do you feed your corals?

[bubble_gum]

Brine Shrimp so small and their protein value so low... Think feed market prawn more efficient protein source

bs is only part of their diet i find tt giving them a variety is better

[Beagle]

i feed em' phytoplankton!

[ryz]

phyto, as mentioned, is not consumed by sps or LPS. only filter feeders take it in.

[nicholasloh]

phyto is being taken in as wad some websites sae, juz to defend some ppl here.

but i prefer to think that u are adding phyto to boost zoo's population to feed the corals...

[nicholasloh]

So, is it

1) place dropper a bit above mouth

2) when mouth open, squit gently.

then done?

[ryz]

pls cite ur source of claim leh.. from what I know phyto is not taken in by SPS and LPS... only filter feeders like clams scallops, sponges and seafans filter them off the water for nutrition. SPS and LPS take in meatand protein rich food. they are unable to take phyto plankton as it is too small to be captured and not a feasible food source as it is too inefficient. some LPSes are even unable to catch GPs and zooplankton due to their small size and have to be fed prawn meat. Please cite your source of information I would like to see which author made this mistake... no need to defend anyone here. everyone is here to share knowledge but wrong knowledge shared needs to be clarified

[ryz]

From my experience the mouth won't open without the presence of food. the coral must actually touch and smell the food that is in contact with it before it will open it's mouth to swallow it.. The coral won't open it's mouth unnecessarily so as to prevent any damage to the inside. so i think u have to put the prawn meat near the mouth first or wedge the dropper between the lips and squirt food into the mouth.

[nicholasloh]

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-10/eb/

[nicholasloh]

"While some studies have indicated that some stony corals are capable of clearing phytoplankton from the water, these experiments have not been rigorous (Wilkinson et al. 1988, Szmant-Froelich and Pilson 1984, Sorokin 1981, 1995). Ingestion does not equate to digestion. The extent to which phytoplankton contribute to stony coral nutrition is unknown, but it is probably unlikely that phytoplankton are an important food source for most stony corals. Among those reported or suggested to clear or ingest phytoplankton are: Acropora, Siderastrea, Montipora, Porites, Astrangia and Tubastraea. Other studies tend to directly refute these suggestions for all but Astrangia and Porites. More directly, Goniopora and Alveopora may have more herbivorous tendencies (Peach unpublished thesis). Stony corals are generally not well adapted to the sieve or filter type feeding that characterizes the soft corals (Fabricius et al. 1995, 1998). They are, however, well suited to the capture of zooplankton prey. I am sure that future studies will examine potential roles of phytoplanktivory in the Scleractinia in more detail. However, I think it safe to assume that the number of stony corals that depend on phytoplankton as a food source will be minimal, or that the relative contribution of phytoplankton to their energy needs will be slight."

howeva, this still means that there is A chance, so mebbe we shouldnt cancel this out totally, although it is unlikely. not to mention, experiments carried out haf proved that phytoplakton is taken in by SPS.

howeva, i choose to believe that the staple food diet of PSs are zoo and meat. and dose phyto for the sake of raising zoo to feed the plankton, even though i distribute phyto.

[nicholasloh]

but aside from that, i would lyk to inquire wad i should do to feed LPS if the mouth is too small? abt the size of this --> O

[ryan]

thinking of getting the aquapharm 5in1 coral food...

any comments?

[ryz]

"While some studies have indicated that some stony corals are capable of clearing phytoplankton from the water, these experiments have not been rigorous (Wilkinson et al. 1988, Szmant-Froelich and Pilson 1984, Sorokin 1981, 1995). Ingestion does not equate to digestion. The extent to which phytoplankton contribute to stony coral nutrition is unknown, but it is probably unlikely that phytoplankton are an important food source for most stony corals. Among those reported or suggested to clear or ingest phytoplankton are: Acropora, Siderastrea, Montipora, Porites, Astrangia and Tubastraea. Other studies tend to directly refute these suggestions for all but Astrangia and Porites. More directly, Goniopora and Alveopora may have more herbivorous tendencies (Peach unpublished thesis). Stony corals are generally not well adapted to the sieve or filter type feeding that characterizes the soft corals (Fabricius et al. 1995, 1998). They are, however, well suited to the capture of zooplankton prey. I am sure that future studies will examine potential roles of phytoplanktivory in the Scleractinia in more detail. However, I think it safe to assume that the number of stony corals that depend on phytoplankton as a food source will be minimal, or that the relative contribution of phytoplankton to their energy needs will be slight."

howeva, this still means that there is A chance, so mebbe we shouldnt cancel this out totally, although it is unlikely. not to mention, experiments carried out haf proved that phytoplakton is taken in by SPS.

howeva, i choose to believe that the staple food diet of PSs are zoo and meat. and dose phyto for the sake of raising zoo to feed the plankton, even though i distribute phyto.

Think no proper research has been done to ascertain their ability to assimilate plant-based food material or if they can capture particles of sure minute size. I'm still skeptical...

anyway mouths the size of this-->O

can expand one expand and engulf pieces of meat etc... what corals are you refering to?

[nicholasloh]

lets juz stop the argument lah...

anyway, my coral is bubble n hammer.

[ryz]

haha dun get me wrong... wasn't arguing lah... we just exchanging thoughts ideas and knowledge mah... Think you should have any problem feeding ur bubble lah... just put a piece of prawn meat on it's mouth and it will devour it.., or you can squirt mysis and pellets onto it's mouth also... hammer think can use similar method but i haven't been successful in feeding my hammers or as a matter of fact any of my euphyllia genus corals... They can do well even without feeding one... They can take in nutrition from the water.

[nicholasloh]

but the moiuth of the bubble nvr open big one, so kinda hard. i tink i'll stop feeding hammer liao. they nvr eat one, howeva, i think they lyk lose a bit of meat liao.

[ryz]

The bubble coral's mouth is at the centre right? one big slit from one end of the skeleton to the other end... when the coral polyp is expanded, stick the market prawn deep into the centre of the polyp where the mouth is loh.. or if ur bubble is small then use a dropper and squirt mysis shrimps into the centre...

[nicholasloh]

my bubble is the very small bubble type... the tpe where the bubble is this big=> ( )

and theyre a few openings. mebbe abt 5 or 6 lyk that.

[ryz]

hmm... I think urs is pearl bubble. I also have a pearl bubble. at night all the feeding tentacles will be out... look for those openings and put a piece of prawn meant on the polyp.. then I think the polyp will engulf it and the mouth will open and eat it liao... u can't actually see the mouth opening and eating becausev the polyp will be covering...

[nicholasloh]

ok... so confusing... i think i might need some plankton buyers to help me with feeding by giving me a life demo.

[Nautical]

but with water current, how to ensure food stays in place ... and not forgetting the other fishes wanting a bite as well ?

[ryz]

my fishes too shy when I have my hands in the tank.... the coral engulfs the food very quickly... not swallow so fast but the polyps surrounds and covers it..

[Eric]

my fishes too shy when I have my hands in the tank.... the coral engulfs the food very quickly... not swallow so fast but the polyps surrounds and covers it..

Anyone got any good feeding methods on open brain? Feeding my pink open brain is really tedious............it took damn long for the mouth to open and before it can open up the prawn will drop off or float off.........took me at least 2hrs everytime I tried to feed the open brain.

Eric

[ryan]

thinking of getting the aquapharm 5in1 coral food...

any comments?

thinking of getting the aquapharm 5in1 coral food...

any comments?

[Nautical]

Anyone got any good feeding methods on open brain? Feeding my pink open brain is really tedious............it took damn long for the mouth to open and before it can open up the prawn will drop off or float off.........took me at least 2hrs everytime I tried to feed the open brain.

Eric

ya loh ya loh .... problem is food will drop off, float away or snatched away !!!

comments and help please.

[nsyahron]

Try the Coke bottle method.