Nowadays there is an assortment of high-quality vacation fish feeders on the market that come equipped with enough food pellets for keeping finned friends properly fed while you are away from home.
These products, commonly referred to as slow release feeding blocks, contain dense concentrations of the essential nutrients required by aquarium settlers and gradually dissipate over time to release edible fish food into the aquarium water. They’re intended to last at least one week – 14 for larger tanks.
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Automatic Feeders
If you plan on being away for more than a week and do not have anyone trusted to feed your fish while you’re gone, an automatic feeder could be an ideal solution. These devices use timers to distribute a set amount of food at regular intervals during your absence.
Most automated feeding units consist of a container or hopper to store the food, a motor that turns a rotating barrel at feeding time, and an auger for dispensing it into the water. Some units also feature digital timers so you can set different times for different days of the week; this feature can be especially helpful if your tank requires strict feeding schedules.
Because these feeders are battery-powered, regular monitoring of battery levels and spare batteries will be necessary in order to maintain uninterrupted dispensing. This is particularly crucial if multiple feeding sessions per day are being set – this will drain batteries more quickly.
Time-Release Feeders
These feeders dispense food on an ongoing or periodic schedule. With timers that enable you to set your desired feeding schedule prior to leaving for vacation, these devices ensure your pets will always have food.
These pyramid-shaped feeders are specially crafted to give your finned friends an efficient 14-day diet of nutrients and protein, perfect for goldfish, tetras, guppies and other common aquarium fish species. Furthermore, they can also be used in both freshwater and saltwater tanks.
Unfortunately, these types of fish vacation feeders may not be an appropriate solution for aquariums without sufficient filtration and water movement as they may alter the color and quality of tank water, increasing ammonia levels as well as nitrate concentrations in your aquatic environment.
Some fish don’t react well to these blocks because they are unfamiliar with eating from them; as a result, they may ignore or completely bypass it. Furthermore, these products can pollute the tank water with dirt and smell.
Calcium Block Feeders
Feeding blocks are densely-packed blocks of fish food designed to slowly dissolve in aquarium water, dispensing small food particles for consumption by aquarium fish species that primarily consume flake or pellet food sources; they may also be used to feed other aquarium species like brine shrimp and bloodworms depending on the type of aquarium in which it’s placed.
Most feeding blocks feature a plaster-type base containing calcium sulfate to prevent them from floating, while certain brands such as Tetra Weekend Tropical slow-release feeders feature gel bases which do not cloud aquarium water.
These feeders may last from one to 14 days depending on where you place the feeding block and aquarium water circulation. Formulated to provide a balanced diet for aquarium fish, they typically include ingredients like fish meal, freeze-dried worms, algae, spirulina, vitamins and mineral supplements. Some models are specifically tailored for specific breeds of aquarium fish such as freshwater tropical species or goldfish aquarium fish species.
Gel Feeders
These gel blocks of fish food feature a timer to ensure your aquarium pets eat at regular intervals.
Slow-release feeders were developed specifically to address one of the greatest concerns among pet fish enthusiasts – how to feed their aquarium inhabitants when they’re away from home. Packed full of nutrient-rich fish food that gradually dissolves over time, these slow release feeders allow aquarium inhabitants to feast as it dissipates.
Vacation feeders come in various sizes, from two-day vacation feeders to seven or 14 day-long blocks of food. Their effectiveness depends heavily on your aquarium’s filtration system and water movement as well as how many fish inhabit your tank; in particular, some species may refuse to consume the food embedded within these vacation feeders and go on hunger strikes, thus necessitating careful selection of a vacation feeder suitable to your specific needs.
