Review on Convenient and Reliable Fish Mate F14 Aquarium Fish Feeder for Hassle-Free Feeding by Danielle Rodriguez

I have two of these for my tanks. They are great for dispensing small amounts of food like catfish pellets, but are definitely not ideal. The circular ring you see in the product image is divided into sections around the perimeter that accommodate the lining. Each time this outer ring rotates, one of the sections passes through a hole in the front of the device, allowing food to spill into your reservoir. In the center is a 24-hour timer that rotates continuously (one rotation per day). The pins attached to the timer spin the outer ring - you get 4 pins so you can feed up to 4 times a day if you use them all. It takes about an hour for one of the sections to completely pass through the feeding hole, so during that hour the feed tends to fall out a little at a time. The sections are not very big and you win. In each there is no room for a large amount of food. Pellets, granules, and slabs work well. I usually break Pleco waffles in half to make sure they fit together and leave room; The feed hole is not very large and you don't want the waffles to get stuck as this could interfere with further feeding. Flake products do not work well in this feeder; the flakes tend to settle flat on the surface of the feeder and then slide under the edges of the ring. Sometimes I put flakes on top of the granules because it keeps them from sticking together, but I usually avoid flakes altogether because it's not worth the hassle with this feeder (I use a separate flake drum feeder). My biggest concern is that the outer ring isn't attached to the body of the block other than gravity and a tiny raised plastic guide. Thus, when moving the device, it is very easy to move the ring or move it from its place. If the ring moves while food is in it, most likely some of the food will fall under the rim of the ring and prevent it from lying flat in the correct position. At this point you must completely drain the feeder, reinstall the ring, and then refill it; it can be very frustrating when that happens. I wish they had a mechanism to hold the outer ring in place a little better. The included mount didn't really work for my use case as food would end up on my glass lid instead. in water! Instead, I mount the feeder on top of the filter (this keeps it high enough above the water to avoid splashing or getting wet, and allows water to flow out of the filter to disperse any food that gets in. I once dropped an entire feeder in mine Tank because it tipped forward and just slid in. After this incident I attached some lead weights to the inside/back of the feeder to balance it, on the other hand after taking it out of the water I removed the battery, shook it and then left it in a sealed container with some uncooked rice and a couple tablespoons of Damp Aid, it dried out and still works for me to this day.