Let me start by saying this little gadget saved my fish during a 10-day trip. The relief of coming home to healthy, fed fish? Priceless.

The setup is dead simple - twist the tube to adjust portion size (though it's finicky), load it up with pellets (flakes are a no-go), and let it do its thing every 12 hours. I love that I didn't need to program anything - just pop in a fresh AA battery and go.

Here's the real talk though: moisture is the enemy. I learned the hard way after placing it near my bubbler - next morning I had soggy, clumped food. Now I keep it far from any water disturbance and it works perfectly.

The plastic does feel cheap, and that portion dial requires the patience of a saint to adjust precisely. But after three months of daily use (yes, I kept using it post-vacation), mine's still ticking along reliably.

Pro tip: Test run for at least two full cycles before leaving town. The first feeding always dispenses more than subsequent ones until the food settles in the drum.