Why Get an Automatic Fish Feeder?

When I first saw an automatic fish feeder I thought, “Who needs one of those? Everyone likes feeding their fish.”
Now years later I have automatic feeders on nearly every aquarium I set up. Here is what changed my mind about automatic feeders.
-Jaron Hudson, MarineAndReef.com Product Expert

Automatic Feeders Can Feed Multiple Times Per Day
When I first started keeping fish, I was told to feed them once per day. You probably heard this as well This is perfectly fine for most beginner fish, but once you start to get into more advanced fish keeping you learn that some planktivores such as anthias are best fed 3-5 times per day. Grazing fish such as tangs and marine angelfish eat all day in nature and are best offered a near-continuous supply of food. Getting an auto feeder will let you offer these fish a small amount of food throughout the day while still getting the fun of feeding some frozen food or a pinch of flake food when the mood strikes. Most people just aren’t around the tank enough to feed 3-5 times per day by hand. Feeding this often is one of the keys to reducing aggression between groups of cichlids or tangs.

Automatic Feeders Never Forget
Sometimes I'm focused on my tank and other times just barely surviving what life throws at me. After becoming a new dad, and going through a period of night school after work, I learned that even though I love feeding the fish, it is very nice to know that if I forget or just don’t get to feed the fish, the fish are still getting something to eat. Using an automatic feeder, an automatic top-off, and an automated doser, I have been able to go two weeks without doing anything to my fish tanks, and all of the animals have remained healthy.

Automatic Feeders Always Dispense the Same Amount of Food
In some environments, different family members or different people at work may feed the tank on different days. What are the chances that everyone is feeding the fish the same amount of food? I can tell you it is virtually zero. From my time working in a local aquarium store there were multiple times when a customer came looking for help because someone fed the fish in the lobby a bit too much, getting the tank seriously dirty and causing major problems. If you can’t have one person feed the fish all of the time, then it is best to have a machine do it.

Automatic Feeders Feed When You Can’t
The main reason people get an automatic fish feeder is for feeding the fish when they are out of town, but sometimes you aren’t out of town but you still can’t feed the fish. When you head straight to your child’s basketball game after work and don’t get home until 10 pm feeding the fish may be the last thing on your mind. I also really don’t want to drive into the office on the weekend just to feed the fish in my office. Automatic fish feeders keep your fish feeding schedule consistent when your schedule is not.