From Shirlie Sharpe,
Your Guide to Freshwater Aquariums.
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A. A reader recently inquired about the safety of the new gel based vacation feeders.

Old Style Blocks
Until now vacation feeders were made by embedding food in a material that slowly dissolves and releases the food. Sounds like a good idea, but the problem is that the materials used in the binders used in the blocks have been known to have a negative effect on the water chemistry of the aquarium. Depending on the situation, it can have disastrous results.

How Gel Works
The newest offering differs from the old solid block feeders. These feeders embed the food in a gel that does not dissolve. Instead the fish graze on the food over time until everything is consumed.

Does it really work? I've tried the five day block and it performed as advertised. The fish contentedly grazed upon on it, while the water remained clear. I confess that I did not test the water to determine if the chemical makeup changed, but there was no evidence of anything amiss.

Although I'm still hesitant to give my full endorsement, especially for the larger fourteen day block, I believe this product has real promise.

Reader Update
I received some interesting feedback from a fish owner who tried a gel feeder.

"You asked for comments from anyone who has tried the Tetra Gel Feeders.

With a vacation coming up I tried a Gel Feeder to see if it worked ... glad I did as the fish never touched it. They showed no interest at all. I emailed Tetra who replied to suggest I break it up near the surface to demonstrate that it was food and let it sink. I did this and no response. I don't like 'starving' my fish but I did not feed them for 4-5 days wondering if they would get desperate enough to try it but again nothing. Good thing I checked before going on a 2 week vacation! I used my trusty battery operated feeder and that worked fine; I arrived home to happy healthy fish. FYI I have Dwarf Gourami, Zebra Danios and a catfish in a 20 gallon tank.

Hope this helps - Rob"

Do you have a gel feeder experience to share? Send me an e-mail at freshaquarium.guide@about.com. Thanks!