In this article you will learn everything you need to know about the ideal aquarium feeder and I will introduce you to the best fish feeders in the comparison test.
Whether you’re traveling for a few days, taking an extended vacation, or simply feeding at a specific time, you want to keep the fish and animals well fed while you’re gone. Feeding the aquarium inhabitants is such an important task that an aquarium feeder will do for you.
Surely your aquarium fish can do without food for a few days, but this is not ideal for the animals. I have found that a fish feeder is incredibly convenient and easy to use if you buy the right aquarium feeder.
How does an aquarium feeder work?
With an automatic aquarium feeder, your fish can be automatically supplied with the right amount of fish food. For this purpose, the fish feeder has one or more chambers / containers into which the fish food is filled.
By means of a programmable controller, the food is then fed into the aquarium tank at the specified rhythm. The right amount of food can be dosed by adjustable openings and by the number of feedings per day.The units are powered either by a mains connection or more modern batteries. Click here to go directly to the fish feeder test.
The following video shows the functionality of the popular eheim automatic feeder:
What to look for when buying a fish feeder?
I have already tested several automatic aquarium feeders. Unfortunately, there are fish feeders that take a lot of time to set up and program. Therefore I strongly recommend you to pay attention to a simple and accurate adjustability. Otherwise it is not possible to set the desired amount of food in the planned time.
The feeder must stand securely on the aquarium and must not tip over. For an open aquarium, some units offer an additional vertical mounting bracket.
Nowadays you should buy an aquarium feeder with battery operation. The devices can be used flexibly and above all safely on the aquarium. The power consumption of the digital feeders is very low, so that a good fish feeder can feed for several months.
My tip: good aquarium feeders have a digital timer with display, are battery operated and have a stable, firm stand.
Aquarium automatic feeder comparison test – which one fits best?
I now list my 4 recommendations for aquarium feeders and go into more detail about the advantages and disadvantages of each feeder. I also compare which of the feeders fits best to your feeding behavior / requirements. This saves you the time-consuming research and testing of feeders.
Here you can jump directly to the suitable automatic feeder:
Eheim automatic feeder 3581 aquarium – the allrounder
- Flake food, granulated food, pellets or sticks
- Easy to understand programming
- actively ventilated feeding chamber
- Incl. Disc holder
- Can only be filled with one type of food
The eheim automatic feeder 3581 is suitable for you if you feed one type of food, preferably flake food.
JBL autofood automatic feeder – ideal for granulated food
- Especially suitable for accurate dosing of granulated food
- Feeding screw allows exact feed quantity
- Extendable by screw-on JBL food box
- Air connection for drying the feed
- Incl. Disc holder
- The JBL autofood is only for granulated food
The JBL autofood automatic feeder is suitable for you if you only feed granulate food.
Eheim automatic feeder twin 3582 – for professionals
- 2 feeding chambers for flake food, granulated food, pellets or sticks
- 2 types of feed can be fed in parallel
- Each drum can be programmed individually
- Screw drive allows accurate feed amount
- Both drums are ventilated
- feed no longer sticks, as the flap only opens automatically when feeding is in progress
- No disc holder, can "only" be used to be placed on the aquarium
- Not suitable for small amounts of food
The eheim automatic feeder twin 3582 is suitable for you if you feed 2 types of food with very precise dosing.
Grasslin automatic feeder rondomatik 400 – for individualists
- 27 separate feeding bowls for flakes / granules, pellets& sticks
- Feed quantity can be dosed very precisely, even the smallest quantities are possible
- Varied feeding possible
- Several types of food per day and bowl
- Power supply and manual timer
- Limited programmability
- No food aeration
- Maximum 27 feedings or 14 days (with 2 feedings per day) automated possible
The grasslin rondomat aquarium automatic feeder is suitable for you if you feed small amounts of food or many different types of food.
Which fish food is suitable for an automatic feeder??
with an aquarium feeder you can feed dry fish food varieties. It is important that you take care of a homogeneous, i.e. uniform, feed and that you use only one fish feed. This ensures that an almost equal amount of food is dispensed from the dispenser into the aquarium each time the fish is fed. The following types of food are well suited for an automatic feeder:
- Flake food
- Granulated feed
- feeding tablets
- Sticks& pellets
Foods that spoil easily like frozen food or live food are of course not suitable for an automatic feeder.
How to mount the aquarium feeder?
The fish feeder is usually placed on the cover of the aquarium. The aquarium cover is opened underneath the food dispenser so that the fish food can fall into the aquarium. in most cases a small gap of 3-6 cm is sufficient.
In an open aquarium without a cover, a disk holder is needed, such as those used for.B. supplied with the eheim automatic feeder. First, the bracket is attached to the aquarium glass, and then the feeder is attached.
Practical tip: fix the feeder a few days early. This is a good way to check that everything is working correctly and that the right amount of food is falling into the aquarium. Then you have a safe feeling when you are not at home.
How much fish food should I feed??
First of all, you should orientate yourself on your previous feeding quantity. I feed my fish daily in the morning and in the evening and also set the machine like this. Multiple feedings per day have the advantage that you can set small amounts which will be eaten faster. It is best to test the aquarium feeder a few times to make sure the correct amount is fed.
If in doubt, it’s better to set a little less feed quantity. The fish can easily manage a few days with less food. Too much food pollutes the aquarium water too much and represents a significantly higher risk for the aquarium inhabitants.
How to clean a feeder?
Actually, a special cleaning of the aquarium feeder is not necessary. In rare cases, the increased humidity above the aquarium may cause the fish food to stick or stick to the aquarium. Sticking in the feeding drum. The eheim automatic feeder has a special ventilation system to avoid this. If it should stick, good feed dispensers offer a removable feed drum. It can be easily rinsed out and cleaned under running water.