BACKGROUND & PRODUCT DETAILS

The Idea for the Feeder came about when I started feeding my own tropical fish with frozen bloodworms, which I found out was a popular diet for aquarium fish,
These were sold in blister packs along with other frozen foodstuff like shrimps etc from my local pet shop,

Anyway when I started using them I soon began to notice a couple of problems with the way in which they were being administered,

What I realised was when a bloodworm cube was dropped into the aquarium it would float for roughly a minute,
Then once it started thawing out it would either be consumed right away by the larger fish leaving little or none for the smaller one's,
Or, would just disintegrate & end up scattered all over the aquarium becoming lodged in the gravel & places where the fish couldn't get to,

Not good news, Decompossed food does no favours for the condition of the water as every fish enthusiast will tell you,
Therefore I decided to design some kind of feeder which could address these problems.


The design I came up with seemed to solve these problems with ease
Initial test's with a prototype were a success,
The feeder was able to contain & release the bloodworms only on demand,
Thus preventing them from scattering everywhere, also good news for the smaller fish as each & every one was able to gain access to the food,

Given that I designed the feeder primarily for use in household aquariums I soon realised that it could be used in other marine enviroments say like a garden pond or a fish farm for instance,

The only difference being the size
However test's would have to be undertaken for this as I've only ever used it succesfully in a household aquarium,
But, I really don't see any reason for it not to work as long as it was used in conjunction with a suitable foodstuff.


The feeder itself is very easy to use & is maintenance free,
It comes in two parts which are the top buoyancy half which has a locating marker on top, this acts as a visual aid say for the feeder in a garden pond or other similar enviroment & also for lifting the feeder out of the water,
The second half is the feeding chamber where the food is placed, This is designed to contain the foodstuff & release it on demand,

To use it's simple, just take the top off insert the foodstuff place the top back on then drop the feeder into the aquarium,
Then watch as the fish amusingly nudge it among themselves to release the food,

Resulting in minimal waste, better water condition & food for all,
Thus contributing to a healthier cleaner living enviroment for the fish.

Market research for this product was carried out on the summer of 2001
With 42 aquarium owners being asked if they would buy or consider buying one & 27 out of the 42 said they would,
Good result I thought considering that between the united kingdom & the united states there are an estimated 10 million households which have either an aquarium or a garden pond.

The final recomendations taken from the market research were that the product should be on the market & sold via pet shops & mail order etc.


However this is a lot easier said than done, which is why I'm
trying to promote the feeder & drum up some interest,

Anyway if you would like to know anything more about the feeder or know of anyone who would like to invest in it or can help me in getting this product to market,
Then please don't hesitate to get in contact with me as any help or advice would be very much appreciated.


Details on the contact page



THANK YOU

STEVEN M.WILSON