I am looking for best practices on feeding my LPS corals

[PrettyFishies]

Hi All,

I will be slowly adding LPS corals to my system (see sig). I am looking for best practices on feeding including what they like and any tips/things to avoid.

 

[iDream]

unless its non photosynthetic like a sun coral you shouldnt need to feed them, though ive read feeding duncans will make them grow much faster, but im not quite sure of the truth on that

they should get all they need from the light and the water column

 

[PrettyFishies]

What's this marine snow I keep hearing about?

 

[iDream]

this is from marinedepot

Two Little Fishies MarineSnow Plankton Diet - 16 oz.

its a plankton diet liquid for filter feeders and inverts

 

[PrettyFishies]

Is that recommended? Maybe once or twice a week?

 

[iDream]

i wouldnt recommend it, its not necessary and it could pollute your tank very quick

 

[Zer0]

Definitely not twice a week, unless you have a bunch of filtration methods going on, and you have a rather large setup with a lot of water volume. One a week at best, sometimes you don't even need to do it that often.

But yeah, like Corey said, you shouldn't need to feed your LPS at all. They get most if not all of their nutritional needs from your lights. If you really want to feed them though, just feed them mysis shrimp. Or small chopped up bits of shrimp. LPS have mouths, and it would be easier for them to eat if you just placed bits of food on their oral discs rather than squirting microscopic food in the tank, which could foul up your water pretty quickly. That's what i did for my zoanthids and my duncan and they all loved it. Marine snow is intended more for filter feeders.

 

[melosu58]

I have many LPS corals in my tank. Many are over 10 yrs old some as old as 13 yrs old. I have neve fed my LPS corals. They get all they need from the lighting and water column. I have had plenty of growth involved.

 

[PrettyFishies]

I have many LPS corals in my tank. Many are over 10 yrs old some as old as 13 yrs old. I have neve fed my LPS corals. They get all they need from the lighting and water column. I have had plenty of growth involved.

And done. "It is decided!" No feeding.

 

[PrettyFishies]

Ok. Now about acclimation. I'm setting up a QT. What's the best procedure acclimation? I've read dipping and dripping are the standard.

 

[Zer0]

Yep. Dipping is to make sure no pests enter in your tank with the coral, and the drip acclimation method is the best method to acclimate your livestock IMO.

 

[mr_X]

marine snow is too small for LPS. i use a feeding syringe and that home made food slurry i have shown before. i love to do it, and that's the main reason i do it. as others have stated, it's not necessary unless the LPS in question is non-photosynthetic and completely dependent on food from the water column.
how i do it, is a couple times a week (when the lights are off) i'll turn off all flow in the tank and put a little thawed food in a syringe like this-

then squirt a little on the tentacles of each coral, and sit there for about 20 minutes fighting off all of the shrimp,crabs, nassarius snails, and whoever else wants to steal the food.
then turn all flow back on and go to bed!

 

[PrettyFishies]

Yep. Dipping is to make sure no pests enter in your tank with the coral, and the drip acclimation method is the best method to acclimate your livestock IMO.

What do I dip them in? I've seen people talk about 3 different dips.

How long in the QT? I mean, if nothing shows up?

Should I take measures to shade them while in the QT?

 

[Zer0]

Well there's lugols, CoralRx, and some other ones, but the ones i hear about the most are the two i just mentioned. It usually has the directions on how long to dip and how to dip on the bottles. Tbh, i don't QT coral, so i don't know how long you would QT them for before you could introduce them to your DT. I always just dipped and then put them in my DT. I never even QT'd my fish. I know.. shame on me lol.

 

[Gregcoyote]

I agree, they receive most of their food from the symbiotic algae. And if they don't, you are the man if you can keep it alive. I have fed the oyster mixtures and they do love grabbing it, but I have to feed it with a eye dropped locally as my system would quickly eliminate it from the water column. Not sure if it is worth the trouble and expense.