Zoo Med BettaMatic Automatic Daily Betta Feeder, Black

I'm going out of town for 10 days, and I was so worried about my betta friend. I clamped the feeder the edge of the filter box because I have a lip on my tank and it wouldn't sit on it. I could have used the rails to lay it across, but the tank is half round and it felt a bit unstable. On a full round or square tank the rails would probably be just fine. I tested it a couple of times before I put it on the tank to see how much food it gives. It's not particularly consistent, but droppped between one and four pellets per turn when I just turned it with my hand. The trick is make sure the scoop in the cone is in the right orientation for the direction it turns. It's not ideal, but I expect it will keep my fish alive at least. I'm testing it on the tank for a few days to see how it works before I leave to be sure. If I find a problem when I get back from my trip, I'll update this review. But for now it seems to be great.

I read all the terrible reviews for the BettaMatic and still ... decided to give this product a try as I really needed to find an option to feed my betta fish while on vacation. I read all the directions carefully and even used a fresh new battery of my own in case the one provided with the BettaMatic was old. After testing for more than a week, I was never able to get the mechanism to turn even once - that I could see. If it turned while I was away from home, it never released a pellet. What a disappointment. I threw this product in the garbage yesterday.The majority of automatic fish feeders available do not allow you to completely control exactly how much food is dispensed. This is really important In the case of a betta fish, as their stomachs are about the size of their eye. I feed my betta fish only about 2 to 3 pellets a day.After more research, I decided to purchase the Fish Mate F14 Aquarium Fish Feeder which is available here at Amazon. I would recommend, as it enables you to control exactly how many pellets your betta receives. Also, it can be programed to feed your fish once a day for 14 days or twice a day for 7 and in specific time windows. I thoroughly tested with success and then used it during a weeks vacation and came back to a happy "living" betta fish.Finally, you must make sure to fully test the F14. The size of your pellets may or may not work with the product. I feed my betta 2 types of pellets. The smaller ones (Ocean Nutrition Betta Pellets) did not work in the Fish Mate F14 as they are too fine to be pushed around the mechanism and do not release, but the larger pellets (New Life Spectrum Betta Formula) worked quite well.I guess nothing is perfect, but I do feel I have finally found a solution that works for me and my betta. Good Luck!

This arrived the day we were leaving for 10 days. Bought 2 of them. Wasn't sure if they were working because the flood rotates so slowly its hard to see if they're working. However, they did work and worked well. Our fish were alive, the water was perfect, and there was some food on the top of the tank that had missed the hole, so it was definitely feeding the fish. Simple but very effective and good value for money.

Treat it nicely and it will be reliable and function well. The ball and feeding cone are made from plastic, so you obviously can't be rough with it. It has kept my betta happily fed and comfortable through many vacations and has taken over for my daily feedings, as well.Essentially, it works just like a small clock. Stick a battery in the back and listen closely; you can hear it ticking away. Imagine the feeding hole to be an hour hand and you know just how this little machine functions.

BELIEVE THE BAD REVIEWS! I didn't, & am regretting it. Just not a very good design at all! First, the food pellets that comes with it are too big & can get jammed up in the hole, preventing food distribution. Using smaller pellets didn't matter, because it just tosses the food out of the funnel halfway through the rotation, so that food doesn't even get to the fish, it just gets tossed off the side of the tank instead. Bad engineering. This would really only work for an open tank, like a goldfish bowl, or for someone who is willing to leave the cover off of their aquarium while gone. Otherwise, most betta tanks have a small feeding hole, & good luck figuring out the trajectory to make sure at least a little of the food bounces across the lid & into the hole. This isn't even mentioning how hard it is to fill this thing without spilling food everywhere when you try to put it back together, or the fact that the food ball fell off of the clock mechanism multiple times. Plus, the battery that came with it was DOA. As others have said already, try the fishmate F14 instead. I have one on my other tank & love it. The only downside with the Fishmate is it's size compared to most small tanks, but if you can fit it on your betta tank it is much, much more reliable & easy to use!