Are Desolving 4 day fish feeders any good?

[Narmical]

Are desolving 4 day fish feeders any good?

The reason is ask is, I like to travel alot. I take weekend trips quite frequently. Currently the animals that i plan to keep dont need to be fed every day, so if i go away for the weekend, if the dont get fed druing that time they will be ok.

So i was wondering about adding fish to my tank in the future. specificy clown fish or yellow tang. It is my understanding that these fish should be fed daily.

I have noticed a product in the fish store that is called 4 day fish feeder. It looks like a little stone. I understand that it desolves over the period of 4 days and releases food into the tank.

Has anyone used these? do they work as intended?
arey the bad for the fish? Are they bad for the tank?
will this fufull the needs of clown fish or yellow tangs?

--Mitch

 

[inline6]

I believe they are used for freshwater only.

 

[Liz]

Mitch,
Stick to a feeder that won't pollute your water too much, try something that you can determine "what portion" your fish will get fed.
I personally have something like this automatic fish feeder OR rondomatic (see link). If you are away 2-3 days it works great....OR you ask a neighbor/family member *with specific instructions printed* , lol :approve:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produ...ge-_-Feeders&ref=3969&subref=AA&N=2004+112973

 

[Narmical]

Stick to a feeder that won't pollute your water too much,

So you are saying the desolving feeders are bad for the tank because they degrade the water quality?
Im asuming this is due to the material that does the desolving.

try something that you can determine "what portion" your fish will get fed.

I dont understand what you mean by "determine 'what proprtion'". Could you elaborate.

I Have roommates, I have yet to discuss the idea of having them feed it. However as i do travel alot, i would feel like im imposing on them.

 

[ming]

IMO, they pollute the water because you're dumping a whole bunch of food all at once. You think that 4 day feeder is going to not dissolved into the water column by day 2? Especially with good current, it'll be totally dissolved whether or not the fish ate it.
Due to this, I would feed them just a little extra before you leave on the 2-3 day trip, and feed when you get back.

 

[lfsmarineguy]

actually they are mostly a lump of plaster with some food in it. The plaster dissolves and releases layers of food. Even if I had a FW tank I wouldn't use them....ever. Get someone you trust to feed the fish if you are going away it's the easiest way to do it as long as you portion out the food ahead of time.

 

[daisy]

I have a clown and a yellow tang. if you feed them nicely before you leave (and to me, that means every day for four days, maybe) so that the tang is not convex in the least, then they can go three days w/o eating at all. Be sure you've got a seaweed clip with greens on it for the tang - maybe hang two clips before you leave... Mine are fine for three days, even four without eating.

On the other hand, mine are in a seasoned tank with lots of other stuff to graze on - still, if you feed them daily before you leave, I don't think they'll starve to death over the weekend.

Get a few others' take on it before you follow my advice, but underfeeding never caused a tank to crash - overfeeding undoubtedly will.

Good luck!

 

[masterswimmer]

I agree wholeheartedly with daisy.

I've left my tank for MANY weekends 2-3 days with zero ill effects.

I've got tangs, clowns, wrasses, pipefish, mandarin and all do fine.

swimmer

 

[PalmTree]

I usually leave for 2 to 3 days at a a time as well and have not had any problems at all.

 

[Narmical]

Ok, thanks for the advice.

I had decided originaly that i didnt want fish because of my frequent trips.
One of my friends girlfriends thought it was a bad reason, citing the desolving feeders.

well i guess its a bad reason because they can get by for a weekend by themselves.

How long of a trip would you take without feeding the fish?

Also if i go on a weekend trip, sould i feed them friday before i leave (late afternoon) and then sunday when i return (midnight)? or sould i just wait to feed them monday morning?

 

[basiab]

I agree with the others, if you are going just for a day or two there is no problem at all. Yes feed them just before you leaave but do not feed them when you get back unless the lights are on. Just let it go on your normal feeding time. I have gobies, spotted cardinal and royal gramma and have left them for 2 days with no problems. I do have an automatic feeder but I find that they are not worth the trouble. You are more likely to have problems using an automatic feeder or even having a friend feed since both tend to over feed and then you have algae problems.

 

[Narmical]

How can you tell if a fish (or any other tank member) is having problems with not geting enugh food?

 

[peterm]

I go away every weekend and my fish are fine. This includes many 3 day weekends. My live rock has plently of grazing growth for the Kole Tang. I have also purposely avoided fish that need to be fed more often e.g. Anthias.

 

[Deanos]

This lose weight and appetite.