Going on a long vacation and worried about your fish?

Then fear not, simply buy one of the best automatic fish feeders on the market today and relax in the knowledge that your fish are receiving the correct amount of food each day.

One of the biggest obstacles for people considering buying a pet is what will happen when you go on vacation? Who will walk the dog, who will feed the cat and who will feed your fish?

Asking friends and neighbors is all well and good, but with something so unstable like a saltwater or Freshwater aquarium then finding someone who will give them the correct amount of food at the correct time is difficult.

Why risk it?

By simply purchasing an automatic fish feeder like the Eheim Everyday fish feeder you can relax on your well-deserved vacation knowing the risk factor has been taken out of feeding your fish.

Overfeeding: The number 1 killer of aquarium fish

The biggest mistake and killer of fish is overfeeding. Not the fact that your fish eat too much, its what happens to all the leftover fish food that your fish simply can’t eat.

You should never feed your fish more than they can eat within 5 minutes. If you see the food start to fall to the floor then you’ve overfed your fish.

You can’t leave it there thinking the bottom feeders will eat it, they are like any other fish and need a well-balanced diet and won’t eat rotten or moldy food.

If you overfeed your fish you may need to perform a partial water change. This will restore the balance of minerals and stabilize the pH level again.

No pet should be kept in unsuitable conditions and overfeeding your fish will result in poor water quality and within a week can change the water quality to a dangerous level for your beloved fish to swim in.

Let’s cut to the chase – Which automatic fish feeder is the best?

We have reviewed the Top 5 Best automatic fish feeders, details of which can be found further on in this review.

We all agreed that the Eheim Everyday Fish Feeder was the best, and we should know we spent ages testing all the different one on the market today. Which took us weeks to do.

Model Number	3581090
Length	5.51″ (140 mm)
Width	2.36″ (60mm)
Height	2.72″ (69mm)
Food Capacity	3.38 fl oz (100 ml)
Power Supply	2 x AA Batteries
Weight	12oz

We looked at various things on all the automatic fish feeders we reviewed and some of them are listed here:

• Price
• Food Capacity
• Power Supply
• Build Quality
• Accuracy in the amount of food dispensed
• Weight & Size
• Customer Feedback
• Warranty

We also like the Eheim automatic fish feeder because you can buy a simple standard model and you can also choose to buy the Eheim Feeding Station with twin feeding chambers. perfect a fish tank with fussy feeders.

When you feed your fish, the food usually floats on the water surface where it spreads and disperses but any food that is not found or eaten immediately will disappear into the decorations and filter where it will slowly decay and contaminate the water.

The difference with the EHEIM feeding station is that the food delivery is controlled from the food chamber – underwater. The fish are already waiting and the food can’t drift very far – everything is eaten and the water will stay cleaner for longer

Benefits of the EHEIM feeding station

How do they work?

Most automatic fish feeders that we tested using a similar rotating drum method. When your selected time comes around the drum rotates and a measured amount of food is dropped into your aquarium without any fuss! Simply design and very easy to set up

This simple design and setup make it easy to attach to your tank with or without a hood/lid. We found using the feeding station is the best way to ensure the food is all eaten and doesn’t float around your tank and cause any filtration problems.

With the Eheim fish station, the food is contained within a small area of your tank. This is a cleaner and safer way to dispense food but it also enhances your viewing pleasure if you use the feeder when you’re at home as you can watch your fish eat the food in a group which is much more entertaining.

(The unit in the Youtube video above is the basic Eheim Automatic Fish Feeder)

What if you need more than one type of food dispensed?

Eheim has thought of everything. Some fish need very specific foods and won’t eat one standard flake or pellet type of food.

Well, Eheim has come up with a solution for that, The Eheim Twin Feeder.

This unit has two chambers that each can be set and rotated at set times to drop different type of foods into your tank at different times.

This gives you flexibility for feeding times and types of food used.

EHEIM TWINfeeder

Automat with 2 separate chambers for different types of food

Conclusion: Best Automatic Fish Feeder

We tested many automatic fish feeders on the market today and many just didn’t hit the target. Either they simply didn’t work well or they had other issues like being hard to fit onto your tank, some simply didn’t work at all and we sent them back.

But all in all the Eheim everyday fish feeder was just right for most fish keepers.

A quick final run down for each automatic fish feeder that made it into our top 5 are listed below. We hope you found this article ‘ Best automatic fish feeders ‘ helpful.

Please feel free to share this with all your fishkeeping friends. Also, comment on here or on our Facebook fishkeeping group page. We’d love to hear from you.

1. Eheim – PROS–We loved the simplicity of the device and how easy it is to fit onto most fish tanks. CONS–The only drawback was the sliding door to release the food. We taped it at the point we wanted because we thought it could slip or move after a week or so. It is still by far one of the best automatic fish feeders.
2. NICREW – PROS– We liked the size of this feeder and the clear clock display at the front. We also found it very good value. CONS– Silly as this may seem but we found it hard to get the batteries is, there’s a silly spring that’s hard to pull back. Also one the drum didn’t rotate all the way and didn’t dispense any food. This only happened once out of a week testing.
3. AK-O2 Fish Feeder– PROS–We liked the size of the drum and the fact that it was battery and DC5V powered. CONS- Only 3 feed settings and no clock display, just a green light on the selected setting. Not much option for altering the feeding times.
4. eBoTrade Fish Feeder – PROS– Easy to set up. Small and compact but hopper holds enough food for a short vacation. CONS – Didn’t fit on all our tanks due to the bracket that holds it onto the tank.
5. Fish Mate F14 – PROS– Over 400 reviews on Amazon and most where good ones. We found it cheap and easy to set up. CONS– Limited on which tanks we could use it on depending on the type of hood/lid we had. Also only 14 compartments for food and it’s dispensed over an hour period. This means the fish are constantly feeding rather than 2-3 times a day.

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Now enjoy your vacation and send us a postcard!

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