Automatic feeder or 7-day cubes for vacation

[Capslock118]

Hello,

I have a clown fish as well as two corals, a candy cane and a brain worm.

I feed my clown fish twice a day with frozen brine shrimp and I am not at the point where I will be on a one week vacation for the holidays.

I have seen at the LFS small cubes that supposedly have a natural time delay to feed fish for a given number of days (7,day, 14 day, etc).

What would you recommend, an auto feeder device or one of these food cubes? Is there any warnings that I should be aware of on a user experience for either of these techniques?

Most of my trips are 7 to 12 days.

I already made up a auto-top off, it just needs to be expanded to hold more water.

[bertoni]

I skip feeding for trips of that length, most of the time. I wouldn't put a cube of food into a reef tank.

[ggk1988]

I don' t think you can use those 7-Day feeders in any saltwater. Even if you could i wouldn't. Here is what I did. I made little baggies of food. Each bag holds food for one day. Then have someone you trust to come over and feed one bag a day. Simple as that. They dont have to do anything but thaw the food and dump it. I would also hide the rest of your food so that they don't try to feed more than you want them to.

[mcbaes72]

^^Good advice. But if there's no one to help you out, auto-feeder seems like a last resort for that amount of time.

Don't forget to have lights on a timer.

[atvdave]

When I go on vacation I always use a auto feeder. I usually am gone for 2 or more weeks so I must feed.

The one thing I have learned is get a feeding ring. and only feed dry type food. The feeding ring will keep it from floating down your overflow and give it time to sink.

I made my feeding ring out of a NEW plastic funnel from my local auto parts shop. I just cut the bottom out of it so about 1" extends beneath the water line. I use duct tape (out side the aquarium) and heavy books to keep it in place with the auto feeder right above it.

Been doing it for 4 years now with no ill effects.

Good Luck
Dave

[ggk1988]

Good call on the light timer. Didn't even think to mention it

[Capslock118]

My lights actually have been on a timer for the last couple of weeks - I thought that was a good investment if I am on vacation or not.

Ok thanks for the tips on the feeders. I guess the next question to weigh my choice is what types of food can i put in these things and would clowns like that kind of food? I have been feeding my clown only frozen brine shrimp at the moment.

[jpeconsult]

I have used the friend gimmick. Make sure it is someone you trust. Remember to keep the instructions idot proof.

[Acillaton]

As a vacation food I use a nutrafin max- marine complete food. Im also feeding frozen food normaly but I tried many other dry foods just to use when Im out of state and my fish like this one. Dont forget to feed just minimum your fish need. Its also good to practise to feed dry food several days before leaving for trip, just to feel how much you need to feed and if your fish is interesting in it. Good luck.

[adtravels]

auto feeder with pellets not flake, less likely to stick wins for me

[ggk1988]

If you are going to use pellets, I would suggest you look into New Life Spectrum. It is a little expensive but I have had nothing but excellent results with it.