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Thread: Feeding corals?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    03-09-2009
    Location
    Las Cruces, NM
    Posts
    366

    Default Feeding corals?

    I have been doing a lot of reading, here, reef central, google-ing etc and get a lot of different, sometimes conflicting info on coral feeding.
    I keep soft corals, zoas, and LPS corals. Currently I have 4 different Zoas, 3 different green star polyps, 2 different brain corals, several kenya trees, a toadstool leather, and a pipe organ coral. They all look great and no losses.
    Some articles say they don't need to be fed, photosynthesis is all they need- bright lighting (T5 or metal halides). Some say phyto-plankton, some say zoo-plankton and yet others say if you feed your fish, the excess as well as the fish waste feed the corals. My kenya trees and green star polyps are growng but everything else is staying the same size. I have had no new pylyps in the 6 weeks I have had the Zoas.
    I run T5 actinics 12 hours and the T5 whites 10 hours a day and feed a lot of frozen food (3 times daily) and there is a lot of milky discharge from the frozen food and I only target feed my green BTA half to 1/3 of a silverside. The BTA moves if it is not fed 1 or 2 times a week. With feedings it is happy, swells and looks great.
    What do you feed?
    Also, does the time of day make a difference? i.e evening before the lights go off, etc.
    Mike
    Last edited by msmith619; Mon, 27th Apr 2009 at 11:57 AM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    03-12-2008
    Location
    Westside SA
    Posts
    610

    Default

    IMO phyto plankton really helps with zoa growth, i was getting like one or two polpys a week on my AOG colony. right now im trying zooplex by kent marine and i haven't notice any growth. i was feeding the phyto planton every other day and i have MHs. hope this helps.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    08-28-2007
    Location
    Stone Oak PKWY, SA/TX
    Posts
    13,593

    Default

    Regular water changes also help IMO.

    When I feed (a mix of all kinds of frozen foods of all sizes) I turn off all pumps and what the fish don't eat I see it settle on the corals and they consume it. I let the tank chill for at least a half an hour then I turn the display powerheads on and the fish begin to munch again on all the stuff that settled to the bottom and has been stirred up again. An hour later I turn the refugium/return pumps on.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    03-09-2009
    Location
    Las Cruces, NM
    Posts
    366

    Default

    OK, a follow-up question. If you feed your corals, how often and how much. The above listed corals are in a 75 gallon tank.
    Mike

  5. #5
    Join Date
    04-23-2008
    Location
    NW San Antonio
    Posts
    394

    Default

    You could feed your brain corals, but other than that you don't have to feed anything. I've never fed corals, except for brains occasionally, and have good growth. Photosythesis is the main factor in their growth.

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