After spending over 40 hours filling, testing and tweaking automatic fish feeders, we have found the best fish feeders for precise feeding, reliability and keeping your fish food dry.
Are you in a hurry? Here is a quick comparison at my top reccommendations:
Have you ever had the problem…
I can’t find someone to feed my fish today?
It was last year when I decided to binge-watch Scrubs on Netflix, which I highly recommend by the way!
However, after watching just nine episodes in a row, I realized that it was time to feed my fish.
And to do that, I had to leave the comfort of my couch.
First world problems, right?
I am embarrassed to say that it was this event that led me to buy an automatic fish food feeder.
It allows me to watch as many shows as I like while my little robotic friend feeds my fish for me – it’s effortless!
If you are lazy like me, then you will rejoice at the idea…
However, an automatic fish feeder also has a more practical purpose:
It’s a great way to feed your fish while you are away from home – like if you go on vacation (yay!) or to work (boo!).
I would also add that if you are the absentminded type, an automated feeder will keep your fish full even if you forget to give them food!
It doesn’t matter whether you need your fish fed in a small tank, a large reef tank or your pond, there is an automatic fish feeder to suit your needs.
As you see, an automatic fish feeder is a darn useful piece of aquarium equipment.
Now, you may be wondering:
How do you know which automatic fish feeder is best for your tank?
Today, I am going to answer that question and more. I have done the hard work for you. I have personally tested and reviewed over 13 different automatic fish feeders for design, performance and usability.
Let’s jump into the guide…
You are essentially trusting an automatic fish feeder with the lives of your fish.
If the feeder fails, your fish starve. If it overfeeds, you are at risk of ammonia spikes, which can be just as deadly.
That’s why you want the best automatic fish feeder on the market – not only to keep your fish full but safe too.
That’s why I rounded up all the popular automatic fish feeders (and some unpopular ones) including:
To find the best automatic fish feeder on the market!
It doesn’t matter whether you have a saltwater tank or a freshwater one…. After 40 hours of testing, I am confident that you can do no better than my recommendations below:
If you have been fishkeeping for a while, you will be unsurprised by my top pick. It is commonly recommended by beginners and expert aquarists alike.
The Eheim Everyday Fish Feeder was unbeatable and offered the best value for your money. I was surprised to discover that the Eheim Everyday Fish Feeder is only marginally more expensive than the cheapest options.
Except for large wafers and sticks, the Eheim fish feeder was capable of dispensing all the common foods I threw at it. Once properly adjusted, various-sized pellets, flakes and freeze-dried blood worms all tumbled out in consistent portion sizes.
With the ability to program the feeder to dispense up to 4 times each day, you have flexibility in feeding. And each time, you can make the container spin once or twice, depending on how much food you want to dispense.
And thanks to the included clamp, this automatic fish feeder worked just as on fish tanks with a lid as it did those without.
Want to know more? Read the full review here.
When it comes to precise feeding, no automatic fish feeder did better than the Fish Mate F14. Why is it so precise? Because you decide the exact amount, to the pellet, that is dispensed each time.
You do this by stocking each of the 14 trays with fish food. When feeding time rolls around, the entire tray is dispensed. This has the added bonus of allowing you to mix and match foods. By combining algae wafers and fish flakes into one tray, you can feed your neon tetras and shrimp at the same time.
Another advantage to the tray system is that by only filling every second tray, you can have this fish feeder dispense food on alternate days. This is the only automatic fish feeder I tested that allowed you to skip feedings.
Of course, the tray system does have its downside – it holds less food than the rotating barrel type. But that’s the trade-off you make for accuracy.
I did find that the downward-facing opening on the dispenser made the food more prone to moisture than other fish feeders.
Fortunately, the F14 has a clever trick up its sleeve – an airline attachment allowing you to connect this fish feeder to your air pump. With air constantly blowing over the food, it eliminated any trace of moisture.
The Hygger WiFi Intelligent Fish Feeder is a modern marvel designed to simplify fishkeeping and bring peace of mind to busy aquarists. Imagine a device that not only ensures your fish are well-fed but also keeps you connected to your aquarium no matter where you are.
Smart Control at Your Fingertips: With the Hygger feeder, you can control feeding times and monitor your aquarium directly from your smartphone. The user-friendly app lets you schedule feedings, check feeding history, and receive alerts if the food supply runs low, making fishkeeping worry-free even when you’re away.
High-Definition Monitoring: Equipped with a 2K HD camera, this feeder allows you to keep an eye on your fish in real time. Whether you’re taking snapshots or recording videos, the camera lets you share your underwater world with friends and family, adding an interactive and fun aspect to fishkeeping.
Innovative Moisture-proof Design: The feeder’s 230 ml food bin features a clever moisture-proof lid that keeps fish food dry and fresh, preventing clumping and blockages. This ensures that your fish receive the right amount of food every time, maintaining their health and happiness.
Versatility for All Fish Types: The Hygger feeder comes with two interchangeable food outlets, catering to both small and large fish. Whether you’re feeding powder, granules, strips, or flakes, this feeder dispenses the perfect portion for your fish’s size and needs.
Dependable Power Solutions: Designed with dual power options, the Hygger feeder can be powered via USB or a power bank, ensuring continuous operation even during power outages. This reliable setup means you’ll never have to worry about your fish missing a meal.
Easy Installation and Maintenance: Setting up the Hygger feeder is simple. It can be attached to the side of the tank with a clip or fixed on the aquarium lid, making it suitable for both open and closed setups. Plus, its easy-to-clean design ensures hassle-free maintenance.
The Hygger WiFi Intelligent Fish Feeder combines technology and convenience, making it an essential tool for any fish enthusiast. Its smart features and reliable performance take the guesswork out of feeding, allowing you to enjoy a thriving, healthy aquarium with minimal effort. This feeder is a must-have for anyone looking to enhance their fishkeeping experience.
Note: Use an Apex controller on your saltwater tank? The AFS automatic feeding system by Neptune Systems is essentially a modified version of this fish feeder.
Of course, you cannot have winners without losers. While some came close to taking out the number-one spot, others weren’t even close.
In no particular order, here are the runners-up along with why they were edged out by my top picks.
The Penn-Plax Daily Double II was one of the cheapest automatic fish feeders I reviewed. The Daily Double II was preset to dispense food every 12 hours and could not be adjusted. When you set up the unit, there is no way to determine that it is functioning correctly until it drops food 12 hours later. Build-quality is also questionable with noticeably brittle tabs being the only thing that secures the cap to the container. While it’s certainly affordable, spending a few more dollars will reward you with a superior automatic fish feeder. This is the same automatic fish feeder as the Aqua Culture Daily Double II sold by Walmart.
The DoPhin AF013, which is sold under many different names including Nicrew and Goobat, is basically a generic version of my top pick, the Eheim Everyday Fish Feeder. It attempts to do everything that Eheim does but not with the same degree of polish. While I liked that it could be programmed for 5 feedings per day, beating Eheim’s 4, this is only situationally useful and does not make up for its flaws. I would call it the poor man’s Eheim fish feeder. But considering it’s basically the same price, I can’t even do that.
Loud noises! That’s what you will experience if you buy the Hydor Automatic Aquarium Feeder. This feeder shakes the food out of the container as it turns, but the accompanying sound is loud enough to wake you up in the night. There is no digital display, and you cannot choose a precise time to feed your fish.
The Zoo Med BettaMattic was the only specialty fish feeder designed to dispense micro-pellets. I was impressed that it had a mounting option for small circular tanks and bowls but that’s where the praise ends. The feeding container clips were too fragile, and the scoop-like design consistently dispensed too many pellets. Considering its purpose is designed for betta food, and you would most likely use it on a tank with a single betta, overfeeding appeared to be built into the design.
While I may love its little brother, the Eheim TWIN Automatic Feeder fell just a bit off the mark. At 4.5 inches tall, the unit felt obnoxiously large. Flaked foods caused the dispenser to clog, and for the price, you can buy two Eheim Everyday Fish Feeders. Don’t get me wrong, this is still a great example of fine German engineering, but it just didn’t check the same boxes as my top picks.
This Imagitarium Automatic Fish Feeder might be commonly available at your local Petco, but that’s about all it had going for it. The build-quality and performance just did not compare to automatic fish feeders in the same price range.
Found the ideal automatic fish feeder for your tank? Now, it’s time to set it up. But before you do that, however, I’m going to share some tips that I wish I knew when I bought my first automatic fish feeder all those years ago…
When it comes to fish feeders, location is everything. Too close to your overflow and any food that is dispensed will get sucked away. Too close to your filter outlet and any floating food will get blown around your aquarium.
If your floating food is being pushed around the tank, I recommend looking into a fish feeding ring.
Next, you want to avoid placing the dispenser of your automatic feeder over an airstone, filter outlet or anything else that causes surface agitation. If you do, small drops of water are going to splash the feeder and cause the food inside to clump together and go stale.
It might take a little creativity to find the right location, especially if you have a small tank. This hobbyist stacked cans to create a ledge for their automatic fish feeder to sit on…
You may need to reposition your light or cut a notch out of your lid. But with some clever thinking, you’ll soon find the best placement for your aquarium.
Once you find the perfect location for your automatic fish feeder, it’s time to secure it…
If your feeder falls in your tank, it will no longer work… The warranty doesn’t cover accidental damage like this.
An unsecured fish feeder can easily be bumped into your aquarium when cleaning. It doesn’t even have to be you, my cat and kids are experts at accidentally dunking nearby objects into my aquarium.
If you are simply attaching the fish feeder to the rim of your aquarium, use the clamps provided in the box. Give it a wiggle to make sure that it is attached properly.
Standing the automatic fish feeder on top of your aquarium hood instead? Velcro is your best friend. A piece glued to the hood and another to your fish feeder will protect it from most bumps. While Hydor and Eheim include Velcro in the box, and I applaud them for it, but the small square provided didn’t compare to this industrial strength Velcro.
But it’s not just the unit itself that you want to secure, you also want the dispenser itself to stay in place – if it moves, you risk overfeeding or starving your fish.
A piece of tape over the dispenser adjuster prevents you from accidentally changing the setting when you refill it.
If you want to use an automatic fish feeder while you are away, I highly recommend doing a trial run first…
This gives you a chance to work through any problems that may arise with your setup, such as moisture problems or the dispenser getting caught on nearby equipment, etc.
Don’t disregard just how important this step is. You are relying on the device to keep your fish fed while you are on vacation. You don’t want to return home only to discover that your automatic fish feeder didn’t feed your fish.
How long should you test your automatic fish feeder? As long as your time away.
Let’s say you are going on a two-week vacation, use your brand new automatic fish feeder for 14 days before you leave.
During this time, monitor the following:
Once you have checked those boxes, you are free to go on your vacation knowing that your fish will be fed until you return.
Oh, and I always recommend inserting a fresh pair of batteries each time you plan on using your automatic fish feeder for an extended time… You don’t want them running down while you are away.
Finally, if you rely on an automatic fish feeder for daily feeding, make sure you periodically check to see that it is in good working order. While a good quality automatic fish feeder is a reliable product, it never hurts to be safe.
