Design and Fabrication of an Automatic Fish Feeder Prototype Suits Tilapia Tanks

Abstract

The conventional methods of supplying feed to tilapia tanks are ineffective. It is better to find new a automatic feeder saving pellets from crushing and cohesion without hitting pellets during feeding at a predetermined interval of time and an accurate amount of food with a larger surface area covered by pellets. Developing-country fish farmers use manual feeding to be more cost-effective than with costly mechanized feeding, so this research aimed to design and construct an automatic fish feeder prototype to feed tilapia in a recirculation aquaculture system’s tank. The performance of the prototype was studied after it was designed and installed. The dispensed feed operated by a DC motor located underneath the pellet hopper and the feed material was discharged into the tank through a gate in the bottom of the feeder. Three pellet sizes, three rotation speeds, and three feeder heights from the water’s surface were used to test the automatic feeder’s efficiency. The results showed that the optimal speed for the automatic feeder was 14 rpm with a height of 70 cm, resulting in a distribution width of 26.6 cm and a high automatic feeder efficiency of 99.9%. Furthermore, the feeder used very little electricity and saved time, cost, labor, energy, and pellets.