding now). then just do a big water change before you leave and when you return, and it will be fine.

also, if you fish have to go on a week long fast, it will not hurt them.

[Star]

Why would the fish die?

[ladyjai]

It does no more good than dumping in a quarter of the smaller sized tetra food jars into your tank. It will ruin your water quality fast, provides food for bacteria, some of which are really not good, also creates an opening for small critters like planaria and such (these won't kill your fish, but alot of people freak out about it)

You might be able to get away with it, but it isn't a good idea, and there is no reason to risk losing fish.

[Star]

Okay, I understand. I thought maybe the vacation feeder stones were able to dispens the food slowly somehow and keep the rest isolated from bacteria etc. Guess that's just wishful thinking. ;-)

[Komar]

I tried the dissolving tablets last summer. I don't think there was any actual food in them, and I checked by smashing one open. If the food particles are too small for me to see, I imagine that fish larger than, say, a tetra would get little use of the tablets.

Maybe I just got a package of "duds"... Either way, I don't recommend them.

I'm glad to hear that fish can fast for a week, though. That'll save me some concern next summer.

[killaklown]

we had some little dissolving tabs, and when we came back, the fish were dead, now we have some device which is on a timer, and every so often, it will go 360 degrees, dumping some fish food into the tank, it never killed a fish yet.

[dan788]

It is worth mentioning that your fish if adult will do well without food for a week or so.