Review: Fish Mate F14 Automatic Feeder

Commentary

In need of a convenient way to feed my goldfish during a week long vacation, I began looking at automatic fish feeders. I tried three day feeding tablets once before and the one I used just made a mess of the fish bowl. (I think they are typically used in aquariums with a water
pump and filter.)

Most automatic feeders seem to be designed for use with an aquarium, but my fish live in a simple fishbowl. I needed something that would accommodate my needs. After some Internet searching I decided on the Fish Mate F14. From pictures on the web, it looked like it could possibly balance on the top of my fish bowl or sit on a stack of books beside the fish bowl and hang over the bowl's opening. It can provide up to fourteen feedings and since I feed twice a day, this covered my one week trip. I hoped to find the feeder at a local pet supply store, but none in my area carried the Fish Mate feeder and their alternatives either didn't work with my pellet food, wouldn't fit my fish bowl, or had received bad reviews online. The Fish Mate F14 is available from Amazon or PetSmart. I needed it quickly and PetSmart had the better delivery estimate, so I went with them. The feeder arrived 2nd-day air just as expected, giving me a couple of days to test it out before leaving home.

Upon opening the box, the feeder was a bit larger than I expected but I really didn't have a clear reference in any of the pictures on the web. And yet, it was small than a couple of the feeders I examined at the local pet store. The height of the device is roughly 1.5" (40mm). The footprint is about the size of a CD.

The F14 uses a single AA battery for power. This means your fish will be fed when the power goes out, but they won't be fed when the battery dies. As long as you remember to install a fresh battery before leaving the fish unmonitored you should be okay. The instruction manual indicates that a Duracell MN1500 should last 12 months. I've been running an Energizer rechargeable for a couple of weeks.

The battery powers a gear box which triggers the feedings, providing a completely mechanical solution. The gear box resembles what you might see in a typical battery-powered wall clock. As the gears spin, the dial on top of the feeder slowly turns throughout the day. One to four red tabs are inserted into this dial at the marks for your desired feeding times. As the dial revolves, the tabs come into contact with an outer wheel which contains up to fourteen individual feedings. Over a two hour period, the outer wheel is pushed along by one of the red tabs and food is dropped from one of the feeding chambers through the opening in the bottom of the feeder platform.

The feeder sits over your aquarium (or fish bowl in my case). Attaching the feeder is accomplished using either the three suction cups that attach to the bottom of the feeder or you can remove two of the suction cups and attach clamps in their place. The clamps are tightened using a Philips head screwdriver. I tried to use the clamps on my fish bowl, but this positioned the feeder opening such that food would have missed the bowl. Instead I just balanced the feeder on top of the bowl and it has worked just fine.

I have continued using the automatic feeder even when I am at home because of the convenience. The only problem I have experienced has to do with the accuracy of the outer wheel's rotation. I put four or five small food pellets in each feeding chamber. Sometimes the wheel does not turn enough to completely push all of the pellets out of the chamber. If a small pellet lays up flat against the chamber wall, it won't drop into the bowl until the next feeding cycle. I haven't seen this to be a major problem and the two goldfish haven't complained. I doubt this would be a problem with other types of food or if you are using larger amounts of food for each feeding. I expect I could use a piece of tape or a bead of dried Elmer's glue along the red tabs to push the outer wheel just a bit further during each feeding cycle.

Though I don't use it, the feeder also has a hook-up for an air supply hose to circulate fresh air in the food compartment.

Overall I have been extremely pleased with the Fish Mate F14 and will continue to entrust my fish to it. You can find more information or other automatic feeding products on the manufacturer's website: http://www.pet-mate.com.

Summary

Info:

• Product: Fish Mate F14
• Price: $32.95 (Suggested retail); a few dollars less online
• Rating: 4/5 chilis

Pros:

• Individual feeding chambers allow for pre-measured feedings
• Flexibility of one to four meals per day
• One year battery life, providing worry free vacations
• Variety of mounting options
• Simple mechanics make set up easy

Cons:

• Positioning of the feed wheel is not 100% accurate, but it is not a major concern