This tutorial demonstrates how to install and use the brass feeder mechanism, on the Zantiks AD or LT units, which is used to feed fish.
Set up
Installing the brass feeder
The brass feeder mechanism can be attached to the motor and stand with the use of the hex key driver. The video below illustrates how to install the brass feeder.
NOTE: make sure that the back of the spring is very close but not touching the motor platform.
Setting up the brass feeder mechanism for fish on the Zantiks LT
The brass feeder mechanism holds and delivers food for fish. The food commonly used in the UK for zebrafish is the ZM400 (size range 400-600 microns) from ZM Systems. We have also used Zebrafeed 400-600 from Sparos, and this is available worldwide (inc. in US, from Techniplast). Other similarly sized, slow-sinking fish food that does not become sticky will work reliably for fish reward.
NOTE: There is a different pellet delivery feeder for mice & rats. You may also set up the motor platform with the peristaltic pump for liquid delivery. See the Peristaltic pump demo.
Script Explanation
This demo script shows how to use the feeder mechanism. There are two commands for the feeder:
FEEDER(1) - rotates the mechanism until the divot is in position to drop solid food.
FEEDER(0) - activates a “fake feed”, which will create the noise of the feeder, but the mechanism does not rotate enough to drop any food.
You will hear and see the feeder turning when you run this script.
DEFINE ITI 1 DEFINE TRIALS 2 ACTION MAIN INVOKE(FEEDER_TEST,TRIALS) COMPLETE ACTION FEEDER_TEST WAIT(ITI) FEEDER(1) WAIT(ITI) WAIT(ITI) FEEDER(0) WAIT(ITI) COMPLETE
Script download
To download the feeder_demo script as a .zs file (file type Zantiks software reads), choose the Save File As option in the right-click dialogue box. Clicking on the script name hyperlink will open a read-only version of the script.
Script download:
feeder_demo.zs
