Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Feeding Auto feeding caged fish - Product/Setup Advice

My caged fish are growing poorly - largely due to the fact I can only feed 3x weekly. Scott suggested installing some inexpensive hanging feeders directly over the cages with a funnel attached to keep pellets dropping directly over the cage opening.

Seeing some pretty dicey looking options online...On Time, Moultrie, etc. Anyone have experience with a setup like this? Any guidance on models?

Appreciate in advance - thanks guys.

TJ, one thing that I didn't address is the FA growing on the cages. That's gotta change. With all the FA on the cage, it inhibits water flow thru the cage, which limits the amount of O2 available in the cage for the fish. They can't grow well if they are stressed, and low O2 levels contribute to stress. Reduced water flow thru the cage also reduces the water quality by not letting fish waste exit the cage.

Have you ever taken DO readings in the pond outside of the cage and inside the cage?

TJ, I got a couple of these (non-working) at the time from Bruce a couple weeks ago. You can certainly use one or both of them if we can get them working. Alex was supposed to be tinkering with them to see if he could get them to work.

Algae only growing on the top 12" of cage of the one you are thinking about - pulled three and examined them and cleaned them up and popped them back into the pond. I think flow through is fine for all of them now, and bottom of cages is always free from algae so waste is passing through.

Thanks Josh...might take you up on that or buy these things new for the Spring, not sure. I'm seeing pricing around $50-60, but not sure they are even worth it.

Before you pay that, let's see if Alex was able to get either of them to work or not and you can try it out. I'll find if he's had any time to mess with them or not and let you know. Planning on being down your way this weekend.

TJ, get a piece of PVC, and cap off the end. Drill some holes just above the cap or at various places. Hang it inside the cage and add pellets. Put something over the top to keep out bugs, etc.

Small fish generally come to the holes and suck out the gooshy pellet stuff.

TJ,
I fed caged BG last fall, look at this post that has a picture of a aquapro DX-25 and a plastic funnel as Scott suggests:
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=25107&Number=317943#Post317943

Nicely done, I missed this the first time around apparently. Thanks for sharing, gives me some ideas.

You guys might want to look into koi feeders for cages. Not as pricey as the big feeders and they drop the feed in vs. shooting it out. I will be investing in a few for the three high school recirculating tanks I have set up for weekends, holidays, etc.

Cecil, got a link to the ones you are getting? Can they be used outside in the elements?

Something like this which is rated for ponds. There are various sizes and prices. They don't hold a lot, but if they work for a a few days or a weekend, for one of my RAS tanks -- where the fish are small enough to have to be able to feed up to 3 times a day -- they would fit the bill.

http://www.amazon.com/Fish-Mate-00348-P7...eders+for+ponds

About $80.00 with free shipping.



Looks like the old gumball dispensers doesn't it?

You can download the instructions from this link: Ani Mate (fish feeder)
Click on the P7000.

This is the USA Rep.

I was just interested in how it was made.

Hmmm...doesn't look very rugged or weatherproof, does it?

That's for whomever to decide.

Corkscrews are a pretty decent way of conveying materials like this, but are prone to failure if over torqued or flexed to many times. Looks like they are monitoring that with the auto unclog cycle.

I would at least want to get a spare corkscrew.

Howdy folks new to the site but have been studying the catfish for years. I've working on a harvesting system and use feeders. I use 18inch single walled drain pipe. You can split it in the right spot allowing a round plywood and snap back together. Cut a smaller hole in plywood and mount a mouiltre bucket feeder. In the testing I use a trash can lid to cover. These work ok and can hold up to 50lbs of feed. They eat batteries and crash from moisture. I now have one that holds same amount of feed and you have to pull out slides daily to feed.

For cage or tank feedings the Koi Kitchen is a little larger unit, more weather proof and around the same price compared to what CB1 displayed. You may have to design a way to make it drop pellets vertically instead of scattering pellets.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/pr...6C15C=525418138

[quote=Dustin Pratt]So i went with this feeder 70 dollars:





I did this in my cage and it worked great... except for the smaller aquamax would dribble out for a few seconds after it spun.. also if my kids were jumping on the deck, it also caused it to drip, but it was reliable, and it fed without jamming... i think that if one were to size down the hole in the bottom, it would be great for smaller pellets.

I have had luck with it and with a few small mods, would recommend it.


I will attack the post to where I discussed this at length

drp

Here is the thread:

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=333234&page=1

Thanks Dustin good input as always.