Automatic Pond Feeder

[archimedes]

Hello,
I'm going to be away for 3 months this summer. I have someone who can check on my fish occasionally, but it feels like a bit much to ask them to feed the fish every day.

Is there an automatic fish feeder machine that anyone here has direct experience with that you could recommend? Something that could hold a month, or so, of food that my friend could check on occasionally - instead of every day.

I have 7 Shubunkins (5, four inch and 2, ten inch) in a 1500 gallon wood frame pond.

Thanks

 

[Dave 54]

I have never used automatic filters but I have heard horror stories in them ditching their entire load in a pond.
To be truthful for the number of fish you have and the cost of a really good Automatic feeder that dosent go wrong ????
Well the two dont equate i;e its acctually not worth your while doing this .
If you ask your friend to feed them everyday then at least they are on the scene should anything become untowards in the pond and can be at the end of a phone to you should this be noticed at a feeding , another plus they can check the security of your homestead each day so that would be a double safety move not only are your goldfish covered you home is too
How would you feel if you put an expensive feeder on the pond only to either have it go wrong or be stolen whilst your away .
Besides they dont have to visit everyday do they the fish can rely on anything that comes within range of being eaten
A major horror story would be you have the feeder on the pond your fiend goes in two weeks later to top it up only to find it has polluted the ponds water because it has ditched its entire contents into your pond

Dave

 

[CometKeith]

Your fish should survive fine without any man made food given the size of your pond and quantity and size of your fish. I would just have your friend throw in some food whenever he checks on them. They will not starve with the presence of algae and bugs in your pond.

 

[archimedes]

I never thought of that. How long can the fish survive without being feed? Every time I feed them they seem to be voraciously hungry.

The pond is an 8.5' x 12.5' box, so a lot of surface area for bugs to fall in. I'm in FL, so I'm sure there are plenty of mosquito larvae, and I know there plenty of frog eggs - but they don't seem to eat the frog eggs.

 

[Dave 54]

You get bugs living in the water things landing on the surface we have mosquitos flying above its surface even in winter under our policarbonate roofing sheets .
There are frogs eggs, flies, moths, butterflies woodlice all are extremely high in protien so they should do very well , but still have your friend throw in the odd handful and check them out

Dave

 

[CometKeith]

Wild carp don't get fed by anyone and they do fine. If you want to have the buffet open all the time get a few lights and shine them on your pond. There will be a never ending supply of insect food for your fish! Re the fish acting hungry. Basically what do they do most the day? Look for food. If you could do in 5 minutes what might normally take you most the day wouldn't you be happy too?

 

[Lisak1]

We've seen ponds of goldfish that are never fed - ever. And the fish do just fine. But I think if you asked your friend to feed the fish whenever they came to check things out they would get hooked (haha! get it?) on the experience and would show up more frequently for a few minutes pond side. There's just no better way to spend time, even in a busy day. Every single person - child or adult - who sees our fish asks the same question - can we feed them?

 

[archimedes]

Sadly, I thought I was a much more essential part of their lives. Apparently not. LOL

Thanks for the advice, I feel more relaxed about leaving now.

 

[topofthehill1]

I agree with the others based on your fish load.

However, I have Fishmate P7000. It varies in price but it looks like its $80 now. You have to keep it covered up with a small trashcan or something to keep the lcd display readable in case it gets wet. I screw it down to a board to keep animals from knocking it over. You can set it to feed your fish up to three times a day. You can also set the amount it feeds. If I don't feed my fish twice a day they eat all the plants. I use it for one feeding a day or when I go out of town. I trust it far more than a person. People love to overfeed your fish. I trust it but I wouldn't go out of town and not have someone at least look at my pond. Holes in your liner, pumps could burn out, I'm sure other problems I can't even think of right now.

 

[BSquared18]

Very helpful. A lot of years have passed since the last post, but the laws of nature don't change, usually. I have researched a number of feeders on Amazon and haven't found one yet without several horror stories from buyers/reviewers. And most of them aren't cheap. Since my wife and I will be gone for only a few days, I think we'll assume the fish can get by for that long.

 

[GBBUDD]

Very helpful. A lot of years have passed since the last post, but the laws of nature don't change, usually. I have researched a number of feeders on Amazon and haven't found one yet without several horror stories from buyers/reviewers. And most of them aren't cheap. Since my wife and I will be gone for only a few days, I think we'll assume the fish can get by for that long.

YES FISH WILL BE FINE FOR EVEN A WEEK or more

 

[mrsclem]

I added goldfish to a pond a couple of years ago. They have never been fed, plants and algae and they have gone from 12 to 30+.

 

[barryian]

Hello,
I'm going to be away for 3 months this summer. I have someone who can check on my fish occasionally, but it feels like a bit much to ask them to feed the fish every day.

Is there an automatic fish feeder machine that anyone here has direct experience with that you could recommend? Something that could hold a month, or so, of food that my friend could check on occasionally - instead of every day.

I have 7 Shubunkins (5, four inch and 2, ten inch) in a 1500 gallon wood frame pond.

Thanks

Hi - I bought this a year ago. It's waterproof for rain etc. For the price, you can't beat it as it's been working for a year. It has many settings so you can adjust times for multiple feedings and feeding amounts.

Amazon.com