New Frags - What do you feed your coral?

[tbone28]

I just picked up some new frags - SPS, zoas, and a Ric

What do you guys feed your coral? and how often?

Thanks

[boxfishpooalot]

Gererally most people dont feed their corals. But instead rely on organisms that live within the aquarium to them. Such things as bacteira, bacterioplankton, copepods in their juvenile state, dissolved organics along with their bacteria, fish poo and of course light.

If you want to supplement food some people make home made mixtures of blended up stuff they feed their fish with. But those got to be added with a carefull hand because they will add a lot of phosphates. Somthing wich calicfying corals do not like!

Other things people use is selcon you soak in the fish food. Or some people prefer to use other things like zeovite or prodbio. Somtimes people dose vodka or sugar to the aquarium. This in turns blooms bacteria which the corals can then consume. Another added benefet is that nitrates and phosphates are incroporated into the biomass of the bacteria. So it reduces.

Another aspect is that corals actually cultivate their own bacterial laden mucus which they can cosume through the polyps.

O yea and dont forget lighting.

[tbone28]

Thanks for your response, and yes, I meant what supplemental foods do people use.

I saw a product called DT's phytoplankton and several other products at my LFS. Based on your response, it seems that these are of no benefit?

[PogoMonogo]

DT's is pretty good. The foods i prefer? Live phytoplankton, marine snow (a product by two fishies) and frozen cyclopeses. Food comes in a variety of sizes usually listed as "microns". Marine snow is supposed to be very tiny, phytoplankton is somewhere in the middle and cyclopese is larger, comparable in size to rotifers. Different types of corals are kinda set up to take different sizes easier, but they can usually use anything. I like to make little "coral food cocktails" and mix things, then target feed using a syringe. This reduces the excess waste food in the tank, and also really saturates the coral with food. You can get baby food dosing syringes from pharmacies.

[Hop]

IMO adding that stuff is like pouring strait po4 into your tank. The corals will do fine from normal feeding of your fish, blowing diatris off rocks and scraping the glass panes.

There are a few exceptions... But for the most part, this is all I have ever done.

[PogoMonogo]

Yea, DT's and live phyto specifically tend to have alot of phosphates in them. I pretty rarely use those myself.

[tbone28]

Good to know about adding PO4's to the tank! So far, seems like the consensus is not to supplement any "full-tank" coral feedings, but those of you who do supplement do target feedings.

[lshark21]

I feed my sun corals, frogspawn, hammer, torch, nuke calastrea, and red brain mysis. All target fed.