Feeding LPS Corals

[bluehippotang]

We feed our hammer scallops. Only two fish in the 150 so they don't bother the corals by trying to steal food.

[benf]

There has to be more people out there with higher fish volumes that have experienced the same problem. So far, feeding at night is the best option i have been offered, but that still hasnt stopped some fish from stealing the food.

For a peaceful hobby, it is making me crazy and poor!

[WILDTHING]

Originally posted by benf
I still find it a challenge feeding the brain corals and the plate coral. Between the fish picking at the food i put on them and the return pump blowing it off it is a wonder they eat at all. I turn off the Tunzes but not my return pumps during feeding. Is there currently some type of cover made for feeding such corals tp keep the fish away? I tried in the past using a cut 2liter soda container, but didnt like the fact it took away all breathing if you will within the container. Looking back i guess i could have put some small holes in it. Any other ideas or products out there? I know the current is much stronger and a lot more fish in the wild, so there has to be an answer.

thanks

Ben is there a way to direct the return so you can say point it at the back of the tank? I use a feeding cone to feed my plates suncorals and brains. A 2 liter soda bottle with the cover removed and the bottom cut off. Every 15min or so you can use a turkey baster to refresh the bottle water by filling it with fresh tank water then blowing that gently into the bottle. Because of the food being concentrated in the bottle I find that difficult corals and newly acquired guys get accustomed to eating in the tank much faster/easier. If you are going to be feeding these guys a mash then you will need to be stirring it up so new pieces fall on the mouth every 5 min or so and so you will automatically be adding fresh water with the baster when you blow the food around. If you are planning to feed hunks like shrimp or whatever then you may want to cut a couple of slits in the bottle to allow a bit of water to pass through the bottle because with a hunk you would probably only be feeding a piece and so don't want to be blowing it around.

colleen

[fussoverthis]

Ben,
What I have been doing lately (and it seems to be working well) is just before a good sized water change, I overfeed the entire tank with all pumps turned off. Usually I mix mysis, cyclopeeze, and oyster eggs together and add with a turkey baster. The fish get enough to eat that they don't bother the corals and the food doesn't get blown away with any of the current. I vacuum up the extras on the sand bed that are not consumed by scavengers, however I do have several scavengers that take pretty good care of most all extra food.

I usually only do this once a week or week and a half.

Also I use a bunch of filter floss to catch a lot of the particles in the water after I turn the pumps back on. Leave that in for a few hours. Everything is back to normal shortly after.

Melissa

[benf]

I did try the plastic 2liter once before, but didnt do the slits or stirring as u mentioned. Maybe i can try that again with your improvements. Also try the xtra feeding frenze as well.

thanks for the ideas!!

[TWINPEAKS]

where do you get this food at (Dainichi marine Reef Veggie FX) ?

[alice_curiouser]

I I use reptile tongs to feed blender mush to my frogspawn occasionally, not because it's neccessary, but because I think it's cool to watch. I *try* to feed pieces of shrimp or scallop to my brain coral, but it's usually stolen by hermit crabs. :\

[killagoby]

Try to feed the hermits 1st so they are occupied, then feed the brain...

[alice_curiouser]

Yeah, good plan. I got one of those strawberry baskets to invert over the brain, but I haven't remembered to try it yet...

[killagoby]

Do you have any pictures of your 75 gallon reef? I've got a 75 gallon RR that's FOWLR that I'd like to convert to a reef in the future. I'd like to see set ups on how people did it. What kind of system do you run?

[alice_curiouser]

It's a pretty no-frills tank; I have a heater, a small HOB 'fuge, and a couple of power heads, and that's about it. I've got PC's on it in that pic, but I've gotten a dual 175w MH/VHO combo that I'm hanging this weekend.

[alice_curiouser]

(That photo was taken several months ago - there are more corals in there now, and FISHIES! )

[killagoby]

Thanks for the shot. It's a great looking tank. Here's a shot of my FOWLR 75:



My problem it that my wife wants to do mostly Acros, but we'd like to keep the top of the tank on. That might be hard when trying to use MH's.

[alice_curiouser]

Ohhh, nice! What are the small silvery-looking fish?

I love that canopy; I wouldn't want to loose that either. How far is it from the top of the water to the top of the canopy? I know a lot of people who have retro-fitted the MH right into the canopy, but I'm not sure you have enough height for that.

[killagoby]

The 2 small fish are Blue-Green Chromis. I have 10 fish in that tank.

I've heard about fitting the MH's on the top of the wood canopy w/ some fans for cooling (and a chiller of course). You know what that means though, $$$$, and my wife would rather have a china cabinet. What's up with that???

[alice_curiouser]

Some people just have their priorities ALL screwed up!

[killagoby]

Yep!!!