8 Best Automatic Fish Feeders
Carla Arbuckle
If you own any fish, whether it’s in a fish tank or a pond, you know that it can be tedious when feeding your fish. Sure it’s quick, but we’re all human, and, face it, our memories aren’t the best. We wake up late, and we forget about the little things we do. Sure we can set reminders, but what if you can feed your fish automatically without you having to remind yourself.
An automatic fish feeder reduces the chance of any possible human error occurring. For example, overfeeding can lead to a huge problem. In a pond, feeding too much can result in pollution. Your automatic feeder will be designed to feed specific portions to different times of day that you set. Remove the guesswork and human error, so your fish can live healthy and happy.
In this article, we’ll go over the best automatic fish feeders in the market today and discuss their best features.
8 Best Automatic Fish Feeders
1. Moultrie Pro Hunter Hanging Deer Feeder | 6.5-Gallon | Pro Hunter Feeder Kit | 40 lb. Capacity
2. Eheim Automatic Feeding Unit
3. P7000 Pond Fish Feeder
4. Moultrie 30 GAL Quick Lock Directional
5. Elite Digital Lifetime Fish Combo Solar
6. Texas Hunter Directional Fish Feeder w/Adjustable Legs - 70 lb. Fish Feed Capacity - Model DF125AL
7. Pond King Mounted Fish Feeder
8. Texas Hunter Directional Fish Feeder w/Straight Legs - 250 lb. Fish Feed Capacity - Model DF425DL
Moultrie Pro Hunter Hanging Deer Feeder | 6.5-Gallon | Pro Hunter Feeder Kit | 40 lb. Capacity
The Moultrie Pro Hunter hanging deer feeder is an excellent quality feeder. It includes a 6.5-gallon metal bucket and can hold 40 pounds. The bucket is made with a beautifully finished mossy oak infinity camo design that blends in well with nature. To use, have a 6-volt battery required for use. You can set the digital timer programming to feed up to 6 times a day, 1 to 20 seconds each. There are adapters available inside the feeder kit as well. It can hang easily under trees, branches, poles, woods, or anywhere. The product dimensions are 12.5 x 12.4 x 17.2 inches and weigh 1.6 ounces.
Pros
- Ability to set a feeding schedule
- Holds up to 40 lbs, can carry a lot
- Battery life is long
- Able to sling corn or other types of food
Cons
- Requires assembly, instructions can be difficult to follow
- Durability is questionable
Our Take
If you’re in the woods trying to feed animals, this is an excellent option. We love how you can hang this from practically anywhere and holds a lot of food. Typically you can put a large amount of corn and let it sling. If you own a farm, it’ll work wonders to feed cows, chickens, horses, pigs - any animal you can think of. We’ve tested it, and animals don’t get freaked out. Having a camouflaged design helps them, so they don’t feel endangered, thinking it might be a dangerous weapon.
The feeding schedule is great, it’s on time, and you can set it up to 6 times a day. Now I don’t have to worry whether or not the animals are fed. Having this is a massive time saver.
Eheim Automatic Feeding Unit
The Eheim automatic feeding unit makes your life easier to help you feed your fish. It’s convenient feeding for healthier fish. Set it and leave -- the feeder will feed automatically at designated times. Packing dimensions are 2.7-inch width and 5.87-inch height and 3.43-inch depth. The product weighs 9.4 ounces. This feeder has an adjustable slider to allow you to set the portion amount. There’s a patented integrated fan and ventilation system to keep your food dry. This product includes 2 AA batteries for operation. It also works to feed amphibians or reptiles and ideal for terrariums. The drum volume is 3.3fl ounces or 100ml. The feeder can last up to 6 weeks. This product has a 3-year warranty.
Pros
- Easy to Install (instruction manual included)
- Consistency - serves with exact portions at the exact time
- Able to see how much food is left
- Quiet operation
Cons
- Can only serve one type of food (need a second feeder for a different type of food)
- May not fit larger types of food
Our Take
When it comes to an automatic fish feeder, reliability and consistency are huge. Personally, I am notorious for just overfeeding my fish, and this can be a big problem. It was pretty easy to install, push 3 to 4 buttons, and it's all set up. There's a tiny plastic door with an amount regulator that makes it easy to adjust the amount of food you want to serve. Sometimes, you'll want to increase or decrease the amount.
You can literally go weeks without even touching the feeder or worrying about feeding your fish. It's also nice that you can feed other amphibians as well, such as a pet turtle. It also disperses them across your tank, so you the food typically just floats around the tank. The small sliding door allows the food to escape. And the motor is quiet so it won't disturb you if you're sleeping. Overall this is a must-have for any person with fish. It'll be one less thing you have to worry about!
P7000 Pond Fish Feeder
The P7000 Pond Fish Feeder is easy to use, and convenient feeder made to feed fish automatically. The feeder fits a large 30 cup capacity and displays the time and portions as necessary on an easy to read LCD digital display. It’s ideal for any food sticks and pellets. For use, it’s required to have 4 C Batteries, which isn’t included in your purchase. The product dimensions are 8.3 x 8.3 x 14.5 inches. And the item weight is 1 pound, while the shipping weight is 2.75 pounds.
Pros
- Feeds accurately and on time
- Easy to set up and follow the screen display
- Works for food sticks and pellets
Cons
- Food can jam if it’s filled passed capacity
- Need other equipment or adjustments to protect against harsh weather conditions or other animals
Our Take
This is an excellent fish feeder if you’re someone with an outdoor pond. Having something that can automatically run while you’re away is extremely important. This product comes with manual instructions and an easy LCD screen; simply push a few buttons, and your feeding schedule is set to run on its own! We also like that it has to capability to fit many types of fish food such as food sticks and pellets. It’s the perfect pond feeder for anyone who owns different kinds of fish, such as koi.
One area of improvement is that you’ll want to possibly purchase a cover or lid to protect against rain, storms or harsh outdoor weather conditions. And if there are any pests or other animals nearby, you’ll also want protection as well. One solution is merely putting a bucket over the feeder and drilling a hole so that the dispenser can fit through it.
Moultrie 30 GAL Quick Lock Directional
The Moultrie 30 Gal quick-lock directional automatic feeder is the ideal feeder for any outdoor feeding animals from deer to fish. It uses a spinner plate that is designed to break up clumps to food into small bites for animals and improve the speed slow of feeding. The feeder has a digital timer programmed for up to 6 feeding times with a duration of 1-20 seconds each. It can cast feed and spin to a 30-degree path. This feeder is ideal for roads, ponds, trails, or food plots. The setup is based on a quick-lock system for secure and mounts the feeder kit to a compatible 30-gallon hopper. The product dimensions are 18.5 x 24.5 x 25 inches and weigh 30 lbs.
Pros
- Compatible with a solar charger
- Easy to Mount
- Feed a variety of animals at once
- Set up to 6 feeding schedules
Cons
- May jam up if food is overloaded
Our Take
If you're someone that lives in rural areas with animals to feed, this is the perfect feeder for you. This product is a simple "set and forget" type of product. The Moultrie Quick Lock Directional Tripod Feeder is designed for deer and fish feeding in mind. This feeder can throw in a 30-degree path so it'll shoot the food exactly where you want it. The agitator built-in ensures you can break up the food and cast it directly to your animal's direction.
After trying this ourselves, we found that the setup was effortless. You can mount this on a hopper with zero tools needed. It has a five and ½ foot fill height, so there's a lot of food you can store in them, which could last you weeks or even months. The tripod keeps this feeder stable and harsh wind or weather conditions or blows or damages the feeder. Lastly, we like how the feeder is reliable to where you can feed your animals up to 6 times a day.
Elite Digital Lifetime Fish Combo Solar
The Elite digital lifetime fish combo is an automatic feeder designed to feed fish with ease automatically. It’s solar-powered, and a barrel is included. The shipping weight is 75 pounds. This Moultrie type of feeder doesn’t clog up. And the manual is included for easy setup. The feeder comes with an aluminum plate that mounts behind the spin wheel so that it can spin directionally.
Pros
- Throws food a good distance
- Able to spin directionally
- Easy to mount and set up
- Solar-powered for durability and long-lasting
Cons
- Very big and heavy equipment -- shipping and return can be pricey
Our Take
If you’re someone that needs an outdoor feeder for your pond or even farm style animals, this is the right feeder for you. We love how it can spin directionally to feed multiple areas of a pond or even numerous animals at once. The feeder comes with an aluminum plate that mounts behind the spin wheel that you can bend to control the direction of the feed distribution. The motor is well built to handle clunky food and will not clog up quickly. The design is great because it eliminates jamming at the food funnel with a simple agitator mechanism on the top side of the motor. You can set up to 6 times feeding at 1-20 seconds. Overall this is a must-have, and it’s very sturdy. So adverse weather conditions or pests won’t be able to get into this feeder.
Texas Hunter Directional Fish Feeder w/Adjustable Legs - 70 lb. Fish Feed Capacity - Model DF125AL
The Texas Hunter Directional Fish Feeder is the perfect feeder for anybody with an outdoor pond, stream, river, or lake. This feeder holds 70 lbs of fish feed and 125 lbs of corn and includes adjustable legs with footpads and stabilizing stakes. The product consists of a 12 voltage rechargeable battery to power the automatic feeder. The feeder has a premium digital timer so you can feed your fish up to 9 times a day with a window of 1 to 60 seconds. The feeder comes with an excellent five-year limited warranty. The feeder comes with a centrifugal air blower system to project fish feed in a 20 foot by 45-foot wedge feed distance and eliminates feed drop within 3 to 5 feet of the fish feeder. The feeder is sturdy and has lockable lid latches and two feed level sight gauges.
Pros
- Ships from the US via UPS Ground
- Enormous food capacity
- Rechargeable batteries
- Shoots at a far distance
- Feeds up to 9 times a day
Cons
- Very pricey and expensive shipping
Our Take
This is by far one of the top directional fish feeders out there in the market. When it comes to reliability and power, these are excellent. If you’re looking to grow bigger fish faster, you need an effective automatic feeder and strategy. This feeder allows you to accurately dispense the feed for up to 9 times a day. Most feeders can only go up to 6 times a day. The battery is rechargeable through solar, so essentially this system is set and forget. If you’re gone for a long time, you feel confident knowing your fish are well taken care of.
We love the large capacity that this feeder holds. It holds up 70 lbs of fish feed and 125 lbs of corn. So if you have a huge pond with tons of fish, you won’t need to buy multiple feeders. The legs of the feeder are adjustable and able to extend out, giving your feed reach a further distance. It has as much as a 5 to 1 or 20-degree slope. You’ll want to test the angles and reach to make sure the timers are going off, and the reach is a good length for your fish to retrieve their food.
Pond King Mounted Fish Feeder
The Pond King Mounted Fish Feeder is an excellent lightweight and durable feeder made for feeding fish in ponds. It has a programmed timer to feed your fish up to 6 times a day. There’s a standard varmint guard that protects the food against potential raccoons or other pests that could come and raid the food.
The feeder comes with rechargeable batteries and a solar panel to recharge effectively. The feeder body dimensions are 17-inch diameter, overall length, including varmint guard at 32 inches. The food capacity is 50 pounds of fish food pellets up to a ¾ inch diameter. The package dimensions are 37 x 25 x 19 inches, and the shipping weight is 45 lbs.
Pros
- Easy to set up
- Maximum food security
- Excellent capacity to hold food
- Solar rechargeable batteries
Cons
- Expensive shipping and pricey feeder
Our Take
One thing we love about the Pond King fish feeder is the ease of use and safeguard protection it incurs. Some outdoor fish feeders require your setup, such as putting a bucket to protect the feeder. This one’s got a unique varmint guard that protects any animal from coming inside and raiding the food. The set up is quite simple and has manuals with pictures to help you. There is a programmed timer to feed your fish up to 6 times. And it can hold 50 lbs. So you’ll likely need to set it up once, and it can run for weeks before you even have to think about refilling the food again. It seems to work for fish pellets and corn as well.
The way the feeder works is that during each feeding, half of the feed drops straight down, while the other half is dispersed in 6 foot a semi-circle. This feeder is designed to be mounted about 2 to 3 feet off the water from any dock or a stationary point. The mounted fish feeder is an excellent way to offer supplemental feed to fatten your fish if your pond or lake has an excellent shoreline or some structure from which to mount the feeder.
Texas Hunter Directional Fish Feeder w/Straight Legs - 250 lb. Fish Feed Capacity - Model DF425DL
The Texas Hunter Directional Fish Feeder with Straight Legs is a heavy-duty fish feeder with an incredible capacity to feed fish in any outdoor situation such as ponds, lakes, rivers, and streams. The feeder holds 250 lbs of fish feed or 425 kg of corn. The design of the structure includes straight legs with footpads and mounting hardware. This allows the feeder to stand upright durably. For power, it consists of a 12-volt rechargeable battery to charge via solar. It has a digital timer to feed up to 9 times a day with a window of 1-60 seconds. It also has designed and patented 20 foot by 45 food wedge-shaped feed pattern and eliminates feed drop within 3 to 5 feet of the fish feeder.
Pros
- Ships from the Continental U.S. via motor freight
- Eliminates 3 to 5 feet drop
- Feeds up to 9 times
- Holds a good amount of food
- Very sturdy and easy to mount
Cons
- Quite pricey
Our Take
If you’re looking for a long-lasting feeder that can handle weather conditions and ensure your fish will be fed for years to come automatically, then this is the product for you. This feeder is made of heavy-duty stainless steel with powdered coated to protect against rust or corrosion. It’s best utilized via the dock or stationary point, or shady point under a tree or along the shorelines of a lake.
The use is extremely simple. All you have to do is lift the latch on the lid to open. Then pour your fish feed on top of it to fill your feeder. Since it’s extremely durable and heavy-duty, no water is able to seep into the food, and the food remains dry and fresh. The timer is also excellent because you can feed up to 9 times a day, which is better than other feeders on the market. With the blower system, it typically attracts fish in the feeding area, so your fish will notice the food immediately. Lastly, it comes with solar rechargeable batteries, so you won’t even have to worry about replacing the batteries!
