perfect food for LPS?

mthedude · #1 09/29/2006, 11:10 AM

Hello all, I keep mostly LPS in my tank along w/shrooms, zoos/button polyps and a couple small softies....

I usually don't target feed but I tried it last night and my anchor coral, which was really puffed up and looking magnificent, at first looked like it was going to eat the cyclopeez I sprayed onto it's tentacles, then it bascially got rid of the food by releasing a couple really long slimy strings and let the food get washed away.

From what I've read, LPS feed on microplankton, I assumed Cyclopeez were small enough for LPS to eat. I did this last night when the lights were on, does that make a difference? I have never noticed any "sweeper" tentacles w/my anchor, the tentacles usually just deflate and go back into it's base.

Is this norma? Does anyone target feed differently and if so what food is the best for LPS?

Travis L. Stevens · #2 09/29/2006, 11:29 AM

They tend to like a little meatier foods than Cyclopeeze and other size. Try feeding small pieces of silversides, krill, Mysis, and homemade blended seafood packages (Octopus, Squid, Scallops, Fish, Shrimp, Vitamins, etc)

shaggydoo541 · #3 09/29/2006, 11:30 AM

I target feed a mixture of frozen cyclopeeze and mysis. I have had a lot of success with this and find it easiest for me. I assume your anchor coral is a hammer (I believe these names are the same coral) and if thats the case I have found hammers do not eat. At least mine doesn't. I still attempt to spot feed when I go to feed my other LPS but it does not appear to take the food as other LPS do.

papagimp · #4 09/29/2006, 11:38 AM

My hammer and my frogspawn seen to not want to eat anything either. The frogspawn has taken mysis in the past, but only few and far between. I have what i believe to be a frogspawn/torch hybrid (maybe?) and it likes to eat mysis/cyclopeeze mixed. Oh well, to each their own.

mthedude · #5 09/29/2006, 03:09 PM

Thanks for the replies above, yes mine is a hammer/anchor, same thing in my book. Just really weird because the thing is doing really really well in my tank and it's getting huge. Bought it with 1 head and it's got 2 now, I just assumed like all living things it would want to eat to grow more, but I guess it doesn't want anything more than light. I may try some mysis later though.

JMAONE · #6 09/30/2006, 01:39 PM

What about artemia?

Jaqux · #7 09/30/2006, 02:04 PM

Maybe your hammer/anchor is like mine. During the day when the lights are on, all of the heads will reject any food you try and feed to them. You can visually see that the mouths are all closed. But sometime after the lights go off at night, they open up. When I feed them, I do it early in the morning before the lights come back on.

In contrast, my torches are absolute pigs and will gobble down anything that floats their way no matter what time it is.

johnlewis · #8 09/30/2006, 05:12 PM

I feed a mixture of mysis, chopped squid, cyclopeeze, flake food, goldern pearls.

pledosophy · #9 10/01/2006, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JMAONE
What about artemia?

Brine Shirmp

dragonladylea · #10 10/01/2006, 01:19 AM

I have the whole gambit of corals, softies, LPS and SPS. I dont target feed anything just squirt a mixture of Brineshrimp, mysis, krill (for the clown to feed his anemone) squid, phytoplankton, bio-plankton, cyclopeze and silversides with a turkey baster into the tank.

coolfishy101 · #11 10/01/2006, 02:51 AM

I found that when I kept LPS (especially my frogspawn) they loved to be fed, i never fed them small particle food though, I just thew whole pieces of frozen krill in the center of them making sure powerheads won't blow them off. They engulfed it completely within 10 minutes. Try bigger pieces of FROZEN food.

johnnybravo234 · #12 10/01/2006, 12:50 PM

I have a hammer that doesnt seem to eat also. I squirt it with mysis and phytoplankton and it seems to have no effect. The thing is growing like crazy though. Should it be fed during the day or at night?

WarrenG · #13 10/03/2006, 03:13 PM

I had a hammer coral that went from 6-7 heads to more than 15 heads in a couple of years and I never fed it.

Then a hitchiking crab that I only saw once or twice a year knocked it over and killed it. I changed tanks recently and that crab grew from about the size of a quarter (when I first saw it 2-3 years ago) to 3" across its body. Covered in brown fur. Now I know what also happened to my shrimp and some zoos. As of yesterday, that crab was on its way to a very large, dry reef, aka, the county landfill.

pledosophy · #14 10/09/2006, 01:15 AM

I have been target feeding over the last couple weeks, things seem to be growing way faster. My frogspawn has doubled in size in three weeks. Not bad eh? Even the candy cane will gobble up a mysis.

supalupa · #15 10/10/2006, 12:06 AM

My hammers love cyclopeeze!

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/...ers_eating.jpg

blange3 · #16 10/11/2006, 11:19 AM

I've been feeding the popular mysis/cyclopeeze mix, but I gave my bubble a chunk of krill once the mouth opened and he really chowed down. I'm going to use chunks of krill with my euphylia's next time and see how they like goin' chunky!

r00onmac · #17 10/11/2006, 01:45 PM

my torch and frogspawn have never eaten... ever... they will sometimes grab food but never pull it in - even after leaving the pumps off for 10 mins... they just dont like food, but it could be that they get enough food from the mh