Intro: Under the topic: "Pellet Food or Minnows" the question arose about types and requirements of fish feeders. Hopefully we can provide some good info in a series of posts w/ this topic.
Preface, also see the posts under the topic: 'Manual Feeder' - for information about building home made feeders. Also see posts under heading: Types of Fish to Choose, topic Coppernose Bluegill for feeder and feed ring info. For info about fish feeds see under heading Questions & Observations, topic: what fish food
1. I know of two main brand or company name feeders: Sweeney and STREN. Various retailers handle these feeders. The companies do not sell direct to the public.
Sweeney 1-800-687-6075 or 800-443-4244.
www.SweeneyFeeders.com STREN start w/
www.aquaticeco.com Also there is a reader of the PBoss forum that handles the STREN feeders and hopefully he will add his contact info. (Note: See Greg Grimes' post below).
2. All sizes are available and hold from four lbs to over 200 lbs of feed. Many of the feeders can serve double duty as game or bird feeders during the off season.
3. Power Supply. Most are powered by an internal weather protected rechargable 6 or 12 volt battery. Some models have solar power and are more expensive.
4. Somewhere I saw in a catalog but I can't remember where, about numerous styles of timer & scatter device combos that bolt onto a bucket or barrel. This produces a mechanical feeder for a little less money. I'm now pretty sure they were in the Cabala's Master Catalog. I see they have a pretty wide selection of various styles and prices. Also try
www.cabelas.com use feeder as a search word. Although the catalog has a larger selection of feeder items than the web site.
HAND FEED. I live at my pond site and I prefer to hand feed my fish. I see what the fish are eating and I only add handfulls of feed at a time as they "clean up" each handfull. I consider it fun and relaxing and often exciting when the big'uns start splashing around and throwing water all over the place. It is also fun watching their size increase during the year. I normally feed 5 to 6 days a week when ever the water temperature is 52 deg.F or above. Fish do not eat good at the surface until the temp is closer to 60 deg F.
FEEDER ADVANTAGES. 1. Pond is able to grow or support more fish and the average size is bigger fish.
2. One can keep an eye on the general overall health & condition of the fish. Often in smaller ponds you can get a good idea of the quantity of fish present esp if most eat pelleted food.
3. For some unknown reason, it's fun watching fish feed.
4. Feeding pellets is often consistantly more successful at growing more and bigger fish as compared to trying the fertilizer application method. Fertilizer application sometimes does not work too well.
FEEDER DISADVANTAGES. 1. One disadvantage to a mechanical feeder is the possibility of ducks or waterfowl hogging the feed when no one is around. 2. Feeding high protein pellets to fish introduces nutrients into the pond making it more fertile, so you will likely see additional algae/plant growth from the fish feeding. 3. Once you start feeding your fish you should not directly stop feeding. Feeding builds the fish biomass or weight present in the pond over what the pond can naturally support. All the extra fish in the pond will start losing weight and sickness or deaths may result if the outside food source is stopped. If you stop feeding, harvest quite a few fish from the pond to get the total poundage (carrying capacity) back to a "natural level".
NO FISHING. I recommend that no one fishes around the feeder/feeders despite how tempting it is to do this. Fishing near the feeder is counter productive in that it teaches the fish that danger lurks around the feeder and they are more hesitant to utilize the feeder. . You want your fish to feel non-threatened when using the feeder.
FEEDING RINGS. Sometimes a home-made floating, feed, retention ring is helpful especially when first training the fish to eat pellets. The feed ring keeps the feed in deeper water and prevents it from floating to shore where it is often uneaten to mold and/or grow algae. Feed rings can be built from PVC pipe (2" to 4") glued into rectangle or square (2'x2' upto 8'x8'). I use 1" or up to 2" dia black poly water pipe formed into a circle with a connector and caulk/tape to make it water tight. Rings can be anchored or tethered in the desired area. I prefer to put a wind baffle of vinyl siding or flashing material (4"-6" wide) that is attached like a belt to the inside of the ring using wire ties or similar material. This helps keep pellets from fish splashing them out or the wind from blowing them out of the ring.
Feeding your fish introduces you to AQUACULTURE -growing a crop of fish in water with pelletized feed. Aquaculture in the future will provide the world with a big portion of its "seafood".
