Auto feeder? Yay/Nay??

[F8VRT-HBY]

Hello everyone!!
Well i think i am going to spoil my loved ones yet again.(or give them what they deserve...) I leave for work at 7 in the morning and i don't get home till at least 6 at night. I was thinking about getting an auto feeder to feed the discus while im gone ( i wanted to feed them twice while im gone, for a total of 4 feedings per day.)

Im looking at the Eheim Model 3581 "Feed-Air"-Digital Feeder

I have a bare bottom tank and i do plenty of water changes so water fowling isnt a consern.
Has anyone tryed using an auto feeder? Should i do it or just feed them twice a day?
one last thing my fish are still young too. Thanks for any input,

Keith

[Eddie]

Yeah those are the bomb. Got two of them. :D

[korbi_doc]

:D Hi Keith, I too, use the same Eheim feeder, very dependable, set it daily for 3-4 feedings. I'm using them on all tanks exc for 1, & that one has the nutramatic 2x, which does ok, just can't set it for more times of your own choice. Then at night, they get the H.Bws as a treat. & boy do they wait for that one, must be very disappointed when I'm away. Sometimes when I leave, I may cut down to 2x/day, but when I had youngsters, left it at 4x, lightly, & all did ok. As for general use, I would never be able to feed them as consistently as I do without the feeders, so my vote is to use'm all the time. JMO, Dottie :fish: :fish:

[Audrey]

I am happy to hear all yays so far, as I ordered an Eheim Auto Feeder from Big Al's and it should be arriving any day now.

Keith, where did you find the Eheim Model 3581 "Feed-Air"-Digital Feeder at?

Is there much difference between the different Eheim models?

Thanks!
Audrey

[Carol_Roberts]

I also use the Ehiem "feed air" I have one on every tank now and feed each tank 4 meals of bits per day. They get frozen or live at night. Great for when you are going to be gone a couple of days or get tied up with work and family commitments.

[Chrisb]

I also have one. It works great, I was scared about the cost but it is worth it.

[F8VRT-HBY]

I am happy to hear all yays so far, as I ordered an Eheim Auto Feeder from Big Al's and it should be arriving any day now.

Keith, where did you find the Eheim Model 3581 "Feed-Air"-Digital Feeder at?

Is there much difference between the different Eheim models?

Thanks!
Audrey

Audrey,
I found the Eheim "feed air" at persolutions.com. I order from them a lot and i get my stuff next day almost everytime (they are in OH where i live) I pay taxes because of it, but i would recommend them to others, packaging (sp?) and service is always excellent.

Thanks everyone, you couldn't have helped me more!! :D

[Cosmo]

Yep... Eheim auto feeder.. the only way to go :)

[F8VRT-HBY]

Just as a follow up. I recieved my Auto feeder and i love it. Its a neat gadget that is easy to work with and does its job well. no i can go on spring break and not worry about the water getting messed due to over feeding :D

[tpl*co]

Ack, now you guys are making me wish I ordered two! BigAls is having them on sale right now for a great price! (and Wens. is double VIP points). I thought I'd try them on the young tank first because my older discus (the little snots) hold out and don't want to eat dry!

[sidra]

I have the opposite problem, my older discus will try anything I feed (they'll look it over, sniff it, eat it spit it out as a taste test, but they usually end up eating it). It's my two young discus I can't get to eat anything but live blackworms and frozen bloodworms.

I am going away next weekend from Friday morning to late Sunday night. My two fish-experienced friends will be away the same weekend. The older fish would be absolutely fine, but the smallest baby is just starting to gain weight and get healthy (he was sick a month ago). I really don't have anyone else I trust to not overfeed them and not foul the water.

I don't know what to do. If I tell my family I can't come for Easter because I have to take care of a baby fish I'll be in the doghouse big time!

[Eddie]

I had the pickiest golden discus ever. Would only eat beefheart. I went on vacation for a week and my fish were only fed tetra color flakes, by my eheim, the entire time. When I came back, my golden was a big fan of flake food. I guess he figured it out that he wasn't gettin anything else. I had no other choice and now all my fish eat everything. ;)