Coral food

[MarkW19]

What's the best food for my corals (starburst & button polyps/toadstool mushroom leather/tree coral)?

Marine Snow? Marine Deluxe?

Or is there another one available in the UK that is better? Ideally I'd want to squirt it into the tank once a week (is it squirted directly onto the water surface?).

Thanks!

 

[Biggen]

Marine snow is garbage in my opinion. Not sure what the Marine Deluxe is.

Most people tend to think this stuff is "pollution in a bottle". Adding it to your tank does little to nothing for your coral, but algae will love all the nutrients.

Feeding your coral, IMO, should be indirect. If you make your own fish food (you should) with blended fish, shrimp, oysters, etc... then when this is fed to your fish, the coral can catch what is left in the water. You can also buy frozen food mixes as well if you don't want to make your own and the coral can catch this.

Some people will feed coral directly by placing some food in a baster or syringe, and squirting it directly into the coral. This allows maximum placement of the food to the animal. The downside to this is that if you have several dozen specimens, this will take you forever. That is why it is much easier to let them catch their food.

 

[MarkW19]

So I dont really need to feed them specifically at all?

 

[Biggen]

So I dont really need to feed them specifically at all

I don't. When I had my bubble coral, I use to place shrimp, fish, or my homemad mix right on one of his tentacles and let he eat that. It was fun to watch, but I ended up stopping it in favor of feeding the fish and letting the coral catch the leftovers. I think he would probably have grown faster if I would have kept feeding him, however.

Its up to you how you want to feed your coral. But stay away from the "food in a bottle" mixes.

 

[MarkW19]

I don't have that much leftover food, that's all. My fish are very greedy

 

[Biggen]

I don't have that much leftover food, that's all. My fish are very greedy

Trust me, if you go to feeding a frozen type of food or other water based food, you will be suprised at all the tiny pieces of food that float around in the water column that the fish can't eat. This is what the coral can take care of.

 

[MarkW19]

I use frozen food (mysis/gamma/brineshrimp/sea veggies). The bits left over will take care of my corals then? As long as the water flow is adequate I guess (to actually get the food to the corals...).

 

[Biggen]

I use frozen food (mysis/gamma/brineshrimp/sea veggies). The bits left over will take care of my corals then? As long as the water flow is adequate I guess (to actually get the food to the corals...).

Absolutely. These are coral with stinging tentacles we are talking about. This is what they do, they catch their food in the wild. So long as there is food to catch in the tank, you shouldn't have a problem.

What kind of corals do you have, btw? Some actually will do better when target feeding, but none should really need it.

 

[MarkW19]

All the ones I'm going for provide most of the nutrients themselves, apparently...

Button polyps, Starburst polys, mushrooms, toadstool mushroom leather, tree coral.

How will I know if they need a bit extra food though (if the bits floating about aren't enough). What are the signs?

 

[lando]

I do not target feed any of my corals. They get food when I feed the tank. Usually froozen mysis and krill. I also feed DT's live photoplankton designed for filter feeders. It can be found in the fridge section at some LFS.

 

[MarkW19]

Lando: whats DT?

 

[Biggen]

How will I know if they need a bit extra food though (if the bits floating about aren't enough). What are the signs?

Slow to no growth can be a sign that the animal isn't getting the proper food. But this could also be due to a deficient lighting situation, poor water quality, etc... Its hard to say.

 

[lando]

go to www.dtplankton.com to learn more about DT's phytoplankton.

 

[MarkW19]

Excellent, I've found some in the UK.

So, do you just squirt it straight into the water once a week or something?

No negative effects on water quality?

Why is it better than Marine Snow etc.?

 

[MarkW19]

How do I know that when I squirt it in, it won't just stay on the surface and it will actually get to my corals??

And, I have an external Eheim canister wet/dry filter. I guess some of the phytoplankton will get into my filter and perhaps stay there and build up with the other detritus. Will this cause any problems with anything?

 

[seaham358]

Dt's is good stuff I also use Liquid life bio plankton and coral plankton also very good stuff. You just add the required amount and it gets mixed in the water with the current

 

[MarkW19]

Cool - any problems if it gets stuck in the filter?

 

[seaham358]

No, it disperses in the water and you don't even know its there.

 

[lando]

I just put in three cap fulls once a week. It just mixes in with the water. They are only like .5 microns in size so they will easily slip through any filter membrane.

 

[MarkW19]

Great - I guess I'll have to be careful with placement of powerheads to make sure the plankton actually gets to my corals though

Sounds like DT is the way to go...