How long does food last in auto feeder?

Nevets9333

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I have an Eheim auto feeder that I am going to use while I go on vacation. I was going to test it out for a week or two while I am home to dial in how much to feed. Will the flakes/pellets go "stale" just sitting in the feeder?
 

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Good question! I have had PE pellets in mine up to 2 months before and haven't noticed any issues. I try never to fill it past half way, as my bio-load isn't terribly heavy and the feed door isn't open very much. That said it wouldn't hurt to periodically evaluate it for freshness, nobody wants stale pellets! :)
 
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Nevets9333

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Thanks @Red_Beard , I guess I ma not really sure how to tell if it is still "fresh"? I feel like nutritionally it should be fine, might just not taste a good for the fishies!
 

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The other day my trigger was swimming around and decided to defecate in the upper middle of the tank. My tang saw this and quickly swam to the area, gobbled it all up like it was thanksgiving dinner. Soooooo, you are fine as long as the flakes/pellets have not gotten wet.
 

Peace River

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I have an Eheim auto feeder that I am going to use while I go on vacation. I was going to test it out for a week or two while I am home to dial in how much to feed. Will the flakes/pellets go "stale" just sitting in the feeder?

The food should be should be fine for two weeks. I have found pellets to work more consistently with auto feeders (and hold up longer). You don’t want your auto feeder getting clogged on day 3 of a two week vacation so I would start using it several days before your vacation so you can monitor it. Good luck!
 

Dragon52

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I mix pellets & Flake food into an extra container & shake it very hard & the pellets break the flake food into pieces the same size as the pellets. I beleive that feeder keeps the moisture out & should last up to 30 days depending on how many times & how much you feed. I had 2 of those.
 
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The food should be should be fine for two weeks. I have found pellets to work more consistently with auto feeders (and hold up longer). You don’t want your auto feeder getting clogged on day 3 of a two week vacation so I would start using it several days before your vacation so you can monitor it. Good luck!

Yea that is why I am planning on starting it a week or so before I leave. Have to find that balance of having it open enough to not get clogged but without dumping too much in the tank! I have pellets two so I may mix those into the equation. I was thinking two weeks would be fine, but long term didn't know how long people were changing out the food.
 
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I mix pellets & Flake food into an extra container & shake it very hard & the pellets break the flake food into pieces the same size as the pellets. I beleive that feeder keeps the moisture out & should last up to 30 days depending on how many times & how much you feed. I had 2 of those.

I am leaning towards a flake pellet mix and doing as you noted. I have both so might as well give both to my fish! Did you ever use the doser over a long period of time? Depending on how this goes I was considering keeping it on the tank to feed a little bit throughout the day even when I get back. The more I read that is better for the fish. Replacing every 30 days seems doable, but most likely wasteful too.
 

Peace River

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Yea that is why I am planning on starting it a week or so before I leave. Have to find that balance of having it open enough to not get clogged but without dumping too much in the tank! I have pellets two so I may mix those into the equation. I was thinking two weeks would be fine, but long term didn't know how long people were changing out the food.

It sounds like you have a good plan. Several other factors like humidity, potential for pests, and loss of quality all need to be considered for longer term exposure.
 

Peace River

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I am leaning towards a flake pellet mix and doing as you noted. I have both so might as well give both to my fish! Did you ever use the doser over a long period of time? Depending on how this goes I was considering keeping it on the tank to feed a little bit throughout the day even when I get back. The more I read that is better for the fish. Replacing every 30 days seems doable, but most likely wasteful too.

I haven’t used a doser for foods, but this is something I have been thinking about lately so I would like to hear feedback from others who are doing it or have done it, what foods have been tried, pros/cons, etc.

What foods are you thinking about dosing?
 
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I haven’t used a doser for foods, but this is something I have been thinking about lately so I would like to hear feedback from others who are doing it or have done it, what foods have been tried, pros/cons, etc.

What foods are you thinking about dosing?
I have every type of food... I subscribed to My Aquarium Box and every month got some type of food. Right now I am thinking of a mix of pellet and flake. Probably a couple types of each just because I have it already.

I know others use the doser in this way, so I am also interested to see what they have to say too!
 

Dragon52

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I am leaning towards a flake pellet mix and doing as you noted. I have both so might as well give both to my fish! Did you ever use the doser over a long period of time? Depending on how this goes I was considering keeping it on the tank to feed a little bit throughout the day even when I get back. The more I read that is better for the fish. Replacing every 30 days seems doable, but most likely wasteful too.
Yes, sometimes I use it for wks at a time even when I'm home. I will also give them frozen once a day every so often, 2-3 days apart as well as Nori ( they all go nuts over that except the gobies & blennies at the bottom).
 
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Nevets9333

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Yes, sometimes I use it for wks at a time even when I'm home. I will also give them frozen once a day every so often, 2-3 days apart as well as Nori ( they all go nuts over that except the gobies & blennies at the bottom).

I feed Nori a couple times a week for my foxface, but most of them will eat that too. Although they will have to go without the Nori while l am away.
 

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