feeding corals
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roka64
Aquarium Advice Addict
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- Mar 21, 2006
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What kind of corals?
pat8you
Aquarium Advice Addict
Coral will get most of their needs met through the light but they still do occasionally need to be fed.
"Some of the products required by corals and zooxanthellae that are not supplied by photosynthesis include vitamins (required by many marine dinoflagellates) and long-chain fatty acids (required by the coral animal)."
Eric Borneman in "Aquarium corals"
They do need to be feed in order to remain healthy and grow.
Be careful though. Often feeding corals adds a large amount of nutrients to the system. It is a balancing act between your water quality and the needs of your coral. Some of their nutrition will be provided by excess food from feeding the fish as well as natural food sources found in your aquarium. Some coral will get all of their nutritional needs met from these sources. I would say the anemone should be feed occasionally. The torch and trumpet would probably appreciate a squirt of left over food in their direction with a turkey baster every once and a while.
"Some of the products required by corals and zooxanthellae that are not supplied by photosynthesis include vitamins (required by many marine dinoflagellates) and long-chain fatty acids (required by the coral animal)."
Eric Borneman in "Aquarium corals"
They do need to be feed in order to remain healthy and grow.
Be careful though. Often feeding corals adds a large amount of nutrients to the system. It is a balancing act between your water quality and the needs of your coral. Some of their nutrition will be provided by excess food from feeding the fish as well as natural food sources found in your aquarium. Some coral will get all of their nutritional needs met from these sources. I would say the anemone should be feed occasionally. The torch and trumpet would probably appreciate a squirt of left over food in their direction with a turkey baster every once and a while.
Kurt_Nelson
Aquarium Advice Addict
All of the corals you mentioned don't need... but will greatly appreciate small pieces of meaty foods. None of the phyto- type foods, but actual meat.
BEANS
Aquarium Advice Activist
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2009
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- 126
hey Kurt by actual meat would brine shrimp be ok? just draw up some brine shrimp in a syringe and squirt a little bit over the coral?
Kurt_Nelson
Aquarium Advice Addict
Someone here once equated brine shrimp for fish/corals to popcorn for humans... tasty, but not much nutrition. I think that's a pretty good comparison.
I'd go with mysis, finely chopped clams and silversides, etc. They also like cyclopeeze. Just about anything meaty... except brine shrimp! But yeah... just draw some up in a syringe and "baste" the coral with it. Feed the fish and any cleaner shrimp first so they don't steal the food away from the corals. And as pat8you mentioned, don't overfeed as you can throw your water parameters out quickly depending on the food.
I'd go with mysis, finely chopped clams and silversides, etc. They also like cyclopeeze. Just about anything meaty... except brine shrimp! But yeah... just draw some up in a syringe and "baste" the coral with it. Feed the fish and any cleaner shrimp first so they don't steal the food away from the corals. And as pat8you mentioned, don't overfeed as you can throw your water parameters out quickly depending on the food.
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